NEI Nuclear Notes

Last night, seven of us had the opportunity to chat amongst ourselves about President Obama’s State of the Union , the announcement of a blue-ribbon commission , the proposal to increase loan guarantees and Vermont Yankee’s tritium quagmire . Last week was quite an eventful week for the nuclear industry so for one of Rod Adams’s podcast shows , a number of us were asked by Rod if we could share our thoughts. The five other knowledgeable participants were: Kelly Taylor, a 24 year nuclear industry professional and frequent Atomic Show guest. Meredith Angwin, a physical chemist and small businessperson who has recently started publishing a blog titled Yes, Vermont Yankee . Charles Barton, who blogs at Nuclear Green and Energy from Thorium . Dan Yurman, who blogs at Idaho Samidat , writes for Fuel Cycle Weekly and is the blogger with the highest readership at The Energy Collective. Robert Margolis, a 24 year nuclear industry professional who has operated reactor...

And that’s what they’re calling it: The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. Announced today during a telephone conference with Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Presidential Advisor Carol Browner, the commission’s charge is to provide recommendations for developing a safe, long-term solution to managing the nation’s used nuclear fuel. The commission will be headed by former House member Lee Hamilton (D-Indiana) and former National Security Advisor (to Presidents Ford and George H.W. Bush) Brent Scowcroft. These men volunteer to chair the commission and show considerable devotion to public service in doing so. The remaining 13 commission members include: Mark Ayers, President, Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO Vicky Bailey, Former Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Former IN PUC Commissioner; Former Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs Albert Carnesale, Chancellor Emeritus an...

Via Nasdaq : As part of a long-running rift over how to deal with the nation's nuclear power waste, the Obama administration announced plans this year to cancel the Yucca Mountain waste repository site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Although Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in April he would appoint a panel to determine the country's future nuclear waste policy, there's been no news since of who would be named and when the panel would be convened. DOE spokeswoman Stephanie Mueller told Dow Jones on Wednesday, "We are planning to make an announcement soon," but declined to elaborate. The Department of Energy won't say what caused the delay, but some industry officials have said one of the difficulties could be the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which guides how such panels are appointed. The law - designed to ensure an objective and balanced representation of policy options - prevents the administration from stocking the panel with members who would likely r...