Nuclear Energy Weekly News 349

The Carnival of Nuclear Energy blogs has changed its name to Nuclear Energy News Weekly.

1. Neutron Bytes – Dan Yurman – An Up and Down Week for Developers of Advanced Reactors

In Washington, DC, the Third Way, a think tank, hosted a meeting of some of the country’s best thinkers, leaders, funders, and doers in the field of development advanced reactors. Cheerleading is helpful, but the proof will be in federal funding for reactor R and D and regulatory reform at the NRC.

In Cambridge, MA, Transatomic, a startup, is now making a list of lessons learned following publication of a critical review of the firm’s reactor design. One of the lessons is that other start-ups with audacious claims are likely to receive similar levels of scrutiny.

2. Neutron Bytes – Dan Yurman – Flagship reactor projects delayed in U.S. and China

Commercial operation dates for Vogtle Units 3 and 4 in Georgia (1150 MW Westinghouse AP1000s) have been pushed back again this time to December 2019 and September 2020 respectively. The units are now over three years late

Completion of two Areva 1660 MW EPR reactors under construction in Taishan, China have been delayed at least six months the China Generation Nuclear (CGN) said in a statement this week.

3. Forbes James Conca – Anti-Nuke Dogma Trumps Common Sense On Nuclear Energy

A new report from an anti-nuclear group gives some alternative spin to the same old dogma – shut down all nuclear plants and replace them with renewables. Unfortunately, its conclusions are wrong, especially about the cost savings and climate effects.

4. Forbes – The TRAPPIST Worlds – Should We Invest In A Back-Up Planet For Earth?

The discovery of seven Earth-like planets orbiting a near-by star has really gotten everyone thinking about space colonization again. Four of these planets are in the Goldilocks Zone – a sweet spot where liquid water is stable and life could develop or survive if transplanted.

5. Nuke Power Talk – Harold Denton, who led the NRC response to TMI, has passed away

6. Nuke Power Talk – Mildred Dresselhaus of MIT who has been dubbed the “Queen of Carbon,” and was only recently profiled in a Super Bowl ad to encourage young girls to study science has passed away.

7. MZConsulting Inc – In an era where facts no longer matter, consequences still do

When facts no longer matter, consequences do. Removing nuclear from the mix does not support environmental goals. Germany is heading down a path to nowhere.

8. Nextbigfuture – Less nuclear energy has meant higher costs, less clean energy overall and more deaths.

Michael Shellenberger explains how less nuclear energy has meant higher costs and less clean energy overall.

* USA has shutdown nuclear plants prematurely because of lower natural gas costs
* this has increased emissions of CO2 and air pollution
* Overall energy costs have increased in the USA which correlate with lower nuclear energy mix
* Germany has 6 times more carbon intensive energy than France
* Germany shutdown nuclear energy and now is even more reliant on coal and fossil fuel
* France uses 80% nuclear power for electricity
* France has half the cost of electricity compared to Germany
* the global decline in nuclear power (-7.5% of energy mix) has not been replaced by solar and wind (4.5%)
* the global decline in nuclear (most of Japan nuclear shutdown, Germany shutdown, some early shutdowns in USA and Europe) has not been made up by the build in China and Asia and appears like future Europe and USA shutdowns (150 GW) will made up by new nuclear in China and India and Asia through 2030.