NEI Nuclear Notes

Rod Adams has some thoughts.

During his testimony before the U.S. Senate Energy and Public Works Committee , former Vice President Al Gore had this exchange with Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) on nuclear energy. Near the start of the video, Craig accused Gore of gutting funding for nuclear R&D during the Clinton Administration. As you can see, Gore claimed not to know what Craig was talking about, and said that he'd respond directly at a later time. Here's graphic that NEI developed to demonstrate exactly what happened to the DOE R&D budget during the Clinton years: Interesting. UPDATE: More from Congressman Mike Simpson (R-ID) .

The following comes from a campaign rally held in South Carolina :

Our CEO, Skip Bowman, guest stars.

Details from Helsingin Sanomat . UPDATE : Found this piece from DW Television on the project from last month. There's an interview with a German anti-nuke at the end where he predicts that there won't be any further investment in nuclear in Europe. Funny, eh?

CASEnergy Coalition co-chair Patrick Moore recently sat down with Don Shelby of WCCO-TV to talk about the revivial of the nuclear energy industry. Click here for the video.

Last week, I asked Mary Quillian, NEI's Director of Business and Environmental Programs, a couple of questions about Al Gore's testimony on Capitol Hill concerning nuclear energy . Click here for the video.

It's been a busy day here at NEI, but not so busy that we can't pass along this great news : By a 5-0 vote, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission today authorized the NRC’s Office of New Reactors to issue an Early Site Permit (ESP) to System Energy Resources Inc. for the Grand Gulf ESP site near Port Gibson, Miss. The staff has 10 business days to carry out the Commission’s directions and issue the permit, the second ESP the NRC has approved. Successful completion of the ESP process resolves many site-related safety and environmental issues, and determines the site is suitable for possible future construction and operation of a nuclear power plant. The company filed its ESP application Oct. 21, 2003. The permit will be valid for up to 20 years. During that time, the company (or any other potential applicant interested in the site) must still seek NRC approval for a Combined License to build one or more nuclear plants on the site before any significant construction can occur. The NR...

This morning, both Reuters and Business Week wrote lengthy features concerning the publication of a report by U.K.-based Oxford Research claiming that nuclear energy can't serve as a solution when it comes to climate change. From Business Week : Now, some scientists and other experts are beginning to raise a different question about nuclear power: Is it really as clean as supporters contend? A report, released on Mar. 26 by a British nongovernmental organization called the Oxford Research Group, disputes the popular perception that nuclear is a clean energy source. It argues that while nuclear plants may not generate carbon dioxide while they operate, the other steps necessary to produce nuclear power, including the mining of uranium and the storing of waste, result in substantial amounts of carbon dioxide pollution. "As this report shows, hopes for the climate-protecting potential of nuclear energy are entirely misplaced," says Jürgen Trittin, a former minister of the ...

Just off the wire from STP : Completing a second consecutive breaker-to-breaker run, the South Texas Project nuclear power plant successfully took its Unit 2 reactor offline on Sunday for a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage. “We are pleased with the reliable and successful performance of our reactors. STP’s consecutive breaker-to-breaker runs could not have been accomplished without the continued commitment and skill of our entire team," said Ed Halpin, STP's site vice president. A breaker-to-breaker run refers to the time between refueling outages when a nuclear plant safely produces electricity. An outage begins with the opening of an electrical breaker to discontinue power to the grid so that maintenance can be performed and refueling can occur. The outage ends when the breaker is closed and electricity can again be produced. Refueling outages occur every 18 months. Congrats to the team at STP for a job well done. Bravo Zulu!

On today's edition of E&E TV , you'll see footage of Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) speaking at the March 23 USEA Newsmaker Breakfast. In this appearance, Senator Bingaman -- who is chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee -- talks about plans for upcoming climate change legislation, as well as what lessons America can learn from European climate policy. The clip runs about eight minutes.

Jobs and economic development, that's what it means. From The Albuquerque Tribune : Eunice, population 2,700, is expected to grow by about 1,000 people in the next year or two - workers needed to build and operate the Louisiana Energy Services' $1.5 billion uranium enrichment plant there that recently was approved by state and federal regulators. To accommodate that rush, the city expects it'll need at least 400 new houses and dozens of new apartments. Eunice, which does not have a traffic light, also is preparing to spend millions of dollars on new water lines, a new sewage treatment plant, a new public swimming pool and a downtown beautification project - with some of the financing coming from contributions from the town's new corporate citizen, LES. Anti-nuclear critics say its a fool's bargain, but Eunice and southeastern New Mexico are betting on a future in which nuclear energy is in demand, uranium enrichment is a growth industry and some of the associated p...

From The Daily Inter Lake , (Mont.): Al Gore, the former vice president and recent Oscar recipient, sanctimoniously decrees that Americans should reduce their “carbon footprints” while he runs up electric bills that could power an entire neighborhood. He exonerates himself by purchasing “carbon offsets” from a company that he has a financial interest in. The company invests in wind power or other green projects, and presto, his conscience is clean. Just like purchasing a medieval indulgence for cleansing away sins. Gore never talks about one source of energy that would greatly reduce carbon emissions, and that’s nuclear energy. Why doesn’t Gore urge Congress to provide incentives for nuclear power development, a change that would vastly reduce the nation’s carbon footprint? Because the left has long detested and protested nuclear power plants. And Gore certainly isn’t going to counter that position, because he has become a national environmental leader. As we've noted before, not e...

As we noted earlier this week , during his testimony on Capitol Hill this week, former Vice President Al Gore went to pains to say he wasn't reflexively anti-nuclear, though he added that he believed a combination of distributed generation and "smart-grid" technology could obviate the need to build new baseload generating capacity . Mr. [Gore] worked hard to avoid sounding rigidly anti-nuclear, focusing instead on concerns about waste storage--he opposes the Yucca Mountain waste facility--and the very large capital costs involved in building new nuclear plants. Yet despite these issues, we are likely to see the first new nuclear plant in this country in two decades get its permits within a few years. The cloud of uncertainly that the recent TXU deal has cast over new coal-fired power plants will inevitably improve the prospects for new nukes. To refine a statistic tossed out by one Senator, in 2005 nuclear power contributed 68% of all the low-carbon electricity genera...

AQTEBlog reports from the scene.

From today's edition : Other environmentalists say the need to address global warming means taking a harder look at nuclear. Besides Pew, at least three leading environmental organizations — Union of Concerned Scientists, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Environmental Defense — say they are willing to consider nuclear power as part of a long-term solution to global warming. Bill Chameides, chief scientist for Environmental Defense, says his group's position "has evolved." "Global warming is the environmental issue of our generation," he says. "Clearly to solve this problem we need to have all technologies on the table. Therefore, nuclear energy … needs to be considered." However, he says a big expansion of nuclear power would be "foolhardy" until a solution is found for where to put nuclear wastes. Christopher Paine, senior nuclear analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, says his group is also willing to give nuclear a l...

From the Sydney Morning Herald : Labor appears certain to dump its policy of banning new uranium mines, with the party's Senate leader and a resource-rich state joining the chorus for change. Opposition resources spokesman Chris Evans - Labor's leader in the Senate - came out in support of an overhaul on Friday, saying the policy had failed to limit the production of uranium. [...] Senator Evans, whose state of Western Australia holds huge deposits of uranium, said the policy that confines production to three mines was untenable. "I do not dismiss the legitimate concerns over nuclear weapon proliferation, the disposal of waste and environmental concerns - these need to be tackled head on," he said. "But imposing an arbitrary limit on the number of uranium mines does little to address those concerns." For some time now, our friend Robert Merkel has told us that the ultimate aim of John Howard's government in discussing building new nuclear plants in Aust...

Last week I had an interesting email exchange with Dulce Fernandez, research and policy coordinator for the GRACE Energy Initiative. Ms. Fernandez emailed NEI looking for the International Energy Agency (IEA) study we cited in in last October's point-by-point rebuttal that took the air out of GRACE's claim that nuclear can't claim to have the "second-lowest emissions of greenhouse gases next to hydro electric, which is not a baseload electricity source." I sent Ms. Fernandez the IEA report, "Externalities and Energy Policy: The Lifecycle Analysis Approach," (available by purchase from IEA), and even pointed her to the specific pages from which we pulled the information, including a chart on the NEI web site. I told her that unlike many organizations, NEI "validates our positions with facts; not blatant the-sky-is-falling myths and flagrant misrepresentations." I received the following response: "As you certainly noted the study is bas...

Yesterday, MIT released a study that the Globe and Mail described this way: Growing global competition for scarce enriched uranium threatens to derail a much-heralded nuclear renaissance in the United States and around the world, says an industry researcher from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In a report released yesterday, MIT researcher Thomas Neff said there has been 20 years of under-investment in uranium production and enrichment, resulting in a tightening of supply that has driven prices up eightfold. The shortfall leaves a gap between the potential increase in demand for nuclear energy -- which is particularly strong in Asia -- and the ability to supply fuel for it. "There has been a nuclear-industry myopia; they didn't take a long-term view," Mr. Neff said in his report. Others have since picked up the story. This is an issue we've looked at before , so I though I'd check in with Felix Killar , one of our internal experts on the nuclear fu...

The Good Life ponders the production of electricity in an interconnected Europe: No European nation is an island when it comes to their national grid. There are no national grids anymore just a Europe wide grid. So, if a proportion of Irish electricity is already provided by nuclear power stations then why not build our own? Why not indeed? For more from our archives on Ireland, click here . UPDATE : More from We Support Lee .

For a long time now, we've contended that nuclear energy shouldn't be a left/right issue. Thanks to folks like N. Nadir , we've found that there are folks who agree. Make room for one more: Left Atomics : Left Atomics is a group of left activists: socialists, progressives, Marxists, etc., who believe that nuclear energy can be a positive force for humanity. We propose that the Left, broadly speaking, should support, not oppose, nuclear energy. We will be posting here a Manifesto for Nuclear Energy that we hope can be the basis of a discussion on the left among pro- and anti-nuclear activists. We feel that by and large there has been only knee-jerk opposition to nuclear energy by the left. Few have re-examined the technology of nuclear power production, the enormous changes that have been made in operating safely old plants since 3 Mile Island and Chernobyl and the newer Generation III plants currently under construction or being proposed. Count us as another party ready to...

Just off the wire : Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) today announced the formation of a dedicated business line within its Power Group to address the next generation nuclear power market. Fluor has prepared for this emerging market through the combined talent, activities and resources in both its Government and Power Groups. The nuclear business line will be headquartered in Fluor’s Greenville, S.C. office. Looks like somebody is bullish on a future for nuclear energy.

From WILLisms : We should make every common sense effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, not because bureaucrats in Brussels or Kyoto say so, not because Al Gore says so, and not because we need to "reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil." We should do it because reducing emissions, at the local level, is good for our health. Nuclear power enables us to reduce our emissions without harming our economy. Indeed, it may boost our economy, as inexpensive, reliable energy reduces the cost of doing business and ultimately raises productivity and profitability. Atomic energy enables us to make strides toward cheaper, cleaner, more sustainable energy based on more than feel-good, pie-in-the-sky ethanol/solar/wind schemes. Moreover, we can pursue nuclear energy without harming our domestic energy industry.

I've been listening to Al Gore's testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee this morning , and he predictably left expanded use of nuclear energy out of his list of options to restrain carbon emissions. As Mitch Singer noted this morning, that's no surprise . I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit when Gore mentioned Amory Lovins in glowing terms. As my colleague David Bradish has written in the past , while Lovins might have some interesting things to say about conservation, his research in the area of nuclear energy is fatally flawed. Click here for our complete archive on Lovins. More later, I'm sure. UPDATE : Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) just mentioned the elephant in the room, namely that electricity demand will be increasing by about 40% in the coming years and that nuclear energy can play a role in providing that energy while helping to keep the air clean. He also mentioned the continued political impasse over Yucca Mountain and the billio...

Here's a summary of U.S. nuclear plant performances last month: For February 2007, NEI estimates the average net capacity factor reached 94.3 percent. This figure is 1.1 percentage points higher than the same one month period in 2006. NEI estimates monthly nuclear generation at 63.4 billion kilowatt-hours for February 2007 compared to 62.6 bkWh for the same one month period in 2006. For 2007, NEI estimates year to date nuclear generation at 136.9 billion kilowatt-hours compared to 134.5 bkWh in 2006 (1.2 percent increase). For the report click here (pdf). It is also located on NEI's Nuclear Statistics webpage .

NEI Nuclear Notes has visited this topic before, but it warrants looking at it again. The discussion on how best to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases (GHG) has dominated the environmental agenda in the first months of the 110th Congress. Wednesday, March 21, the first full day of Spring, promises to bring climate change to the forefront of the day's news. Former Vice President Al Gore, who testifies Wednesday on Capitol Hill, focused on ways to mitigate climate change in “An Inconvenient Truth.” In the film, Gore discussed a 2004 study entitled “Princeton University’s Carbon Mitigation Initiative,” by professors Robert Socolow and Stephen Pacala . The analysis is based on the concept of stabilization “wedges,” or measures that could be used to limit and ultimately reduce GHG emissions. These measures include efficient vehicles, an increase in nuclear power to displace coal-fired plants, greater efficiency at coal-fired power plants, an increase in wind and solar power to disp...

Here's a summary of what went on in the energy markets last week: Electricity prices were mostly decreasing throughout the country last week (see pages 1 & 2). Gas prices fell at the Henry Hub $0.36 to $6.92 / MMBtu (see page 4). Twelve reactors were in refueling outages with two beginning and two finishing last week. Five reactors were down for maintenance with three finishing last week (see pages 2 & 3). Uranium prices remained flat at $90 and $91 / lb U3O8 according to TradeTech and Ux Consulting. For the podcast click here . For the report click here (pdf). It is also located on NEI's Nuclear Statistics webpage .

Here's Santa Clara University professor David D. Friedman : Nuclear power is the one energy source that does not produce greenhouse gases and, using current technology, can be expanded over the next couple of decades to replace many, arguably almost all, uses of fossil fuel. So anyone who believes that the great threat facing us, the threat we should be willing to pay large costs to deal with, is global warming due to greenhouse gases should be strongly inclined to favor nuclear power. [...] I am sure there are people who are both seriously worried about global warming and in favor of nuclear power. But how many of them are there? How many high profile spokesmen or organizations have taken that position? We know of a few. How about James Lovelock , Patrick Moore and Stewart Brand for starters?

Last week we told you about how anti-nuclear campaigner Kevin Kamps was masquerading as a "nuclear waste expert" during a trip to Australia . But thanks in part to Nuclear Australia , the jig is up .

From Engineering News : South Africa is considering helping Russian state oil firm Rosneft and gas giant Gazprom in making liquid fuel from natural gas or coal, a cabinet minister said on Monday. South Africa's Mining and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said that PetroSA officials would hold technical talks on its gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology with the two Russian firms, which are in the early stages of exploring synthetic fuel production. "There are plans to have such talks with officials of Rosneft and Gazprom. PetroSA will be involved in the talks, which will be on technology exchange to help them produce gas- or coal-to-liquids (CTL)," she said after a formal briefing by senior leaders from the two countries. PetroSA runs South Africa's biggest GTL pant at Mossel Bay. South Africa has shown willingness to partner with any number of nations -- including China -- when it comes to future energy development.

The March issue of Nuclear Energy Insight is now available online. In it, you'll find an article on the nuclear energy industry’s stellar year marked by near-record production and continuing low costs. There also are reports on DTE’s preparations to seek a license for a new reactor at its Fermi reactor in Michigan and an industry briefing to Wall Street analysts. Other articles discuss the role of nuclear energy in combating climate change, the NRC’s adoption of a new security rule, and nine universities embarking on nuclear research projects. Click on Industry News/Insight.

Our old friend Norris McDonald of the African-American Environmentalist Association is responsible for putting together The State of Environmental Justice in America 2007 . The conference runs from March 29-31 at Howard University Law School here in Washington, D.C. Norris has also set up a blog to promote the conference. Be sure to check it out.

Bull Dog Pundit, one of the contributors to the popular Ankle Biting Pundits , has some specific problems with Senator John McCain's position on energy policy in general , and a few concerning nuclear energy in particular: Like McCain, I’m all for more nuclear power. However, here’s the problem I see with that. There hasn ’t been a nuclear power plant built in the United States for decades. The reason? Well, for one they cost a great deal of money, but in terms of the long-terms cost savings it’s well worth the price. The other big problem with building nuke plants is that the government has so regulated the industry, that it makes it nearly impossible to get one built. Further, lawsuits by environmental groups can delay the start of construction for years. Even a site that gets the initial permit from the NRC can take decades to be built, even assuming no opposition. So what that means is that while the stated goal of greater reliance on nuclear energy is great in theory, the real...

Looney Dunes cracks the code when it comes to where Google is building its data centers .

From Bloomberg : Japan, the world's fourth-biggest energy user, will discuss plans to boost imports of oil, gas and uranium from Russia as government officials start a 2-day meeting today. [...] Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russia Premier Mikhail Fradkov last month agreed to start negotiations on a nuclear energy contract. The talks centered on a legal framework allowing Russia to enrich extracted uranium from Japan's spent nuclear fuel and to import nuclear related technologies from Japan.

From the Economic Times : MUMBAI: Indo-US nuclear deal talks will be in the limelight this week as America’s energy secretary Samuel ‘Sam’ Bodman begins his India mission. The focus of Mr Bodman’s visit will be India’s ever rising energy needs and nuclear co-operation between the two. He is expected to discuss the issue with India’s nuclear establishment.

That's a story that's running in today's Houston Chronicle : The number of nuclear-powered generators in Texas could triple in the next decade with several new projects in the works. Expansions at the state's two existing plants — Comanche Peak [pictured to left] south of Dallas and the South Texas Project near Bay City — took steps this past week when TXU Energy said it will likely buy two reactors from Mitsubishi for the Dallas-area expansion, and NRG Energy said it will work with a Tokyo utility as an adviser for two reactors at Bay City. Illinois-based Exelon Energy has also said it is considering sites in South and East Texas for a new two-unit plant, while a private firm in Amarillo hopes to build two new nuclear units. [...] The four announced projects in Texas may only be the tip of the iceberg. TXU has indicated it may build more than just two new reactors and may place them at sites previously planned for the coal plants. And according to the state's main ...

That's a question that MIT Technology Review is asking today: New reactor technologies offer poorer nations cheap, safe, efficient power. Sanctions designed to prevent the proliferation of weapons impede their use. What would a better policy look like? It's an interesting quesiton, and one that deserves our attention, especially given the interest of many developing nations .

Details from Idaho Samizdat .

Here are some hearings scheduled for next week in Washington to keep an eye on: House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality hearing, “Global Climate Change,” focusing on state and local perspectives. The hearing will be held March 15, 11 a.m. (2123 Rayburn Building). House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality hearing, “Climate Change: Perspectives of Utility CEOs.” Invited witnesses include Mike Morris (American Electric Power), Gary Rainwater (Ameren), Jim Rogers (Duke), David Sokol (MidAmerican) and Jeff Sterba (PNM). The hearing will be held March 20, 9:30 a.m. (2123 Rayburn Building). House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces hearing, “Fiscal 2008 Budget: Energy Department,” concerning the department’s atomic energy defense activities. Invited witnesses include Thomas D’Agostino, acting administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration; James Rispoli, assistant secretary of energy for environmental management; and G...

Yesterday afternoon I had a chance to interview NRC Commissioner Jeffrey S. Merrifield in between sessions at the RIC and ask him some questions about the NRC new plant licensing process. The interview comes in at 4:02. Click here to download. Be sure to have the latest edition of Windows Media Player installed in order to view the content.

Rod and Shane return after a couple of weeks off to talk Uranium : Uranium is as common as tin and can be found in measurable quantities almost anywhere in the world. Its price often varies by several hundred percent over short periods of time, often encouraging booms, busts and much speculation. Each kilogram of the material contains as much potential energy as 2 MILLION kilograms of oil or three MILLION kilograms of coal, but we use only a tiny portion of that potential energy in currently operating nuclear plants. Click here to listen.

Meet Commander Salamander .

One of the most common arguments anti-nukes use against nuclear energy concerns the fact that a nuclear power plant is a "centralized" source of energy that can be controlled by big, bad corporate interests. In contrast, the thinking goes, renewables like wind and solar support a model of "distributed" generation that would free consumers from evil corporate utilities. Today over at Daily Kos , N. Nadir takes a shot at that contention .

Here's a summary of what went on in the energy markets last week: Electricity prices were mixed throughout the country last week (see pages 1 & 2). Gas prices fell at the Henry Hub $0.50 to $7.33 / MMBtu (see page 4). Ten reactors were in refueling outages with four beginning last week. Four reactors were down for maintenance with two finishing last week (see pages 2 & 3). According to EIA’s Short Term Energy Outlook, February 2007 residential electricity consumption is likely to approach record levels for monthly winter demand, especially in the East North Central, Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions. The Henry Hub natural gas price is projected to average $7.58 per thousand cubic feet (mcf) in 2007 compared with $7.10 in the previous Outlook (see page 8). For the report click here (pdf). It is also located on NEI's Nuclear Statistics webpage .

That's RIC as in Regulatory Information Conference , an annual event hosted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission . With all the activities around possible new plants, this year's RIC is hopping, with over 2,600 people in attendance this year. To get an idea of what's going on, click here for a copy of a speech by NRC Chairman Dale Klein and here for one from Commissioner Jeffrey S. Merrifield. I'm leaving the office with my video camera to see if I can snag some interviews with the help of the folks on the NRC media relations staff. We may have some video clips to share as early as tomorrow.

From the EU Observer : Bulgaria's plea to restart two reactors at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant has suffered a blow, with the European Commission appearing to reject the idea despite growing pressure from the Balkans in support of Sofia. On Monday (13 March), four Balkan countries - Serbia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Croatia - adopted a declaration, asking the EU to allow Bulgaria to resume electricity production and warning of grim consequences if the two reactors were not reopened. "We are concerned about the current electricity supply problems of the region, which could result in higher economic and political instability," the common statement, cited by the BBC, said. The statement also claimed that electricity prices had jumped 80-100% when compared with last year . Prior to the shut-down in 2006, Bulgaria exported 7.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, the amount that roughly equals to what the two nuclear reactors in Kozloduy produ...

From the American Public Power Association : Members of the American Public Power Association today adopted unanimously a resolution urging Congress to “consider carefully all solutions for addressing climate change” and to incorporate 10 principles in any new federal policy designed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). They said federal legislation must be economy-wide and apply to all industry sectors, consider the financial impact on consumers, and protect the ability of U.S. industries to compete in world markets. They also asked Congress to ensure that incentives for the development and deployment of renewable and clean energy are provided on a comparable basis to all sectors of the electric utility industry, including the not-for-profit, community- and state-owned public power sector. Here are the relevant passages: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: That the American Public Power Association (APPA) supports efforts to provide the NRC with all the regulatory and statutor...

From Reuters : Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd is set to receive a $5.2 billion order to build two nuclear reactors for U.S. power plant operator TXU Corp. the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday. TXU said in August 2006 that it planned to file construction and operating license applications in 2008 to build two to six gigawatts of new nuclear capacity at one to three sites in Texas. The company expects the new reactors to enter service between 2015 and 2020. This is the first company in the U.S. to announce intentions to build this type and it's the largest reactor (1,700 MW) yet. For a list of other company's new nuclear plant intentions in the U.S. click here .

More bad news for American and its allies from the WSJ Energy Blog : OPEC, meet Opegasur. That’s the name of a new natural-gas cartel established this morning in an agreement between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Argentina’s President Nestor Kirchner . Opegasur, which stands for Organizacion de Paises Productores, Exportadores de Gas del Sur, will also include Brazil and Bolivia. It will be built around a $20 billion gas pipeline that will eventually connect the four countries. There has been talk that the natural-gas cartel might never get off the ground. But it may not be long before an even bigger — and scarier, to U.S. interests anyway — cartel takes shape, Michael J. Economides, editor-in-chief of Energy Tribune, warned recently on Foreign Policy’s Web site . “With domestic gas production in decline, the United States and many of its allies will grow more dependent on imports to generate electricity and heat homes,” he wrote. “Gas suppliers will band together in response t...

In the wake of this weekend's deal on European greenhouse gas emissions , the European Tribune has some thoughts on the future of nuclear energy on the continent.

Visit View From the Bushes , who has some thoughts on nuclear waste and double standards.

After the breakup of Standard Oil, the seven companies that dominated global oil production became known as the " Seven Sisters ". Yesterday, via the WSJ Energy Blog , we learned that the Finanical Times has designated seven new members of the sisterhood -- and the implications for the free world are rather alarming: The new Seven, per the FT, are Saudi Aramco, Russia’s Gazprom, CNPC of China (parent of PetroChina), NIOC of Iran, Venezuela’s PDVSA, Brazil’s Petrobras and Petronas of Malaysia. All are state-controlled. A few are owned by governments that are less-than-friendly, if not downright hostile, toward the U.S. Many are flexing their “resource nationalism,” wresting control of lucrative oil and gas projects from foreign companies, including the old Sisters. Together, the FT points out, the new Sisters control more than 10 times the oil reserves of the old Sisters. They produce more than twice as much oil as the old Sisters. The new Sisters only lag the old Sisters in...

Kevin Kamps, taking a tour of Australia to talk about the dangers of nuclear energy , is billing himself as a "nuclear waste specialist". J.F. Beck is less than impressed: Kamps is nothing more than an anti-nuclear activist with no real authority to speak to the weighty matter of nuclear energy. Despite this, the ABC gives him national coverage as a " nuclear waste specialist ". Even worse, the Mackay Daily Mercury bills him as a " nuclear waste expert ". With the MSN propagandizing for environmentalists it's no wonder people cringe at the mere mention of "nuclear". Then again, for many of us, it's just another day at the office. UPDATE : Time to add a new blog to your bookmarks: Nuclear Australia .

From ThisIsMoney : Shell and BP will have to go nuclear if they want to remain 'supermajor' leaders of the global energy industry. That is the startling finding of a major report into the energy industry in the age of climate change by JPMorgan. The US investment bank envisages that 'Big Oil' will play a significant role in the future redevelopment of nuclear power. The JPMorgan report suggests that within 10 years, nuclear will be at the top of the agenda for a world preoccupied with clean, green energy and replacing diminishing global stocks of oil and gas. Nuclear is also likely to come to be seen as the only effective future for the socalled 'hydrogen economy', when powercharged fuel cells replace oil in the global automotive industry and elsewhere. This could definitely be great if oil companies get into the nuclear game. They have plenty of market capital to build new reactors in the first place and would be able to fund billion dollar projects without b...

From the Times of London : The role of nuclear power in Europe received an unexpected boost yesterday as EU leaders hailed a landmark climate change deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and switch to renewable fuels. Environmentalists complained that an ambitious headline goal to cut Europe’s CO emissions by a fifth by 2020 had been weakened by concessions to the main nuclear nations and the biggest polluters in Eastern Europe. Nonetheless, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, will use the agreement struck at the spring EU summit in Brussels to put pressure on world leaders to follow suit when she hosts the G8 meeting in June. [...] Jacques Chirac, the outgoing French President, welcomed the deal as one of the top three achievements of the EU during his 12 years in the Elysée Palace. Tony Blair was also pleased with the concession towards the nuclear powers. The outcome will give a boost to his plans to rebuild Britain’s ageing nuclear power stations which suffered a setback last ...

Back on March 1, The Oil Drum kicked off a discussion of nuclear energy . Here we are 10 days later and the discussion is still going on. Be sure to stop by and add your two cents.

Via RFID Journal comes a story about how Sellafield is using RFID monitoring for radiation dtetection .

Just off the wire : Washington GroupInternational (Nasdaq: WGII) announced today that it has been selected by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), to provide design certification document engineering and licensing services to support MHI's plans to launch its new advanced pressurized water reactor model, the US-APWR, in the U.S. market. Washington Group will perform services to prepare the design certification document to assist MHI efforts to obtain Nuclear Regulatory Commission certification of the US-APWR design. After the design certification document has been approved, Washington Group will leverage its nuclear industry and regulatory expertise to support MHI's introduction of its technology in the United States. "Nuclear power is expected to return to prominence in meeting growing energy needs," said Lou Pardi, president of Washington Group's Power Business Unit. "Washington Group International has been providing nuclear expertise since the ...

From the Guardian : Divisions over nuclear power and renewable energy threatened to derail the EU's campaign to assume a global leadership role in the fight against climate change at the bloc's spring summit which began last night. Warning that "it is closer to five past midnight than five to midnight" for international measures to combat global warming, Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel, chairing the meeting, urged EU leaders to "deliver results for our grandchildren" by making Europe the world's first low-carbon economy via a unilateral 20% cut in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. But France, backed by several east European countries, insisted carbon-free nuclear power be included within the EU energy mix and rejected Ms Merkel's proposal to make a 20% target for renewable energy binding on all 27 members. Think the recent forced shutdown of the two reactors in Bulgaria had anything to do with Eastern European countries refusing to buckle...

On the morning of February 6, 2007, Dominion Virginia Power set a peak winter usage record of 18,079 megawatts . We Support Lee thinks it's time for a third reactor at North Anna .

Over at NAM Blog , Carter Wood writes about how he ran into a USPIRG canvasser who wanted to ignore the connection between affordable and reliable electricity and rock 'n roll .

From the office of Senator Harry Reid : Today U.S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign of Nevada introduced bipartisan legislation that would require nuclear waste to be stored at the facilities where it is produced. The Federal Accountability for Nuclear Waste Storage Act of 2007 would eliminate the need for the proposed Yucca Mountain Project. "As elected leaders, we have a moral responsibility to protect the thousands of Nevadans and millions of Americans that could be put in harm's way because of projects like proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump," said Reid. "This isn't just a Nevada issue, it's a national issue. It would be dangerous and irresponsible to ship the most dangerous substance known to man through cities and small towns, and past schools, hospitals and businesses so it could be buried 90 miles outside of Las Vegas. The next step forward is to secure nuclear waste in scientifically sound ways at the sites where it is produced. This legis...

From NRC : The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a request by the Tennessee Valley Authority to increase the generating capacity of Browns Ferry Unit 1 by 5 percent. The NRC staff's review of TVA's application has been part of the agency's intensive oversight of the proposed restart of Unit 1, which has been inactive since March 1985 and was reloaded with nuclear fuel in December 2006. The NRC staff concluded that, as long as all other issues related to restart were satisfactorily resolved, TVA could operate the reactor at a higher power level, primarily by upgrading major plant components such as turbines and transformers. NRC staff also reviewed TVA evaluations that showed the plant's design can handle the increased power level. There's been a lot of great news lately. Congratulations to the team at TVA on a job well done.

No, this doesn't mean that we need you to find the best way to transmute minor actinides (though if you do have that information I know some places that are hiring). But you can go far in making nuclear fuel recycling a national priority by showing your support at a Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) scoping meeting that DOE is holding in Washington, DC on Monday, March 19 . The meeting will be at the Hotel Washington from 1pm to 5pm, though I suggest that advocates arrive no later than 12:30pm. DOE has held seven such scoping meetings in communities that are potential hosts for GNEP facilities. In locations such as North Augusta, GA and Carlsbad, NM local supporters organized themselves and the meetings were very positive with balanced media coverage. However, in Joliett, IL nuclear opponents outnumbered supporters by about 3 to 1 and media coverage was predictably negative. There are no potential GNEP sites in the Washington, DC area but it is still important that nuclear ...

From Reuters : The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved on Thursday the first site in over 30 years that could eventually house a new nuclear power plant, but the United States is still far away from breaking ground on any new reactors. The NRC's action clears the location for a new nuclear reactor but does not yet approve building a specific reactor. Exelon Corp., which sought the agency's first-ever early site permit in September 2003, would have up to 20 years to seek a license from the NRC to build and operate a reactor at the company's Clinton, Illinois, site, where it already has one nuclear reactor generating electricity. Congratulations to the team at Exelon for a job well done.

A couple of weeks ago Eric let you know that the January/February 2007 issue of Nuclear Policy Outlook is available online. Well, now all issues going back through 2004 are available in NEI's online Library. Previously a quarterly newsletter for NEI members only, Outlook now publishes on a bimonthly basis so everyone can read analysis of the nuclear energy industry’s most critical policy issues. The Jan/Feb edition examines how the changing congressional leadership will affect the industry and its legislative priorities. Up next for March/April is used nuclear fuel management. In the meantime, check out the archive.

From last week's Deseret News : Arizona Sen. John McCain said Friday he supports high-level nuclear waste storage in Nevada — even though Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. praised McCain as the only GOP presidential candidate who understands Western issues. Huntsman, along with most elected officials and voters in the West, opposes the proposed Yucca Mountain facility, citing concerns about radioactive waste being transported through Utah and other states on its way to the site. But McCain mocked a question about the dangers of transporting nuclear waste while speaking with Utah reporters. "Oh, you have to travel through states ... I am for Yucca Mountain. I'm for storage facilities. It's a lot better than sitting outside power plants all over America," he said, then added, "I don't mean to be sarcastic. I apologize. But I believe we can transport waste safely."

Over at Gristmill, anti-nuclear zealot David Roberts is at it again . This time with the Christian Science Monitor article I referenced yesterday . Roberts: The question is not whether nuclear power is "acceptable" or "good" by some subjective standard -- economic, moral, or otherwise. It's not even whether investments in nuclear power could lead to emission reductions. The question is: what is the maximum amount of climate change mitigation we can get for a given dollar of investment? Nuclear fails that test. Hmmm, where have we heard that before? Oh yeah, Amory Lovins. Roberts quotes him in the post but that last sentence from Roberts above looks like he’s pawning Lovins’ words as his own. We have dealt with Mr. Lovins’ arguments plenty of times, but we’ll go another round. "It's easy to show that building more reactors makes climate change worse than it should have been," says Amory Lovins, chairman of the Rocky Mountain Institute, an energy t...

That's what the Christian Science Monitor is asking : "Saying nuclear is carbon-free is not true," says Uwe Fritsche, a researcher at the Öko Institut in Darmstadt, Germany, who has conducted a life-cycle analysis of the plants. "It's less carbon-intensive than fossil fuel. But if you are honest, scientifically speaking, the truth is: There is no carbon-free energy. There's no free lunch." Well it's good to see they are not spouting the anti's claims on CO2 emissions . They appear to do some homework on the issue. NEI's Paul Genoa is there to represent: "Yes, absolutely there's carbon," says Paul Genoa, director of policy development for the Nuclear Energy Institute, which represents the nuclear power industry in the US. "Most studies have found life-cycle emissions of nuclear to be comparable with renewable. Some show nuclear to be extremely high, but we do not find those credible." Stewart Peterson has a different vi...

Here's a summary of what went on in the energy markets last week: Electricity prices were mixed throughout the country last week (see pages 1 & 2). Gas prices fell at the Henry Hub $0.50 to $7.33 / MMBtu (see page 4). Nuclear plant availability was 91% last week with six reactors down for refueling and five reactors down for maintenance (see pages 2 & 3). By 2011, the following amounts of new generating capacity are expected to start up: 43,000 MW coal; 46,000 MW natural gas; and 25,000 MW wind (see page 8). For the podcast click here . For the report click here (pdf). It is also located on NEI's Nuclear Statistics webpage .

Stewart Peterson, the mind behind the blog Nuclear is our Future , has created a specialized Google search engine just for the nuclear energy industry . Here's how he describes it : 've tried to make the information as reliable as possible; it searches neither LaRouchies nor Greenpeace-type sites, but focuses on informational (neutral and pro-nuclear; if there were an anti-nuclear site with reliable information I'd include it, but then it probably wouldn't be anti-nuclear) and government websites. Please try it out and tell me if it works for you--or if you can't find things; there's no point in me linking to something that doesn't work. In other words, this is still a work in progress. So stop by , kick the tires, and if you have any suggestions, send them Stewart's way.