Utilities’ Greatest Threat

Utilities’ Greatest Threat

Writing at CleanEnergy.org, Charlie Coggeshall has penned an explanation of the paradigm shift that is heading our way. He reviews some of the disruptive challenges and correctly cites as the greatest threat new trends that reduce load. But Charlie only gets it half right. Some trends not only reduce demand, they also increase utility costs. Rooftop… Keep reading →http://breakingenergy.com/2013/06/06/utilities-greatest-threat/?utm_source=Breaking+Energy&utm_campaign=49307db64f-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f852427a4b-49307db64f-407304281

New Bill to Revive Offshore Drilling

New Bill to Revive Offshore Drilling

The Offshore Energy and Jobs Act introduces reforms to revive offshore drilling, including a new five-year leasing plan aimed to expand drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific coastal regions.  On May 30, 2013, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) introduced a bill to expand offshore drilling to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts by… Keep reading →http://breakingenergy.com/2013/06/06/new-bill-to-revive-offshore-drilling/?utm_source=Breaking+Energy&utm_campaign=49307db64f-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f852427a4b-49307db64f-407304281

US Nuclear Outlook, Like Everything Else, Depends On Price Of Gas

US Nuclear Outlook, Like Everything Else, Depends On Price Of Gas

It is not just coal’s future that depends on the price of gas, but nearly everything else. With so few new reactors under construction – outnumbered by those expected to be shut down for technical, safety-related or economic reasons – the prognosis from the Energy Information Administration (IEA) in its 2013 Annual Energy Outlook is… Keep reading →http://breakingenergy.com/2013/06/06/us-nuclear-outlook-like-everything-else-depends-on-price-of-gas/?utm_source=Breaking+Energy&utm_campaign=49307db64f-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f852427a4b-49307db64f-407304281

March 31st, 2011 – TEPCO’s assessment of structural damage to Unit 1, 3, and 4 reactor buildings

March 31st, 2011 – TEPCO’s assessment of structural damage to Unit 1, 3, and 4 reactor buildings

  March 31st, 2011 – TEPCO’s Assessment of Structural Damage to Unit 1, 3, And 4 Reactor Buildings by Enformable The post March 31st, 2011 – TEPCO’s assessment of structural damage to Unit 1, 3, and 4 reactor buildings appeared first on Enformable.

23 by Enformable Nuclear New... / 1d http://enformable.com/2013/06/march-31st-2011-tepcos-assessment-of-structural-damage-to-unit-1-3-and-4-reactor-buildings/?utm_source=feedly

Making Sense of Government Energy Innovation Policy

http://theenergycollective.com/mstepp/234271/making-sense-government-energy-innovation-policy-through-lawn-care?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The+Energy+Collective+%28all+posts%29

US NRC Blog Update: Let’s Chat – What Are Your Thoughts?

Holly Harrington

Senior Advisor

Office of Public Affairs

 

The NRC launched a pilot of a new social media platform – Let’s Chat – in April. It’s somewhat similar to this blog, but it features a real-time discussion on a specific issue with an NRC expert responding to the questions.

So far, we’ve held three Chats – on the history of nuclear power in the U.S., on the Japan Lessons Learned Directorate and its activities, and on the role of the resident inspector. We appreciate everyone who has stopped by and sent us a question. (By the way, they are archived on the site.)

Our next session is today from 2 to 3 p.m. Eastern with Len Wert, from our Region II office in Atlanta. He will speak about his experiences during the many hurricanes he’s dealt with, as well as how nuclear power plants are built to withstand a whole host of severe weather events.

Now we’d like some feedback from you. Have you been to a Chat? What did you think? Are the times and days of the week convenient?

We also like to hear your topic suggestions. We do have some limitations on topics for the Chat. It’s not the place for regulatory issues currently before the Commission or likely to come to the Commission, for example, or actively being adjudicated. But if you suggest a topic and we can make it work, we’ll put it on the schedule.

Thanks for your input!

Moderator | June 6, 2013 at 12:41 pm | Tags: hurricane preparedness, NRC, social media | Categories: General | URL: http://wp.me/p1fSSY-15P

Tidal Energy Could Be Next Big Wave

The U.S. Department of Energy has just unveiled a floating off-shore wind platform that it thinks could make a big splash. But it has already been working hard to commercialize “tidal energy” that uses underwater turbines to create electricity, which must then be wired into the grid.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2013/06/06/tidal-energy-could-be-next-big-wave/

Views From Japan / Why Japan needs nuclear energy

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000280436

nterior Department Approves New Renewable Energy Projects

Interior Department Approves New Renewable Energy Projects

http://theenergycollective.com/silviomarcacci/234306/interior-department-approves-4gw-new-renewable-energy-projects

FERC STAFF: COAL GENERATION COULD SEE COMEBACK ON PRICIER NATURAL GAS THIS SUMMER

FERC STAFF: COAL GENERATION COULD SEE COMEBACK ON PRICIER NATURAL GAS THIS SUMMER
A much greater coal power burn is expected this summer in reaction to an anticipated rebound in natural gas prices, suggests a recent reliability assessment from staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Among other key aspects of the new report is that while electric reliability for the rest of the nation will be adequate, Texas could see a significant chance of an energy emergency.
Read More »http://www.powermag.com/POWERnews/5680.html?hq_e=el&hq_m=2687282&hq_l=4&hq_v=30108e0773

Promise or problem? A Debate on nuclear power

Promise or problem? A debate on nuclear power Scientific American (blog) Yesterday's post about nuclear power sparked a minor but enlightening exchange on Twitter whose culmination was a thoughtful perspective by Nicholas Evans (Twitter handle @neva9257), a research associate at Charles Sturt University in Canberra.http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/the-curious-wavefunction/2013/06/06/promise-or-problem-a-debate-on-nuclear-power/

All of TVA's nuclear power plants operating under notices of safety violations

All of TVA's nuclear power plants operating under notices of safety violations Enformable This week, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission put the Sequoyah nuclear power plant and Watts Bar nuclear power plant on increased oversight after determining that TVA violated nuclear safety standards in how the utility analyzed and prepared its flood ...http://enformable.com/2013/06/all-of-tvas-nuclear-power-plants-operating-under-notices-of-safety-violations/

'Knowledge' about dangers of nuclear power not based on proper science

'Knowledge' about dangers of nuclear power not based on proper science
Irish Times
For instance, the cartoon series The Simpsons has been mercilessly lampooning nuclear power as corrupt and unsafe for over 20 years. Still, after the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl in 1986, in which thousands of people reportedly died horribly, with ...http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/knowledge-about-dangers-of-nuclear-power-not-based-on-proper-science-1.1418110

Nuclear Waste Bill Feedback

Home / Legislation / Nuclear Waste Bill Feedback

Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2013 Request for Feedback

Please note: The comment period is now closed. 
Thank you for working with us on the Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2013.
On April 25, 2013, Senators Wyden, Alexander, Feinstein, and Murkowski released a draft bill to create a sustainable, participatory process for managing nuclear waste.  The senators requested comments and suggestions on the draft bill, as well as on the alternative language for siting an interim storage facility proposed by Senators Alexander and Feinstein.  In addition, the senators posed eight questions on which they sought comments.
Comments were submitted electronically to Nwaste_feedback@energy.senate.gov and were accepted through Friday, May 24, 2013.
Please find the feedback submitted below and the link to the discussion draft, summaries and questions here.

Nuclear Waste Bill Feedback- Part 1 by senateenergy

Nuclear Waste Bill Feedback- Part 2 by senateenergy

http://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/nuclear-waste-bill-feedback

Nuclear Regulatory Commission says Va facility can seek OK for security forces to use firearms

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/nuclear-regulatory-commission-says-va-facility-can-seek-ok-for-security-forces-to-use-firearms/2013/06/06/58474080-ce74-11e2-8573-3baeea6a2647_story.html

Vent Upgrades Ordered on One-Third of U.S. Nuclear Reactors (1)

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-06-06/vent-upgrades-ordered-by-u-dot-s-dot-for-reactors-to-prevent-explosions

Los Alamos nuke waste to be 1st material buried in federal disposal site in ,,,

Los Alamos nuke waste to be 1st material buried in federal disposal site in ... The Republic ANDREWS, Texas — The portion of a West Texas radioactive waste disposal site built to handle waste from U.S. Energy Department locations nationwide is set to open. Waste from New Mexico's Los Alamos National Laboratory on Thursday will be the first ...http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/f9dccb47c09d4c1eba8d8494a2aab8f9/TX--Radioactive-Waste-Los-Alamos

LANL waste to reach Texas site today ABQ Journal Waste from New Mexico's Los Alamos National Laboratory today will be the first low-level radioactive waste to be buried in the 90-acre federal dump on a site operated by Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists. Company spokesman Chuck McDonald says ...http://www.abqjournal.com/main/207429/abqnewsseeker/lanl-waste-to-reach-texas-site-today.html

Feds Fail on Nuclear Waste

Feds Fail on Nuclear Waste National Review Online (blog) The federal government assumed responsibility for nuclear-waste management more than 30 years ago. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 created an ostensibly simple system: Nuclear utilities would pay the U.S. Treasury a fee, collected from their ...http://www.nationalreview.com/article/350271/feds-fail-nuclear-waste-jack-spencer

NRC Comes Down on TVA for Flood Plans at Two Nuclear Plants

US NRC raises oversight of TVA nuclear plants, citing flooding Platts The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday heightened its oversight of two Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear plants after confirming the federal power producer failed to protect the sites adequately from potential flood threats. NRC will ...http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/ElectricPower/21122087

NRC Comes Down on TVA for Flood Plans at Two Nuclear Plants Nuclear Street - Nuclear Power Portal (blog) The NRC issued a yellow finding, its second most serious citation, at Watts Bar related to the plant's potential inability to implement some flood mitigation measures in a timely fashion during that period. Regulators also issued the plant two lower ..»http://nuclearstreet.com/nuclear_power_industry_news/b/nuclear_power_news/archive/2013/06/06/nrc-comes-down-on-tva-for-flood-plans-at-two-nuclear-plants-060601.aspx NRC increases oversight of 2 Tenn. nuclear plants Businessweek CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — The National Regulatory Commission is increasing oversight of two East Tennessee nuclear plants because of flood-related violations. The Watts Bar and Sequoyah nuclear plants are operated by the Tennessee Valley ...http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-06-06/nrc-increases-oversight-of-2-tenn-dot-nuclear-plants TVA cited for flood standard violations Chattanooga Times Free Press In a notice published Wednesday, the NRC said TVA violated safety standards in the way it analyzed and prepared its flood assessment risk for the Sequoyah plant near Soddy-Daisy and the Watts Bar plant near Spring city, Tenn. The NRC also found that ...http://timesfreepress.com/news/2013/jun/06/tva-cited-for-flood-standard-violations/

Fukushima Update 6/7

New Tepco groundwater study confirms that isotopic levels are negligible

 

Reuters says Tepco's recent report of the actual levels of Cesium in F. Daiichi groundwater is a reversal of their previous assessment of it being negligible. To the contrary, the new assessment proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Cesium value in the groundwater is indeed negligible.

 

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