NEI Nuclear Notes

Hard not to be pleased by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s decision to support a new unit at the state’s Callaway nuclear plant, announced a couple of months ago. But at his state of the state address, he went much, much further: Every business in Missouri needs reliable, affordable energy to grow and prosper. And every Missouri family needs reliable, affordable energy to heat and cool their homes. In November, I announced a historic agreement that will transform the economy of our state - creating thousands of jobs and benefitting millions of Missouri consumers of electric power. That agreement put the wheels in motion for the construction of a second, state-of-the-art nuclear power plant in Callaway County. Missouri has some of the lowest electric rates in the nation. That's attractive to businesses and families. But as our energy needs grow, we need to be looking now for new sources of clean, abundant and affordable power. Building a second nuclear plant ...

An article in this morning's Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune , " Nuclear energy is enjoying a renaissance ," looks at the economic and political landscape of nuclear energy expansion in Minnesota. For those building new — and Gov. Tim Pawlenty has proposed lifting the state’s moratorium — construction will be faster than in the past, however, said Kent Mortensen, industrial analyst at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in Appleton, Wis. Instead of designing every plant separately, as in the past, the NRC is approving a handful of technical designs — from firms including Westinghouse and Mitsubishi — and power companies will choose from one of these standard approved designs The piece is interesting enough on it's own to merit posting but really it provides an opening for me to point to a nugget discovered over the weekend, from an August 15th article in the St. Cloud Times : Senate candidate Al Franken (D) supports nuclear expansion. New nuclear power plants and new ...