Energy policy

  • Nuclear mattersU.S. gives loan guarantees for new nuclear power reactors in Georgia

    Deal is major step toward restarting the U.S. domestic nuclear industry; the Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized DOE to issue loan guarantees for projects that avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and employ new or significantly-improved technologies

  • Nuclear mattersU.K.: New nuclear reactors might not stand up to terrorist attacks

    Last September the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejected the Westinghouse-Toshiba design for a new reactor because a key component might not withstand events like earthquakes and tornadoes; this week, the U.K.'s nuclear safety watchdog said it might decide to reject the same reactor design because it could be vulnerable to terrorist attacks

  • Boeing, Edison awarded part of $620 million to build smart grid

    The Department of Energy the other day awarded $620 million in funding for building a more efficient and resilient power grid

  • U.S. grid-security measures may hurt Canadian companies

    The growing concern in the United States over the security of the national grid has lead to security measures -- and proposed legislation -- aiming to make the security of the grid more robust; trouble is, much of the U.S. electricity comes from Canada, and some of the contemplated security measures my disrupt transmission of power from across the border

  • Nuclear mattersBetter method to detect cracks in nuclear plants

    At the moment, cracks in nuclear plant components are detected by using ultrasonic scanners that carry a number of different probes; new device will use a single phased-array probe that will be safer, cheaper, and more accurate than existing systems

  • Nuclear mattersDoubts raised on nuclear industry viability

    There are two problems facing the nuclear power industry: civilian and military stockpiles and re-enriched or reprocessed uranium sources contribute 25,000 of the 65,000 tons of uranium used globally each year; the rest is mined directly, but scientists say that nobody knows where the mining industry can find enough uranium to make up the shortfall; also, the cost per kilowatt of capacity generated by nuclear power is $4,000; generating identical capacity from coal costs $3,000, and the cost for natural gas generation is $800; this makes the nuclear option a big financial gamble

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  • A landmark investment to finance Canada-U.S. grid connection

    The biggest Canada-U.S. power grid project -- a privately funded 1,200- to 1400-megawatt transmission line between Quebec and southern New Hampshire -- will lower the cost of power throughout New England; the project could also meet one third of the New England's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative commitments with the hydroelectric power Hydro-Québec could pump through the line

  • California faces major decision on dams

    California already has upward of 1,000 dams that provide water supply, flood control, and hydropower, but California growing water shortages; last month Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger insisted he would not sign off on any major overhaul of the water system without money for new dams and reservoirs

  • Nuclear mattersRolls-Royce, EDF to construct four nuclear reactors in U.K.

    The civil nuclear market is worth around £30 billion a year globally and is expected to grow to £50 billion a year in fifteen years' time, more than 70 percent of which will relate to the build and support of new facilities

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  • Nuclear fusionMore modest version of nuclear fusion power project to start

    Nuclear fusion reactor to built in southern France by an international consortium; operation will begin in 2018

  • Nuclear fusionITER fusion project will start with hydrogen

    The ITER experiments will start in 2018 -- but will be literally lighter, using hydrogen rather than heavier tritium and deuterium; the tritium and deuterium experiments will have to wait until 2026

  • Nuclear mattersNuclear power may be considered for carbon credits

    Te 2001 Kyoto protocol excluded nuclear power from clean energy technology schemes; now, more and more countries appear to support the idea that developing countries should be given carbon credits if they build nuclear power stations; carbon credits could cut the capital cost of building new nuclear stations by up to 40 percent

  • Opposition growing to LNG project near Baltimore

    Virginia-based gas company AES wants to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in eastern Baltimore County; the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission placed 169 conditions, mostly related to safety and environment, on its approval of the project; residents in the neighboring communities say the company is far from meeting these conditions

  • More than 950 billion barrels of crude have been extracted since 1850

    How much crude oils has been extracted around the world since 1850, the year the first commercial oil-wells were sunk in? Until now, experts calculated that number to be 944 billion barrels; new study suggests a figure that is 35 percent higher than that

  • Radioactive spills in Scotland

    U.K. Ministry of Defense reveals a series of serious radioactive leaks in 2004, 2007, and 2008 into the Firth of Clyde

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The Long View

  • Nuclear mattersHow long will the world's uranium deposits last?

    At current consumption rates, the planet's economically accessible uranium resources could fuel reactors for more than 200 years; further exploration and improvements in extraction technology are likely to at least double this estimate over time; if we extract uranium from seawater, and build breeder reactors, then supplies will last 30,000 to 60,000 years