NEI Nuclear Notes

Earlier this week, NEI CEO Skip Bowman delivered a lecture on energy policy at the Cebrowski Institute of the Naval Postgraduate School on energy policy. Click here (PPT) for the presentation, and here for a UPI account of the speech: Adm. Frank L. "Skip" Bowman, U.S. Navy, retired, president and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute, said storing highly radioactive nuclear waste at the plants, where it was produced, poses no threat. "Leaving used fuel exactly where it is right now ... is perfectly safe," Bowman said Monday at a Defense Department program on energy policy. Still, he is in favor or a more progressive approach to storing the 2,000 metric tons of byproduct produced at the 103 civilian nuclear plants across the country each year in a geologic repository and, until that opens, at interim sites. [...] While the NEI's Bowman is "not Yucca or bust," he says it should be opened -- and remain open indefinitely -- and...

Dominion Virginia Power held a "media day" tour of the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant, and Rusty Dennen of the Fredericksburg Freelance-Star was there : David Christian, senior vice president-nuclear and chief nuclear officer, kicked off the tour with a short presentation in the plant's visitors center. He said Dominion must plan ahead, and that more nuclear power should be in the mix--not only for the nation, but to meet rising electricity demand worldwide. Dennen also mentions a speech given by Dominion CEO Thomas F. Farrell II at the Richmond-based World Affairs Council on energy policy earlier this week. Click here for a copy. And click here for my coverage from Louisa County last month when I attended an NRC public meeting. Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy , Nuclear Power , Energy , Technology , Environment , Electricity , Virginia , North Anna Nuclear Power Plant , NRC

One of my colleagues here at NEI is spending two weeks in Baghdad to help provide communications training to members of the new Iraqi government. She's writing about her experiences at TrishTrek . Please stop by and give it a read. Technorati tags: NEI , Iraq , Baghdad

Here's an update on the status of the Swedish reactors at Forsmark and Oskarshamn that were taken offline last month : The Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (Statens Kärnkraftsinsepktionen, SKI) communicated on 14 September on the corrective measures that are required in order to restart units 1 and 2 at the Forsmark nuclear power plant. Forsmark stated that it will analyse the situation and then give an estimate of a restart time. Currently tests are being carried out to clarify this. Forsmark's unit 3 is operating normally. Unit 2 at the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant has received permission from SKI to be restarted after its annual revision, which today was announced to end on 23 September. The unit will start by testing a new generator during which it will operate at approximately 30 percent output. Unit 1 is expected to restart around the turn of the year after changes in its back-up power system have been concluded. Oskarshamn's unit 3 is operating normally. Technor...

Outgoing energy minister says the nation needs to build a new power plant with two reactors for $3 billion U.S. Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy , Nuclear Power , Energy , Electricity , Mexico

We've written many times now wondering about the role Russia wants to play in the global energy marketplace . Yesterday over at Energy Outlook , Geoffrey Styles issued a warning to that nation that there is a price to be paid in wielding its energy reserves like a club on the global political scene : If Russia were trying to build up its oil and gas technology into world-class competitors, it had a great opportunity with aggressive private firms such as Yukos to take the lead, instead of semi- or re-nationalized firms such as Rosneft and Gazprom. Post-Yukos, we see a clear strategy built around firm control of the resources and their logistics, and the steady application of state power to reduce the influence that international firms gained during the Yeltsin years. That approach will keep world oil prices higher than they would otherwise be, making alternatives more attractive. But how well equipped is Russia to play the game that must eventually follow, in a more energy-efficient...

Ruth Shaw will retire as group executive for public policy and president of Duke Nuclear in April. Shaw, who also is president and CEO of Duke Power Co., has been with Duke Energy Corp. since 1992. Before that, she was president of Central Piedmont Community College from 1986 to 1992. She will continue to serve as an executive adviser to Duke Energy CEO and President James Rogers. In anticipation of the separation of its gas and electric operations into two stand-alone companies, Duke Energy also announced the future executive leadership team for its electric business . Effective Jan. 1, 2007, Rogers is expected to become chairman of the board as well. As previously announced, David Hauser will continue in his role as group executive and chief financial officer. In addition: - Henry “Brew” Barron Jr., currently group vice president of nuclear generation and chief nuclear officer, will become group executive and chief nuclear officer. - Bryan Dolan will be managing director of nuclear...