Senators have sought GAO investigation of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor research program, in view of the constrained budget environment that could cut funding for U.S. fusion energy programs. On May 3, 2013, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) wrote to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) seeking information… Keep reading →
A Senate bill proposes a new federal agency to oversee nuclear waste management, and permits an interim storage facility until selection of a permanent repository. On April 25, 2013, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chairman of Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, along with Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) released a… Keep reading →
Welcome to Breaking Energy! Here you’ll find the same resources and content, in both subject matter and quality, that were previously available at AOL Energy. Beyond news and analysis, that includes documents, information about events, and coming soon, a feature providing clear, easy-to-understand explanations of terminology that might be new or unfamiliar to some… Keep reading →
Today is the 27th anniversary of the infamous Chernobyl nuclear plant meltdown that occurred in the former Soviet republic Ukraine and humanitarian organization Green Cross International recently released the results of a study on the terrible accident’s long-term psychosocial consequences.
With any massive radiation release cancer is always a concern, but there are many other ways an event such as Chernobyl can affect local populations and the study has found roughly 10 million people suffer from permanent mental stress disorder, post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety and stigma. Keep reading →
The US federal government has set aside more than a quarter of a billion dollars to fund the demonstration of a small modular (SMR) nuclear reactor in the US, with potential total funding rising to close to half a billion dollars. With smaller-scale nuclear technology widely discussed as the future of the troubled sector, a whos-who of companies are expected to participate in the project and apply for the funds.
Westinghouse Electric Company, based in Pittsburgh but part of Japan’s Toshiba, has submitted a letter of intent saying it will compete for the SMR nuclear deployment acceleration grant. The company is showcasing a 225 MW-equivalent integral pressurized water reactor that leverages technology from its already-licensed AP1000 nuclear power plant design. Keep reading →
htt
For most people springtime means flowers, cleaning and putting away winter coats. For people in the energy business, warming weather means they can stop managing for the heating season and brace for the really big stage in the US power sector: cooling season.
With natural gas prices failing to settle lower despite the beginning of what are called the shoulder months in the energy business, when demand for temperature control and other power-sucking activity slips, many are entering the spring months with a renewed sense of uncertainty about their commitment to the fuel. Even a bearish storage report couldn’t weigh down natural gas prices earlier this week, and although prices are nowhere near historical highs the sector has become so accustomed to cheap gas every penny higher makes for a pause given the US large scale “dash to gas” in recent years. Keep reading →
As a scientist with one eye squarely on the environment and the other on people, I’m proud that, for the last six years, I’ve helped to lead the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition and its diverse array of members to help the public make decisions about nuclear energy and America’s energy future based on facts.
As I step down as co-chair of CASEnergy Coalition following a busy, fulfilling six years, I feel fortunate that, along with my co-chair and friend Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, we’ve made a lot of progress Keep reading →
The head of the agency responsible for the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile said on Friday that he will leave his post in January, Reuters reported, six months after three elderly peace activists broke into the government’s maximum-security facility for weapons-grade uranium. The departure of Thomas D’Agostino, the administrator at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), has nothing to do with the security breach, an NNSA official said. D’Agostino, who worked for the government for more than 36 years and had been head of the NNSA for more than five years, had been asked to stay in the job but declined, the official said.
The ‘economies of scale’ approach the nuclear industry pursued for decades is getting turned on its ear as small modular reactors are poised represent the next generation of nuclear power.
Most of today’s existing nuclear plants consist of large reactors that generate thousands of megawatts, but an onerous licensing process, difficulties financing multi-billion dollar construction projects and unresolved waste issues have led the industry in a different direction. Keep reading →
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during debates at the Bundestag over the 2013 federal budget on November 21, 2012 in Berlin, Germany.
As the temperatures begin to dip below freezing in Europe, an unsightly conflict is heating up between clean-energy champion Germany and its pro-nuclear neighbors in Poland and the Czech Republic. Keep reading →
Jared Anderson
Conway Irwin
Peter Gardett