FAS Roundup: July 28: Advanced Nuclear Reactors Briefing

Advanced nuclear reactors, U.S. sanctions on Russia and more. Image courtesy of Shutterstock. Having trouble reading this email? View it on the web.

FAS Roundup: July 28, 2014 Advanced nuclear reactors, U.S. sanctions on Russia and more.

From the Blogs A Look Behind President Clinton's Veto of an Anti-Leak Bill: In 2000, both houses of Congress passed legislation that would have made any leak of classified information a felony. The provision, contained in the FY2001 intelligence authorization act, was designed “to ensure the prosecution of all unauthorized disclosures of classified information” said Sen. Richard Shelby, the primary sponsor of the provision, at the time. While some unauthorized disclosures of classified information were already prohibited by statute (including the Espionage Act), others have not been specifically outlawed, or else their legal status is uncertain, requiring strenuous efforts by prosecutors to fit a prohibition to the presumed offense. The Shelby provision would have removed all ambiguities and would have simply criminalized all leaks of classified information. But to the astonishment of nearly everyone, and to the relief of many, President Clinton vetoed the 2001 intelligence authorization bill because of the anti-leak measure. U.S. Sanctions on Russia and More from CRS: Secrecy News has obtained recently released CRS reports on topics such as U.S. sanctions on Russia in response to events in Ukraine, use of force in Iraq and the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act.

Advanced Nuclear Reactors Briefing On July 24, FAS and the American Nuclear Society hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill that addressed the safety, science and technology of advanced nuclear reactors. Panelists included Dr. Peter Lyons, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy and Dr. George Apostolakis, former NRC Commissioner. Presentation slides and briefing materials can be found below or on the event page.  Materials: Presentation Slides: Past, Present and Future of Nuclear Power in U.S., Dr. Peter B. Lyons, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Department of Energy Fast Reactor Technology: A Path to Long-Term Energy Sustainability, American Nuclear Society Enabling a Sustainable Nuclear Energy Future, Argonne National Laboratory PROTEUS: Simulation Toolset for Reactor Physics and Fuel Cycle Analysis, Argonne National Laboratory SHARP: Reactor Performance and Safety Simulation Suite, Argonne National Laboratory Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL), U.S. Department of Energy A Look Inside America’s Source of Energy and Security Solutions, Idaho National Laboratory Solving Big Problems: Science and Technology at Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

FAS in the News Jul 21: Global Security Newswire, "Senate Bill Mandates Study Of Nuclear-Arms Storage Sites" Jul 21: NBC News, "MH17: Why Com

PennEnergy's Power Energy News & Insights 7/28

Energy News & Insights NTE Energy secures investment for three gas-fired power plants NTE Energy secures investment for three natural gas-fired generation projects totaling up to 1,470 megawatts and valued at over $1.1 billion. …more>> Study says nuclear power industry must think about unthinkable disasters New report from the National Academy of Sciences says key lesson of Fukushima is the nuclear industry must focus more on the highly unlikely but worst case scenarios. …more>> Regulators OK Emera investment in First Wind Maine utility regulators have approved a deal that gave Canadian utility Emera a stake in First Wind, the state's largest wind developer. …more>> ReneSola sells 200 MW of solar power projects in Bulgaria, Romania ReneSola said it will sell two utility-scale solar projects in Bulgaria and other parks in Romania to Hong Kong-based China Seven Star Holdings Limited. …more>> Chromalox introduces DirectConnect medium voltage electric heating systems New Chromalox DirectConnect systems provide significant installation savings and lower the cost of ownership for multi-megawatt electric process heating systems. …more>> Yingli to supply 32 MW of solar modules to large scale project in Japan Yingli Japan to supply 32 MW of multicrystalline PV modules to a large-scale project located in Okayama, Japan. …more>> Alstom to enhance reliability of FirstEnergy’s transmission system Alstom wins contract worth approximately $30 million to supply a Static VAr Compensator system to FirstEnergy, enhancing reliability of the transmission network. …more>> Siemens D6 direct-drive wind turbine obtains type certification by DNV GL The maturity of the SWT-6.0-154 turbine design, its manufacturing, installation and commissioning processes and related documentation are now certified by DNV GL. …more>> Four community wind projects underway in Nova Scotia Construction has begun on four community feed-in-tariff wind power projects in Nova Scotia. …more>>

Global warming 'pause' since 1998 reflects natural fluctuation, study concludes

Global warming 'pause' since 1998 reflects natural fluctuation, study concludes

Statistical analysis of average global temperatures between 1998 and 2013 shows that the slowdown in global warming during this period is consistent with natural variations in temperature, according to research by McGill University physics professor Shaun Lovejoy.http://phys.org/news/2014-07-global-natural-fluctuation.html#nwlt

'Shocking' underground water loss in US drought

'Shocking' underground water loss in US drought

A major drought across the western United States has sapped underground water resources, posing a greater threat to the water supply than previously understood, scientists said Thursday.http://phys.org/news/2014-07-underground-loss-drought.html#nwlt

Synchronization of North Atlantic, North Pacific preceded abrupt warming, end of ice age

http://phys.org/news/2014-07-synchronization-north-atlantic-pacific-abrupt.html#nwlt

Earth survived near-miss from 2012 solar storm: NASA

Earth survived near-miss from 2012 solar storm: NASA

Back in 2012, the Sun erupted with a powerful solar storm that just missed the Earth but was big enough to "knock modern civilization back to the 18th century," NASA said.http://phys.org/news/2014-07-earth-survived-near-miss-solar-storm.html#nwlt

Suddenly, the sun is eerily quiet: Where did the sunspots go?

Suddenly, the sun is eerily quiet: Where did the sunspots go?

The sun has gone quiet. Almost too quiet. A few weeks ago it was teeming with sunspots, as you would expect since we are supposed to be in the middle of solar maximum-the time in the sun's 11-year cycle when it is the most active.http://phys.org/news/2014-07-suddenly-sun-eerily-quiet-sunspots.html#nwlt

Corruption Of Academic Journals For Profit and Climate Change Propaganda

Corruption Of Academic Journals For Profit and Climate Change Propaganda - See more at: http://drtimball.com/2014/corruption-of-academic-journals-for-profit-and-climate-change-propaganda/#sthash.xhfM48hQ.dpuf

 Corruption Of Academic Journals For Profit and Climate Change Propaganda
http://drtimball.com/2014/corruption-of-academic-journals-for-profit-and-climate-change-propaganda/

The Corruption of Peer Review Is Harming Scientific Credibility

Dubious studies on the danger of hurricane names may be laughable. But bad science can cause bad policy

http://online.wsj.com/articles/hank-campbell-the-corruption-of-peer-review-is-harming-scientific-credibility-1405290747

2 Charts Show Why Wind Power Won't Solve the Carbon Problem

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/07/14/2-charts-show-why-wind-power-wont-solve-the-carbon.aspx

Development And Integration Of Renewable Energy: Lessons Learned From Germany

Development And Integration

Of Renewable Energy:

Lessons Learned From Germany

http://www.finadvice.ch/files/germany_lessonslearned_final_071014.pdf

Sun, wind and drain

Wind and solar power are even more expensive than is commonly thought

http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21608646-wind-and-solar-power-are-even-more-expensive-commonly-thought-sun-wind-and

Intermittent Renewables and Electricity Markets

http://theenergycollective.com/schalk-cloete/259876/intermittent-renewables-and-electricity-markets

Radiation and Reason The impact of science on a culture of fear

Wade Allison is a member of the international Scientists for Accurate Radiation Information (SARI) radiationeffects.org

New downloads

4 June 2014 NEW FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEW Why we should not fear radiation! 13 mins

http://www.radiationandreason.com/index.php

Why the CERES Study on Clean Energy is Fatally Flawed

Why the CERES Study on Clean Energy is Fatally Flawed

http://neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com/2014/07/why-the-ceres-study-clean-energy-is-fatally-flawed.html

Letter to American Nuclear Society on Linear No-Threshold Hypothesis

http://nuclearmatters.co.uk/2014/07/letter-to-american-nuclear-society-on-linear-no-threshold-hypothesis/

The Carbon Regulations: Not What They Seem to Be

The Carbon Regulations: Not What They Seem to Be

http://yesvy.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-carbon-regulations-not-what-they.html#.U9ZDmbGB_84

What Will the 21st Century Grid Look Like?

http://theenergycollective.com/nrdcswitchboard/440576/what-will-21st-century-grid-look

Nuclear Politics on the Korean Peninsula

Nuclear Politics on the Korean Peninsula

http://carnegieendowment.org/2014/07/28/nuclear-politics-on-korean-peninsula/hfjw

When Politics Constraints Carbon Pricing, Part 2: 6 Tips for Improving Climate Change Policy

http://theenergycollective.com/jessejenkins/442661/politics-and-climate-policy-part-2-how-improve-politically-constrained-carbon-pr

Aligning the Nuclear Energy Industry on Social Media

Aligning the Nuclear Energy Industry on Social Media

http://neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com/2014/07/aligning-nuclear-energy-industry-on_27.html

219th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers

The Hiroshima Syndrome’s Fukushima Commentary is proudly hosting the 219th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers. This week’s edition includes articles by Brian Wang, Dr. Jim Conca, Rod Adams, Eric McErlain, and Meredith Angwin, just to name a few. Blog topics for this edition include Russia’s next generation nukes, the nuclear/renewable mix, selfish motives behind the Linear/No Threshold assumption, nuclear plant reliability…and much more.

http://www.hiroshimasyndrome.com/fukushima-commentary.html

What Would Jesus Do in Gaza? The Tears of Pope Francis Point the Way - The Daily Beast

What Would Jesus Do in Gaza? The Tears of Pope Francis Point the Way - The Daily Beast

Wishful Thinking About Natural Gas

Wishful Thinking About Natural Gas
Why Fossil Fuels Can’t Solve the Problems Created by Fossil Fuels
By Naomi Oreskes
Albert Einstein is rumored to have said that one cannot solve a problem with the same thinking that led to it.  Yet this is precisely what we are now trying to do with climate change policy.  The Obama administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, many environmental groups, and the oil and gas industry all tell us that the way to solve the problem created by fossil fuels is with more fossils fuels.  We can do this, they claim, by using more natural gas, which is touted as a “clean” fuel -- even a “green” fuel.
Like most misleading arguments, this one starts from a kernel of truth.
Click here to read more of this dispatch.http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175873/tomgram%3A_naomi_oreskes%2C_a_%22green%22_bridge_to_hell/#more

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NRC says long-term dry cask storage of spent fuel is safe

http://www.reformer.com/state/ci_26219909/nrc-says-long-term-dry-cask-storage-spent

Whose Oil Will Quench China’s Thirst?

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/07/whose-oil-will-quench-chinas-thirst.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

Google offers big prize for small power box

Google offers big prize for small power box
San Francisco (AFP) July 23, 2014 - Google is offering a million-dollar prize for a breakthrough that would make solar or wind generated electricity more enticing for everyday uses. Google teamed with the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers to back a "Littlebox Challenge" promising to reward whoever comes up with the best design for a device no bigger than a laptop that can efficiently convert direct current to al ... more
http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Google_offers_big_prize_for_small_power_box_999.html

219th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers

219th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers

The Hiroshima Syndrome’s Fukushima Commentary is proudly hosting the 219th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers. This week’s edition includes articles by Brian Wang, Dr. Jim Conca, Rod Adams, Eric McErlain, and Meredith Angwin, just to name a few. Blog topics for this edition include Russia’s next generation nukes, the nuclear/renewable mix, selfish motives behind the Linear/No Threshold assumption, nuclear plant reliability…and much more.

http://www.hiroshimasyndrome.com/fukushima-commentary.html