Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes

The utility has 15 GWE of coal-fired power plants The Tennessee Valley Authority ( TVA ) should early next year detect on its political radar the rising star of carbon taxes and cap-and-trade legislation in the U.S. Congress.  According to the Congressional Budget Office ( CBO ), a carbon tax price of $45/ton for CO2 should pave the way for fuel switching from fossil to nuclear.  Utilities...

Investors say the price and terms were not acceptable The board of Electricite de France has seen its 12 billion (pounds)($23.8 billion) offer for British Energy Group rejected by that firm's primary shareholders. The Financial Times reported that the bid was turned back because the shareholders said that it was too low and the terms were too complicated. British Energy rejected EDF's cash...

Rod Adams Atomic Podcast has an online discussion about small reactors Atomic Show #101 - Small nuclear power plants  round table with Dan Yurman, Charles Barton, Kirk Sorensen (MP3 - 26.2 MB - 02:15:53 M)  Click here to listen Rod writes in the introduction to the podcast . . . Show 101 is a bit longer than normal, but I think you will want to listen carefully to every word. I invited some...

Two issues must be addressed, and four more will affect its future The future of the Indian Point nuclear power station has been rocking on waves of public discontent like a rubber duck in a nor'easter gale . The lastest in a series of fronts that have moved through the region is that the Indian Point Independent Safety Evaluation Panel  ( bios ), which was chartered by the plant's operator...

An ancient nation is pouring on the coal to use nuclear energy in the 21st century Flash - IAEA votes for India nuclear deal The Financial Times of London reports that India in in a speed run to get U.S. congressional approval of its nuclear technology exchange deal and open access to buying uranium on the world market for its shuttered reactors.  The Indian public relations train has some steep...

NRC tries to cover a lot of ground by combining environmental issues for in-situ recovery The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's work on a " generic " environmental study, which will be used in licensing reviews of in-situ leach (ISL) mining operations, probably comes too late for the folks at Powertech ( TSE:PWE ), a Canadian firm planning to permit an ISL mine near Nunn, Colo, about 15...

It specifies a 1,600 MW Areva EPR to be online by 2018-2020 The St. Louis Business Journal reports that Ameren ( NYSE:AEE ) has submitted a construction and operating license (COL) application with the NRC for a new nuclear power plant in Callaway County, Mo. The Journal reports the 8,000-page application seeks approvals from the NRC to build an Areva EPR, a 1,600 MW unit, next to AmerenUE's existing...

Chairman Dale Klein speech says they're part of the "nuclear renaissance."  He has some advice for how to deal with their licensing issues. The drumbeat about a global nuclear renaissance drives  is giving some people a headache and that includes NRC chairman Dale Klein who complained about it at a conference by the same name in Alexandria, VA, last week.  While NRC's...

The reality is new nuclear R&D is not cheap or easy The U.K. announced this week that it will charter and fund a new national nuclear laboratory (NNL) at a cost of L$2 billion ($4 billion US at current rates).  In the U.S. the Department of Energy worried out loud how it will "re-establish a nuclear R&D complex without the budget to support it."  The stark contrast between...

Conventional light water units of just 45 MW could go online by 2015 There's a fair amount of excitement over an article published in the July 15 issue of Popular Mechanics about a 45 MW light-water reactor.  It describes a plant design that is just 65 feet long with a reactor unit as tall as two NBA basketball players, about 14 feet high.  The steel reactor vessel is reportedly just...

EnergySolutions Foundation grant will help faculty, student, recruitment The Salt Lake City Tribune reports that one of Utah's  biggest employers has given a $1.5 million gift to the University of Utah to expand course offerings in nuclear engineering . The university will use the money to recruit nuclear engineering faculty to teach classes and conduct  research there.  The grant...

Mining uranium exploration press releases for useful stuff This column is an edited version of an article published in Fuel Cycle Week July 23, 2007, V7N288, by International Nuclear Associates, Inc., Washington, DC. (An occasional column on money and mining news items) The rise of nuclear energy, a second act if ever there was one, has given uranium a shot in the arm in western states in the U.S....

A reference to eagles fishing the Snake River should please everyone The Idaho Business Review (IBR) reports that the new Areva uranium enrichment plant to be built 18 miles west of Idaho Falls has a name.  The $2 billion facility will be called the Eagle Rock Uranium Enrichment Facility. Eagle Rock was the original name of Idaho Falls in the 19th century after the great birds of prey who hunted...

It is one of four locations being considered for a 3,000 MWe plant, but questions about costs and credibility remain unanswered The Salt Lake City Tribune reports that advocates for a nuclear energy power plant in Utah have indicated a "strong candidate" is an industrial park in the Green River, UT , area near the intersection of Route 6 and Interstate 70. Aaron Tilton , the head of a business...

Will the label "terrestrial energy" stick? In an OP ED in the Wall Street Journal for July 21, noted environmental writer William Tucker advocates that nuclear power be called "terrestrial energy." He points out that the heat engine at the core of the planet is fueled by the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium elements deep below the surface. He has a lot of insightful thoughts...