NEI Nuclear Notes

Let’s start with the bad: The Minnesota House has rejected an effort to lift the state's ban on new nuclear power plants. Lawmakers voted 70-62 today to uphold a 1994 moratorium on the construction of nuclear facilities. The vote was an amendment to an energy policy bill. We wrote about this the other day, so thought it only fair to conclude the story – for now, anyway. Minnesota is one of the last states with such a ban in place and lifting it had seemed a near thing. Well, there’s always next year. And next year will bring a new governor. We already know that current Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is not running for a third term, supports lifting the ban – and so do two of the three Republicans running in the primary: The leading contenders for the Republican nomination -- state Reps. Tom Emmer and Marty Seifert -- both support lifting the state's ban on nuclear power. The third Republican contender, Leslie Davis, does not. Among the nine Democrats over in ...

Actually, there are only just three recent studies/reports I'd like to bring to your attention. The first comes from Ted Rockwell (pdf) at Learning About Energy . Colleagues: Attached is a list of purported facts about the use of nuclear energy for generating electricity, and purported facts about the principal, post-fossil alternatives: wind, solar and biofuels. There are no conclusions or recommendations here, just facts. Just real-world facts, no predictions or estimates or opinions. I don’t know of any other document that performs this function. In it, there are some interesting safety stats on wind (p. 8) that I was unaware of and Mr. Rockwell includes some commentary on Amory Lovins' way of life that makes for some good reading. Definitely will be a useful document. ... Next study to check out comes from the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency . Earlier this week, NEA released a document on the perspective of nuclear energy and how it can address climate change (pdf). Scen...

One of the speakers at this year’s Nuclear Energy Assembly was Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. He had stirred up a bit of controversy a couple of weeks ago by seeming to dismiss not only nuclear energy but all baseload energy in favor of, we think, smaller electricity grids that would be able to make do with a combination of renewable energy sources and natural gas. Here’s what he said about nuclear on Clean Skies TV (transcription: see here to be sure we haven’t misquoted): From a cost standpoint, from the numbers I’ve seen, the plans [for nuclear energy] seem very costly. They look much more expensive than the alternatives, including not only renewables but also energy efficiency. Also combined heat and power and other distributed systems that would use natural gas. So, I think there are a whole plethora of alternatives that are less expensive that the nuclear alternative. He was more explicit with the New York Times a little earlier :...

The Nuclear Energy Assembly is the annual conference of the Nuclear Energy Institute. It brings together all the bigwigs of the industry, plus a lot of the littler wigs, to listen to speeches, pick up awards for innovations in the field, catch up with industry colleagues – you know, the kinds of things people do at conferences. We thought we’d share you some of the bits and bites from the speeches given the opening morning – it was a virtual parade of politicians and regulators saying realistic but upbeat things. For example, here’s House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer: “My message to you is a simple one: nuclear energy is part of the solution. I say ‘part’ because there is no one single solution to America’s energy needs. I will keep arguing that nuclear power has a vital place in that mix, and that it deserves our government’s support.” And here’s House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Peter Visclosky: “If you look at these (energy) issues on a factual basi...

While reading The Chicago Tribune's coverage of the super-important, fun-and-sun drenched Nuclear Energy Assembly, this paragraph stuck out: Dave Kraft, director of the Nuclear Energy Information Service in Evanston, views this as further evidence that the free components of a summer weekend—sunshine and a cool breeze—will be better energy sources. "Those are far superior choices and they can come online much faster than new nukes," Kraft said. "The nuclear industry is well overplaying their hand." We've got nothing against our friends in the solar and wind business, but "far superior?" I guess the article - which is more a roundup of what prominent attendees are thinking about nuclear these days rather than direct coverage of the conference - demanded a he-said, she-said approach, but from our perspective, it felt like the writer, Joshua Boak, had dropped a spider on the valentine. So what is the Nuclear Energy Information Servic...

“Building a coal plant has more risk now than a nuclear plant. … With possible carbon constraints and [natural] gas prices going up, we can’t meet our electricity needs going forward without nuclear energy.” - Michael J. Wallace , Vice Chairman, Constellation Energy Nuclear; Chairman, UniStar “This country is going to need new nuclear power plants.” - Robert Malone , Chairman and President, BP America Inc. ”I think nuclear could be an important part of energy supply for the United States and the world, but there are tough challenges ahead. Nuclear is not a silver bullet for global warming. If there is one, it’s energy efficiency.” - Jessica Tuchman Mathews , President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace “Nuclear power is the only technology we have that can be deployed over the next two decades to address global warming. It is our best hope in the short term until we get to renewables and efficiency.” - William Johnson , Chairman, CEO and President, Progress Energy “You are in ...

This morning’s Nuclear Energy Assembly session explored the socio-economic trends pointing to a vital role for nuclear power in our nation’s energy mix. Here is a sampling from the wide-ranging roster of speakers: “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, satisfying growing energy demand, making energy affordable and enhancing energy security are tasks that are difficult enough individually, but we need to do all of them at the same time. There’s no way around it: this effort requires bold leadership. We need our policymakers to look ahead and understand that we’re living in a new world that requires new approaches.” – Jack Gerard , president and CEO, American Chemistry Council “Our top priority is the safe operation of the current fleet of U.S. nuclear power plants, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is also a global leader in safe regulation. We need to keep our place at the table to ensure a consistent regulatory environment.” – Dale Klein , chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commissio...

Poised on the brink of the largest capital investment program in its history, nuclear energy industry leaders this morning opened their 55th annual conference with pledges to face facts squarely and appraise the challenges and opportunities honestly as nuclear power energizes a low-carbon future. Skip Bowman, president and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute , told nearly 500 industry executives gathered in Chicago for the Nuclear Energy Assembly that a factual presentation and reasoned approach would make the nuclear resurgence a reality. He marshaled several facts to make his point: One million megawatts of electricity-generating capacity powers America’s grid, but 45 percent of that infrastructure is more than 30 years old. Meanwhile, the nation has deferred investment in new, more efficient baseload plants, including new reactors. The 2005 Energy Policy Act’s loan guarantee program is a “very small step” in the right direction, but insufficient to rebuild electric power infrastruct...

Simona De Silvestro , driver of the NEI-sponsored NWR racing car, and current points leader in the Atlantic Championship series, will be appearing at the Nuclear Energy Assembly on Monday. Car #34 and driver are scheduled to be at the Fairmont Hotel from 3:00 - 7:00 pm. Simona will be available for pictures, autographs, and advice on how best to drive the Chicago Loop .