Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Hottest Spring On Record Globally, Reports Japan Meteorological Agency

Posted: 21 Jun 2014 04:00 AM PDT
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported Monday that March-May was the hottest in more than 120 years of record-keeping. It was also the hottest May on record. This is especially noteworthy because we’re still waiting for the start of El NiƱo.read more
http://theenergycollective.com/josephromm/402756/hottest-spring-record-globally-reports-japan-meteorological-agency

My Comment: Not in the Northeast, USA

Much Talked About Myths about Renewable Energy

Posted: 21 Jun 2014 08:00 AM PDT
In the growing transitional world, we find ourselves hovering between a time dependent on fossil fuels and a future subjugated by renewable energy sources. Opinions vary on how dependable some of these renewable energy sources are but also how they’ll be able to sustain life post-fossil fuel era. read morehttp://theenergycollective.com/conormacguire/399536/much-talked-about-myths-about-renewable-energy

Slovakia to assist Kenya to adopt nuclear power


Slovakia to assist Kenya to adopt nuclear power


http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=225609

Feds: Indian Point may have ongoing tritium leak


Feds: Indian Point may have ongoing tritium leak

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/indian-point/2014/06/19/indian-point-tritium-leak-ongoing/10968169/

GE Wins French Support on Alstom With State Seeking 20%


GE Wins French Support on Alstom With State Seeking 20%

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-20/ge-wins-french-support-on-alstom-with-state-seeking-20-.html

Meet the 14-year-old boy trying to build a nuclear reactor in his shed in Mayo


Meet the 14-year-old boy trying to build a nuclear reactor in his shed in Mayo

No, seriously. And if it works, it could be a whole new way of generating power.

http://www.thejournal.ie/tom-mccarthy-nuclear-reactor-1528193-Jun2014/

Nuclear Regulator to Leave Federal Agency

Nuclear Regulator to Leave Federal Agency

White House Decides Not to Renominate Apostolakis as an NRC Commissioner


http://online.wsj.com/articles/nuclear-regulator-to-leave-federal-agency-1403299495

Editor's Note

Editor's Note

I am headed out to the Breakthrough Institute 2014 Dialogue High Energy Planet Conference
in San Francisco and a few days of visiting old haunts. Posting will be dependent on internet
wireless availability and available free time. So this next week's posting will likely be slim.
Will return in a few days.
Best regards
Michele Kearney

Fukushima’s Ongoing Fallout

A Unprecedented Radiation Disaster

Fukushima’s Ongoing Fallout

by JOHN LaFORGE
US papers don’t often report on the radiation disaster continuing at Fukushima-Daiichi in Northeast Japan.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/06/20/fukushimas-ongoing-fallout/

Friday, June 20, 2014

Energy | 6/18/2014 @ 12:52PM |3,136 views The Unasked Climate Question: How To Replace 86% Of The World's Energy Mix?

Energy
|
6/18/2014 @ 12:52PM |3,136 views

The Unasked Climate Question: How To Replace 86% Of The World's Energy Mix?


http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidblackmon/2014/06/18/the-unasked-climate-question-how-to-replace-86-of-the-worlds-energy-mix/

25 Shocking Facts About The Earth’s Dwindling Water Resources

25 Shocking Facts About The Earth’s Dwindling Water Resources


http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/25-shocking-facts-about-the-earths-dwindling-water-resources

The New Environmentalism Will Lead Us to Disaster

The New Environmentalism Will Lead Us to Disaster

So-called ecopragmatists say we can have a “good Anthropocene.” They’re dead wrong

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-new-environmentalism-will-lead-us-to-disaster/

China seriously looking at supercritical water cooled reactors - they could be low cost enough to get China to stop building new coal starting in 2025


http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/06/china-seriously-looking-at.html

120 tons of iron sulphate of fertilization into the ocean boosted fish catch by over 100,000 tons - We get a lot of fish and solve the CO2 climate problem


Fukushima Daiichi Accident Reports

Fukushima Daiichi Accident Reports

There are a number of reports on the Fukushima Daiichi accident which have been prepared by either industrial or regulatory bodies. This page will collect links to these reports as they become available, in no particular order.
http://atomicpowerreview.blogspot.com/p/fukushima-daiichi-accident-reports.html

Nuclear power The re-emergence of William Miller


Nuclear power

The re-emergence of William Miller
http://www.columbiatribune.com/opinion/the_tribunes_view/nuclear-power/article_52aed008-f708-11e3-9b19-10604b9f6eda.html

U.N. Agency, Kazakhstan Seen Close to Deal on Nuclear Fuel Bank

U.N. Agency, Kazakhstan Seen Close to Deal on Nuclear Fuel Bank


http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/un-agency-kazakhstan-close-deal-nuclear-fuel-bank/

IAEA briefing, meeting to offer insights into nuclear fuel cycle

IAEA briefing, meeting to offer insights into nuclear fuel cycle


http://nuclearstreet.com/pro_nuclear_power_blogs/b/iaea-alert-log-nuclear-communications/archive/2014/06/19/iaea-briefing-meeting-to-offer-insights-into-nuclear-fuel-cycle.aspx

Thorium: Energy Savior or Red Herring?


Thorium: Energy Savior or Red Herring?


http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Thorium-Energy-Savior-or-Red-Herring.html

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Weekly Review


Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Weekly Review

http://nuclearstreet.com/nuclear_power_industry_news/b/nuclear_power_news/archive/2014/06/20/fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-plant-weekly-review-062002.aspx#.U6S9RBlXBDQ

VIDEO: Transporting and Storing Used Nuclear Fuel


VIDEO: Transporting and Storing Used Nuclear Fuel

http://nuclearstreet.com/pro_nuclear_power_blogs/b/areva_blog_-_north_america/archive/2014/06/20/video-transporting-and-storing-used-nuclear-fuel.aspx#.U6SxYxlXBDQ

TEPCO: Fukushima Daiichi ice wall progressing; standing water wont freeze


TEPCO: Fukushima Daiichi ice wall progressing; standing water wont freeze

http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2014/06/tepco-fukushima-daiichi-ice-wall-progressing-standing-water-wont-freeze.html

Power Plant Regulations

Power Plant Regulations

Witnesses testified at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed carbon emissions regulations for existing power plants.

http://www.c-span.org/video/?320057-1/epa-power-plant-regulations

Feds: Indian Point may have ongoing tritium leak

Feds: Indian Point may have ongoing tritium leak


http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/indian-point/2014/06/19/indian-point-tritium-leak-ongoing/10968169/

China Starts Construction of HTR Demonstration Plant

China Starts Construction of HTR Demonstration Plant


http://www.powermag.com/china-starts-construction-of-htr-demonstration-plant/

No New Transmission Lines for Vermont! Vermont Government Reacts to Vermont Yankee Closing.

No New Transmission Lines for Vermont! Vermont Government Reacts to Vermont Yankee Closing.


Elon Musk – An African Immigrant Changes The World

Elon Musk – An African Immigrant Changes The World
Elon Musk knows that the only way to make a dent in carbon emissions in his lifetime is to supercharge the adoption of new technologies like electric cars and solar. And to give up a little bit of profit in favor of saving the planet. It could also make him another billion.


UPDATE 5-India nuke enrichment plant expansion operational in 2015 -IHS

UPDATE 5-India nuke enrichment plant expansion operational in 2015 -IHS


http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/06/20/india-nuclear-idINL4N0P11HQ20140620

Numbers Don’t Lie | National Review Online

Numbers Don’t Lie | National Review Online

Facing the Risk in Fossil Fueled Electricity

Posted: 20 Jun 2014 06:00 AM PDT
I recently wrote about how our risk tolerance affects our estimation of the social cost of carbon, but obviously that’s not the only place that risk shows up in our energy systems. Fossil fuel based electricity is also exposed to a much more prosaic kind of risk: the possibility that fuel prices will increase over time.read morehttp://theenergycollective.com/zaneselvans/403001/facing-risk-fossil-fueled-electricity

The State of Cleantech Entrepreneurship in 2014

Posted: 20 Jun 2014 07:00 AM PDT
I put "sector" in quotation when talking about the cleantech sector because we all know that this is really a collection of a wide variety of markets and applications gathered under a consistent investment thesis. Cleantech isn't a sector; it's a lens for finding big opportunities across sectors.read morehttp://theenergycollective.com/rob-day/402851/state-cleantech-entrepreneurship-2014

Massachusetts to utilities: Thou shalt modernize (for at least 10 years straight)

Massachusetts to utilities: Thou shalt modernize (for at least 10 years straight)

By Smart Grid News
Wincono Wind Farm In Larnaca Cyprus
Quick Take:  Do you remember the days when state policymakers considered grid modernization with suspicion? Many of them thought it was a ploy by utilities to get approval to spend more money on unproven technology while shunting the risk onto ratepayers. These days, states are not just allowing modernization, they are demanding it. For instance, read

Energy Quote of the Day: ‘Utilities are Most Valuable When they Stay Invisible’

Energy Quote of the Day: ‘Utilities are Most Valuable When they Stay Invisible’

By Roman Kilisek
Iguacu Falls A Finalist In New Seven Wonders Of Nature Contest
On the last day of this year’s 37th IAEE International Conference in New York a distinguished panel of experts, among them Ralph Izzo (Chairman and CEO of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (PSEG)), Jigar Shah (Founder of SunEdison) and David Newbery (Director of Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG), University of Cambridge) discussed the profound challenges

ARPA-E Announces 13 New Projects at New York Energy Week

ARPA-E Announces 13 New Projects at New York Energy Week

By U.S. Department of Energy
Debate Continues into Future of UK Energy Generation
Agency’s $33 Million “REBELS” Program to Develop Innovative Technologies for Distributed Generation New York, NY – Today at New York Energy Week, ARPA-E Acting Director Dr. Cheryl Martin announced $33 million in funding for 13 new projects aimed at developing transformational fuel cell technologies for low-cost distributed power generation. The projects, which are funded through

PennEnergy's Top Oil & Gas News 6/20

Top Oil & Gas News
North Dakota pumps 1 million barrels of oil a day
North Dakota has joined the ranks of the few places in the world that produce more than a million barrels of oil per day, due in large part to the rich Bakken shale formation in the western part of the state.
Full Article

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend
PennEnergy Video News Update
From an oil refinery caught amid Iraqi fighting, to an explosion along a Ukraine pipeline, to the latest numbers on US crude exports, all of the week's biggest headlines are in the PennEnergy Video News Update.
Full Article

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend
This Week's Most Popular Oil & Gas News
Iraq fights militants around oil refinery
Blast hits Ukraine pipeline, terrorism suspected
U.S. crude oil exports up in April
Mosman discovers oil at Cross Roads-1 well in New Zealand
Russia: new gas pipeline will go ahead despite setback
IES: Unconventional oil revolution to spread beyond North America by end of decade
Canada OKs oil pipeline to the Pacific Coast
Chevron announces sale of interests in Chad and Cameroon
API and labor urge full Senate vote on Keystone XL oil pipeline
Williams agrees to acquire interest in Access Midstream Partners
Noble Energy announces deepwater Gulf of Mexico acreage addition
Evolution provides solutions in the Taranaki Basin
Canyon Midstream announces new gathering and processing agreement
Gazprom and Petrovietnam address entry into Vietnamese petroleum products market
Energy Insights
Governing Energy: Price of Failure
A recent blog celebrated the management guru truism that organizations learn from failure and that individuals should be provided an environment where failure is acceptable and part of the learning organization process. This author might take exception to that management “rule.”
Full Article

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend
Smart Griddler: New EPA Regulations Could Make a Super Hero Out of the Smart Grid
Smart Grid Technologies May be the Key to Meeting EPA CO2 Emissions Targets Without Spending a King’s Ransom on Clean Coal Systems and New Gas-Fired Assets
Full Article

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend

Power Engineering's Top Stories 6/20

Top Stories
GE makes revised offer for France's Alstom
GE on Thursday submitted a revised offer to buy the power generation business of France's Alstom SA that the American company hopes will be enough to win approval from the French government and see off a rival bid by Germany's Siemens AG.
Read More

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend
Exelon & Pepco file merger requests with state and DC regulators
Exelon Corp.and Pepco Holdings filed applications for approval of their proposed $6.83 billion merger.
Read More

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend
New coal ash bill introduced in North Carolina
North Carolina Sen. Tom Apodaca and Senate Leader Phil Berger proposed a new bill on Monday in front of the Senate committee that would prevent wet coal ash from leaking toxins into groundwater or nearby rivers.
Read More

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend
Groups urge NRC regulator to resign, allege conflict of interest
Commissioner William Magwood with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is being urged by 34 groups to immediately resign.
Read More

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend

The Week's Most Read Articles
Video: Siemens, MHI offer $12.2bn for Alstom assets
Germany’s Siemens (NYSE: SI) and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries publicly announced a joint offer that includes a cash element of 9 billion euros ($12.2 billion) to purchase France-based Alstom’s assets.
Read More

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend
Video: Tradinghouse Power Plant demolishes second boiler
The second boiler of the Tradinghouse Power Plant, located in McLennan County, Texas was demolished on Tuesday morning.
Read More

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend
Coal-fired power plant fire caused by human error
An initial investigation says the cause of a fire at a coal-fired power plant in Colorado was accidental and caused by human error.
Read More

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend
Coal-fired power plant approved to refuel with natural gas
The New York Public Service Commission approved a repowering project at the Dunkirk coal-fired power plant.
Read More

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend
TVA exploring distributed generation
The surge in distributed generation has prompted the Tennessee Valley Authority, a major utility producing power from large central power stations, to study the value of generation from small power producers using solar panels, micro wind turbines and small gas turbines.
Read More

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend
More Headlines
CB&I to design, build combined-cycle natural gas-fired power plant
Black & Veatch to build combined-cycle power project in Oklahoma
Duke Energy releases results for coal ash pipe inspections
Rolls-Royce signs MOU with Chinese nuclear reactor vendor
Energy Solutions sues NDA over nuclear power plant cleanup deal
AMEC to consult ENEC on new nuclear builds
SolarCity, an installer, to buy panel-maker Silevo
Public to comment on San Onofre nuclear shutdown cost settlement
Canada’s first national nuclear emergency management standards released
Nuclear power industry explores accident-resistant fuel
Adroit Solar Energy & Engineering to install on-site, solar hot water system in San Diego
California Boiler names new president
Wind power project at nuclear fuel fabrication plant dedicated in Texas
SunEdison acquires 50% interest in Silver Ridge Power, solar power projects
Salt River Project to buy additional geothermal power capacity in California
Caterpillar adds two diesel power modules for IPP providers
EDF Renewable Energy’s Lepomis Solar Project reaches commercial operation
Sequoyah nuclear reactor back online
More ocean off Massachusetts open for wind energy
TEPCO faces ice wall issue at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant
Operator says no active faults under nuclear power plant
Michigan Governor signs coal ash use bill
Industry Trends
Henry Hub Average Natural Gas Spot Prices
The Henry Hub is the pricing point for natural gas futures contracts. Here's a look at how prices have changed up to June 4, 2014.
Read More

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Economic Indicators
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas offers a glimpse into how the markets are doing domestically and internationally.
Read More

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend
EIA’s weekly coal production report
The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released its coal production report for the week ending June 14.
Read More

Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend


Decommissioning: The Risks, Benefits and Liabilities
If your company is planning to retire a coal-fired power plant, you’ll need more information about decommissioning, decontamination and demolition. What are the risks, benefits and long-term liabilities? This free webcast will feature a comprehensive discussion about the cost of decommissioning, the liabilities, the remediation and the opportunities for repurposing old sites.
Read More