NEI Nuclear Notes

A Greenpeace initiative that’s actually kind of interesting is its drive to get large scale data centers – such as those run by Google, Facebook and Apple – to use more renewable energy to run them. They call it Clicking Clean . Greenpeace operates in an area where the practical -  which, after all, is what electricity is – intersects with the idealistic, if one defines idealism fairly narrowly, i.e., as what Greenpeace favors. That’s where data centers come in. There’s a cluster of them in North Carolina, which, in part, has to do with the state’s efforts to foster high-tech development. I’ve had a couple of friends migrate to the Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham) to pursue their careers, so it’s having an impact on the east coast at least. But it likely also has something to do with plentiful electricity But here’s the problem for Greenpeace. Greenpeace says Duke’s Green Source Rider, proposed in 2013 at the urging of Google and Facebook as a way to sell green...

Ted Jones The following is a guest post by Ted Jones, Director of International Supplier Relations for NEI. For several months now, we've been shining a spotlight on the dispute in Washington over the reauthorization of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. But this week, the focus of this battle is moving outside the Beltway far away from Washington-based Tea Party groups to where real jobs are at stake - in this case on Wednesday morning in Charlotte where businesses from across the Carolinas are going to rally to support the bank and the work it does promoting exports in the region. The event will take place at the Westin Charlotte Hotel beginning at 8:30 a.m. and will include businesses from all over the Carolinas. Already confirmed to be in attendance and participating are companies like Duke Energy, Holtec, CB&I, Fluor, Curtiss-Wright, GE Aviation and Boeing. We also expect a number of smaller nuclear energy suppliers - companies who would be forced to start laying off emp...

Ted Jones The following is a guest post by Ted Jones , Director of International Supplier Relations for NEI. Certain foes of Ex-Im Bank have claimed that it only benefits a handful of companies, and that no one else would notice if Congress allows its charter to expire on September 30. But the economic impact of Ex-Im Bank is far broader than its ideological foes are willing to admit, extending deep into the supply chains of the larger companies. Many of the Bank’s indirect beneficiaries are unaware of its importance to their business. To show the indirect impact of Ex-Im Bank, today we are holding a roundtable discussion with business leaders in North Carolina, where a concentration of the U.S. nuclear supply chain represents a vital part of the state and regional economy. A 2013 study conducted by Clemson University valued the direct and indirect impact of the nuclear supply chain in the Carolinas at $20 billion , employing 29,000 people. Lindsey Crisp, CEO of Carver Mach...

When we say that new nuclear plants are engines of job creation, we don’t just mean the new jobs created to construct and run the plants, but all the jobs that can grow up around it. Here’s an example : Siemens Energy Inc. plans to hire more than 200 engineers in Charlotte – the latest step toward turning the region into an energy hub, state and local leaders said Thursday. During a news conference at the Charlotte Chamber, Siemens officials said they'll add 226 jobs over the next five years, with an average annual salary of about $49,100 this year and $66,500 by 2013, plus benefits. Nice in itself, nicer even when you consider: Last month, a nuclear power unit of electronics giant Toshiba announced the addition of nearly 200 workers, averaging six-figure salaries, to staff a national project management and engineering center opening in August. More than 30 new nuclear reactors are proposed nationwide, including six in the Carolinas. Hmmm. So it makes a little ...

The office of North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue (D) announced today that Toshiba Nuclear will open a project management and engineering center in Charlotte; adding 194 jobs to Mecklenburg County. The jobs will pay average salaries of $122,037 a year. Per The Raleigh News & Observer , Toshiba America Nuclear Energy was established by Japan's Toshiba Corp. last year to capture some of the increasing interest in new nuclear power plants in this country. Utilities, including Progress Energy and Duke Energy, are proposing to build more than 30 plants to meet growing demand for electricity. The company is the primary contractor for the construction of two nuclear reactors planned in Texas. The company initially considered sites there and in Northern Virginia, where it is based, for the new operation before cutting the list to Charlotte and Atlanta. "Charlotte is becoming the place to be in the U.S. for nuclear engineers," Fuyuki Saito, chief executive of Toshiba America ...

North Carolina Governor Mike Easley (D) and state officials announced today that GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy will expand its campus in Wilmington, NC. The move will add 900 new jobs to the area over the next five years. Via The News & Observer : He [Jim Fain, N.C. Commerce Secretary] predicted the GE expansion would have "a significant halo effect" in the Southeastern region of the state. GE-Hitachi plans to invest $704 million at its New Hanover County campus and pay average annual salaries of $85,000. The Hanover County average wage is $33,226 a year. The company plans to add new manufacturing, training, simulation and testing facilities at its 1,300-acre campus.

As the Democratic presidential candidates turn their attention to North Carolina and the upcoming primary, residents of the Tar Heel state will be considering the national and local implications when entering the voting booth on May 6th. Current Governor, Mike Easley (D), will be stepping aside, the victim of term limits. Major candidates running for his open seat include: Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue (D), State Treasurer Richard Moore (D), Mayor of Charlotte Pat McCrory (R), State Senator Fred Smith (R), former state Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert Orr (R), and attorney Bill Graham (R). In its pages, The Charlotte Observer has provided a platform for the gubernatorial candidates to speak on individual policy issues. (Hear, hear Fourth Estate!) Today their series continues with "energy." Links to the individual candidate's statements are above. Looking for those candidates who specifically address nuclear energy? Graham , McRory , and Smith .

From the Charlotte Observer : Duke Energy Corp. Chief Executive Jim Rogers said environmentalists and Congress should support nuclear energy or risk failure in battling global warming. The strident talk from Rogers, one of the first utility executives to call for regulating carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants and other industrial sources, comes as Duke plans a nuclear project in Cherokee County, S.C., estimated to cost up to $6 billion. It also comes at a time when the Democratically controlled Congress considers how to tax or otherwise regulate industrial carbon dioxide emissions. Coal-fired power plants are a major source of carbon dioxide, blamed by climate scientists as a cause of global warming, which threatens to melt polar ice and cause flooding, among other environmental disasters. Nuclear energy, on the other hand, has zero emissions, and the President Bush-backed Energy Policy Act of 2005 provides financial incentives for utilities to start building plants again. But ...

In today's edition of the News and Observer , Duke Energy Chairman, President and CEO Jim Rogers lays out the rationale for his company's long-term plan to provide reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible energy to North Carolina. Though Rogers may be talking about one state, the following three paragraphs could easily be applied to any region of the country: Some people who oppose our plan do so out of a belief that renewable energy and energy efficiency alone can address our energy challenge, but that is wishful thinking. Having a duty to provide electricity to a growing customer base of 2.2 million, we do not have the luxury of detaching ourselves from reality. Instead we must meet our customers' growing demand for power with real electrons that customers can depend on. Our duty is to provide reliable, affordable electricity to support a growing population. By 2030, North Carolina's population is predicted to grow from 8 million people to 12 million -- a ...