Posted: 25 May 2012 05:18 PM PDT
This
has indeed been an interesting week for those who follow the news in
nuclear energy. Here is a brief recap from my perspective.
NRC
CHAIRMAN Gregory Jaczko announced this week that he would be resigning
his post -- but only after a replacement was found. This announcement
led to widespread glee in Republican-oriented quarters, widespread
congratulation for "a job well done" in Democrat quarters, and in many
minds an air of suspicion. The suspicion was that there might be
something in the upcoming Inspector General's report that would force
Jaczko to resign; indeed, there are further (unanswered) letters from
the House Oversight Committee (in front of which the whole Commission
testified not too long ago) about apparent untruths in Chairman Jaczko's
testimony. Jaczko himself denies any such connection, instead
indicating that it's time to move on, although that time will only come
when a replacement is approved.
After only a very short time was
allowed for speculation, the White House announced that its nominee
would be one Dr. Allison MacFarlane. I don't think we need to speculate
too much on what MacFarlane brings to the table; Rod Adams interviewed
her for the Atomic Podcast radio show (I've been on this show twice,
folks!) and has kindly provided me with a link.
Click here to hear Rod Adams' interview of Dr. MacFarlane from a few years back.
We'll
have to wait and see what happens in the confirmation process - but
with Commissioner Svinicki up for reappointment, there's bound to be
some tradeoff. (I happen to agree with one of the posters at Rod's
podcast page - the White House should have picked
Dr. Gail Marcus. But what do I know?)
Click here for the earlier APR post on Jaczko's resignation; includes some interesting press releases.
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U.S. President Barack Obama urged Congress to extend the tax benefits
key to the nation's wind power sector.
Speaking Thursday in Newton, Iowa, from a manufacturing facility for
TPI Composites, a global provider of wind turbine blades, Obama said:
"If Congress doesn't act, companies like this one will take a hit. Jobs
will be lost. That's not a guess. That's a fact."
Japan may look to generating 15 percent of its electricity needs from
nuclear power, a minister said Friday, as the country seeks to rebalance
its energy supply after the Fukushima disaster.
A government panel studying future energy policy has presented several
options, from one that sees a nuclear free future by 2030 to one that
seeks to increase dependence on the technology to 35 percent b
