Alternative Energy / Nuclear Power

• Nuclear Fusion: The Power Source of the Future...the Far Off Future

  Ah, fusion. Long promised, both on Do the Math and in real life, fusion is regarded as the ultimate power source—the holy grail—the “arrival” of the human species. Talk of fusion conjures visions of green fields and rainbows and bunny rabbits…and a unicorn too, I hear. But I strike too harsh a tone in my jest. Fusion is indeed a stunningly potent source of energy that falls firmly on the reality side of the science fiction divide—unlike unicorns. Indeed, fusion has been achieved (sub break-even) in the lab, and in the deadliest of bombs. On the flip side, fusion has…

• Energy-Poor Albania Wants Nuclear Power Plant, Neighboring Montenegro Opposes

  The good news? According to Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha, Albania has postponed its intention to build a nuclear power plant (NPP) in the Shkoder region near Albania’s border with Montenegro, until all issues concerning its potential impact on the environment and territory are fully assessed. The city of Shkoder is located near a lake of the same name, whose waters are divided between Albania and Montenegro. On 26 January Berisha said after meeting with Montenegrin Prime Minister Igor Luksic, "Nuclear energy is the purest and cheapest, but the Fukushima nuclear plant case has imposed the need to revise this…

• Does Engineered Material Herald a New Dawn for Nuclear Power?

  Nuclear power has been getting a hard time of late and outside observers would be well in their rights to assume that this once lauded energy source is dying out as recent events have shown that the dangers outweigh the benefits. Japan is trying to pursue other energy sources, many European countries are gradually decommissioning their reactors, and the US is also letting their nuclear industry slip into decline in favour of alternative energies.But wait, maybe there is hope for the nuclear industry, after all we know it provides vast amounts of cheap energy, we just have to find a…

• Study Finds that Childhood Leukemia Rates Double Near Nuclear Power Stations

  In a report certain to cause fear and loathing in the global nuclear industry, an eminent French research institute published a study in the International Journal of Cancer, which notes increased rates of leukemia in children living close to French nuclear power plants (NPPs.) How much greater? The study by the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (French Institute of Health and Medical Research, or INSERM) found a leukemia rate twice as high among children under the age of 15 living within a 3.1-mile radius of France's 19 nuclear power plants. INSERM has carried out similar research in…

• Proposed Indian Nuclear Power Plant in Zone Subject to Earthquakes

  Like many energy poor countries with rapidly rising economies, India’s government sees the development of a nuclear power industry as a potential godsend to meeting soaring demands for electricity. But the country’s proposed nuclear program has run into increasing resistance, following the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami that on 11 March 2011 devastated Japan’s Daichi nuclear power plant complex, taking all six Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) reactors offline. Public opinion in India is concerned because the country is subject to both of the natural phenomena, and authorities are declining to release relevant materials. The issue is not insignificant, as nuclear power…

• What the Future Holds for Nuclear Power

  A recent thrust on Do the Math has been to sort our renewable energy options into “abundant,” “potent,” and “niche” boxes. This is a reflection of my own mathy introduction to the energy scene, the result of which convinced me that we face giant—and ultimately insurmountable—hurdles in our quest to continue a growth trajectory. It is not obvious that we will even manage to maintain today’s energy standards. We have many more sources/topics to cover before moving on to the “now what” phase of Do the Math. Meanwhile, requests for me to address the nuclear story are mounting. So before…

• Will 2012 be the Year of Nuclear Fusion?

  The third leading technology for 2012 would be fusion.  While commercial units are not in the offing for the year there is a good prospect that Eric Lerner’s Focus Fusion theory could show a practical method of the achievement.  So far the team at Lawrenceville Plasma Physics has tracked right up the theory proving the preamble tests support that the completion would result in net power out. Focus Fusion is just one.  The Robert Bussard theory of developing the Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) method being taken forward by EMC2 Fusion Development Corporation, if past half way on the latest scale…

• Slovakia's Nuclear Schizophrenia - Shut Down, Continue As Usual, or Boldly Go - Where?

  The implosion of the USSR in December 1991 produced massive economic “collateral damage” in its East European allies, as they simultaneously sought both to assert their new-found independence and draw closer to their potential European allies on the western side of 1946’s “Iron Curtain.” Following the euphoria amity quickly devolved down to practical issues, one of which was that the European Union was leery of welcoming new members after the collapse of Communism that relied on power from Soviet-era nuclear power facilities, especially in the wake of the April 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in Ukraine. Accordingly, the last two…

• Did Fukushima Really Put a Nail in Atomic Power's Coffin?

  There have been a flurry of antinuclear events in the United States since Christmas. Presumably, those who are opposed to nuclear power want to take advantage of the news lull to hammer home their bleak message: Fukushima Daiichi was the effective end of nuclear power, at least in the northern industrialized world. But was it? Maybe it proved that nuclear power can take a drubbing and survive. If you are a nuclear power believer, the three GE-built reactors proved their mettle during the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan's Fukushima province in March. They withstood all that nature could throw…

• Fire Onboard Russian Nuclear Submarine

  First, the good news. A fire aboard the Russian Federation’s Ekaterinburg nuclear submarine has apparently been extinguished. The bad news - that’s about all that is certain about the incident. The fire broke out on the Project 667BDRM Delfin-class Ekaterinburg Delta-IV nuclear submarine, undergoing planned repairs, at a ship repair plant in the town of Roslyakovo in the Murmansk region at around 4 p.m. Moscow Time. Russian Federation Severnoflot (Northern Navy) spokesman Vadim Serga remarked as the incident was underway, "Wooden scaffolding around the submarine's hull caught fire during planned repairs. The flame spread to the submarine's outer hull. The possibility of the blaze…