The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station never threatened public health and safety. Unit 2 could have been restarted as soon as its scheduled outage was completed in February 2012. Unit 3 could have been restarted by mid-March 2012. The total cost of the repairs, including purchased replacement power, should have been less than $50 million and been covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

Press release from Energy Northwest

The 163rd Carnival of Nuclear Bloggers has been posted at "The Hiroshima Syndrome."  Click here to read this latest edition of a long-running standard.

GoogleTalks recently conducted a highly informative and entertaining interview session featuring Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, director Robert Stone, and the cast of the film Pandora's Promise:  Stewart Brand, Gwyneth Cravens, Michael Schellenberger, and Mark Lynas.

Nuclear Power - Teaming for the Future

Many honors and awards were presented at the 2013 American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting opening plenary session. Congratulations to four new ANS Fellows and several new honors and awards recipients, and thank you for your contributions to nuclear science and technology. Photos and citations:

With this first Global Power Shift convention, the Climate Movement has mastered the logistical, organizational, and political skills developed in the various local movements to bring together climate activists in an important global forum. Please accept my congratulations on this special occasion. It is also a time for reflection on how far the Climate Movement has come as well as the paths forward.

The 162nd edition of the Carnival of Nuclear Bloggers is up at Atomic Power Review.  You can click here to access this latest event.

Presenting a new nuclear energy TV commercial - unveiled at the 2013 American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting this week!

Yesterday, a panel of three terrific communicators shared their insights and best practices at the American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting in Atlanta. I was privileged to be the moderator for the Communicating for New Nuclear Facilities session. Their unanimous advice:

Coolant pump, primary loop, Clinch River Breeder Reactor project, 1981

Today's session entitled "Supply Chain and Procurement Issues" was another great feature of the American Nuclear Society's 2013 Annual Meeting. The panel was sponsored by the ANS Operations and Power Division, and featured five speakers describing their views of the most pressing issues in the area of parts procurement for existing and new build nuclear plants to an engaged and very interested audience.

by Will Davis

The President's Reception is an auspicious and delightful event that occurs on the eve of the Opening Plenary at the American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting. The reception provides an opportunity for meeting-goers to interact (mingle) with ANS elected leaders, catch up with long-time colleagues, and meet new ones. A few select photos from the 2013 ANS Annual Meeting President's Reception:

The Opening Plenary at the 2013 ANS Annual Meeting is now underway-and it's amazing how much goes on before the "Opening". Already on Saturday morning a Teachers Workshop was in progress, and Saturday evening the Global Leadership Reception was in full swing. A few select photos:

This 161st edition of the Carnival of Nuclear Energy, presented at the ANS Nuclear Cafe, comes to you posted from the 2013 ANS Annual Meeting at the Hyatt Regency, Atlanta, Georgia.  Everyone here is excited and energized about this year's meeting, and we're proud to host the Carnival in its midst!

How often do you get the chance to go see an acclaimed nuclear energy documentary at your local theater? We're talking real movie theater popcorn here, folks, not that microwave kind.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

The governor of Vermont last year established the "Energy Generation Siting Policy Commission" after citizens protested  a proposed wind farm (meanwhile, the legislature proposed a wind farm moratorium bill). The main purpose of the governor's initiative was to evaluate how much local input should be required in energy siting decisions.

As I discussed last fall, a federal appeals court ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to perform more thorough evaluations in support of its new Waste Confidence Rule, particularly with respect to the potential impacts of long-term storage of spent fuel at plant sites. While those evaluations are being performed, the NRC has suspended all new plant licensing and plant license renewals.