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Nuclear energy central to climate debate
There are 104 power reactors in 31 states, providing one-fifth of the U.S. electricity; they are also producing 70 percent of essentially carbon-free power and are devoid of greenhouse gas emissions; a study by the industry-supported Electric Power Research Institute says 45 new reactors are needed by 2030; the Energy Information Administration puts the number at 70; an analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assumes 180 new reactors by 2050 for an 80 percent decline in greenhouse gas emissions
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R. Brooks's robots are called upon to inspect pipes at nuclear power plants
The growing interest in nuclear power is good news for Brooks, a maker of remotely operated robotic inspection devices for pipes, especially in nuclear power plants; all power plants have intricate systems of pipes and systems whose internal condition is impossible to inspect by human eyes
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Oil production to peak before 2030
New reports says that oil will become increasingly expensive and harder to find, extract, and produce; significant new discoveries, such as the one announced recently in the Gulf of Mexico, are only expected to delay the peak by a matter of days and weeks; to maintain global oil production at today’s level will require the equivalent of a new Saudi Arabia every three years
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U.S. military jets, vehicles to run on biofuels and animal-corpse grease
Honeywell says the U.S. Air Force will buy 400,000 gallons of algae/weeds/corpse-fat jet fuel, and the U.S. Navy will take 190,000 gallons
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California faces major decision on dams
California already has upward of 1,000 dams that provide water supply, flood control, and hydropower, but California growing water shortages; last month Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger insisted he would not sign off on any major overhaul of the water system without money for new dams and reservoirs
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Rolls-Royce, EDF to construct four nuclear reactors in U.K.
The civil nuclear market is worth around £30 billion a year globally and is expected to grow to £50 billion a year in fifteen years’ time, more than 70 percent of which will relate to the build and support of new facilities
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More efficient nuclear fuel sought
DoE funds research to address the shortcomings of uranium dioxide — the fuel most commonly used to generate nuclear energy
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Home power plants project unveiled in Germany
Two German companies unveil plans for installing gas-fired power plants in people’s basements; in the coming year the program will install 100,000 of the mini plants, producing among them 2,000 megawatts of electricity, the same as two nuclear plants
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U.K. assessing two nuclear reactors designs
The United Kingdom wants to build more nuclear reactors, and the government is assessing two different reactor types — the U.K.-EPR designed by Areva and EDF, and the AP1000 designed by Westinghouse — for their suitability to meet U.K. regulatory standards
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Growing investments in smart grid
Investment is seen shifting from capital-intensive energy generating technologies, such as solar and wind, to those associated with energy storage, transportation and efficiency
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U.S. halts uranium mining at Grand Canyon
The Interior Department has barred the filing of new mining claims, including for uranium, on 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon
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Questions raised about cost of, need for new electricity grid
A new national grid system for the United States would involve stringing 19,000 miles of high-voltage lines at a cost of$60 billion; some experts say this is too expensive — and unnecessary
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Experts: local and regional approach better for addressing radioactive waste
The Obama administration has stopped funding for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, so experts say it is now time for a regional and local approach to solving the nuclear waste problem
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More modest version of nuclear fusion power project to start
Nuclear fusion reactor to built in southern France by an international consortium; operation will begin in 2018
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ITER fusion project will start with hydrogen
The ITER experiments will start in 2018 — but will be literally lighter, using hydrogen rather than heavier tritium and deuterium; the tritium and deuterium experiments will have to wait until 2026
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The long view
Trump Is Fast-Tracking New Coal Mines — Even When They Don’t Make Economic Sense
In Appalachian Tennessee, mines shut down and couldn’t pay their debts. Now a new one is opening under the guise of an “energy emergency.”
Smaller Nuclear Reactors Spark Renewed Interest in a Once-Shunned Energy Source
In the past two years, half the states have taken action to promote nuclear power, from creating nuclear task forces to integrating nuclear into long-term energy plans.