Alternative Energy / Nuclear Power

• Spent Nuclear Fuels Could Provide an Economic Opportunity for the UK

  The UK should turn its stockpiles of spent nuclear fuel into a £10 billion ($16 billion) economic opportunity, according to a report from the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment. David King, director of the institute and former chief scientific adviser to the government, said: “Currently the UK has a window of opportunity to deal with its nuclear material and spent fuel … and to maximise the value of its existing assets.” The UK has likely the largest stockpile of spent nuclear fuel of any country, a legacy of its 20th century nuclear programme. This includes around 100 tonnes of…

• Extent of Nuclear Disaster Still Unknown as Rescue Teams Struggle to Regain Control

  After three weeks of efforts to regain control of Japan's damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, several bits of bad news this week showed the job could be even more difficult than originally thought. Rescue teams working inside the power station found pools of contaminated seawater forming in the complex's basement areas. That was a sign that the cold water the teams have been pouring into the reactors to head off a meltdown is itself leaking out and spreading radioactive material. At the same time, investigators detected higher levels of plutonium in soil samples taken outside the…

• Is Thorium the Future of Nuclear Power

  So following the near meltdown of several reactors at Fukushima Nuclear Power, it’s dead is it? Well, to follow one FT article, you could be mistaken for thinking that will be the likely outcome. As the article reports, impact on the industry has been dramatic, from miners like Cameco, a major Canadian uranium producer, whose share price has fallen 20 percent  since March 10th, to major deals like Russian ARMZ’s acquisition of Mantra Resources for A$1.2 billion that has been called off after the buyer’s (an ARMZ subsidiary Uranium One) share price fell 34 percent. Apparently by the end of…

• Nuclear Power: Down but Certainly not Out

  The World Still Needs Nuclear Power — But it Must be Safer and More Transparent Earlier this month, an explosion in the energy sector caused immense destruction, costing the lives of more than 40 people ... but most of us barely noticed it. The deaths of the coal miners, up to 4,000 feet below ground in western Pakistan, were eclipsed by the international attention given to the crisis in another energy sector — nuclear power — as engineers working in the aftermath of a major earthquake in Japan lost control of the temperature of a series of reactors at the…

• Fukushima Nuclear Disaster May Damage US Clean Energy Ambitions

  The near-meltdown of nuclear reactors in Japan may derail already shaky prospects for a US clean energy standard (CES) and an expansion of the US nuclear fleet. Prospects for a federal CES, which would force utilities to source a proportion of their power from renewables and nuclear, were already threatened by the partisan divide in Congress before the Fukushima nuclear plant was hit by an earthquake and tsunami. President Barack Obama has stated his support for an expansion of the US nuclear industry, saying that nuclear power can count towards his goal of generating 80% of electricity from clean energy…

• Is loss of electricity a risk for spent nuclear fuel?

  The usual plan for spent nuclear fuel in the United States is to transfer it to a cooling pool and then after some time to transfer it to dry cask storage.  Eventually, the plan is to move it to a permanent storage site, although no such site is available. The proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear repository is currently off the table, and no other site is seriously being discussed. My concern is that ability to maintain electrical supply to spent fuel pools is a risk that no one has been paying much attention to, when looking at security of spent fuel.…

• Thorium: The Future of Nuclear Energy?

  97% of world market supplies of rare earth elements (REEs) come from China and look to become insecure in regard to meeting "green" energy targets, since exports of REEs are scheduled to be retained for Chinese energy projects. REEs are essential raw materials for the fabrication of high-performance magnets in hybrid cars and wind-turbines. Monazite sands contain around 45 - 48 % cerium, 24% lanthanum, 17% neodymium, 5% praseodymium, along with minor quantities of samarium, gadolinium and yttrium. Europium concentrations tend to be low, in the region of 0.05%, and very low concentrations of the heaviest lanthanides in monazite accord…

• The Nuclear Energy Crossroad – What are our Options Going Forward

  We are at a crossroads with respect to nuclear energy, having discovered a new way (or several new ways) that nuclear plants can fail. How do we deal with such a situation? There seem to be several options, but all seem to have drawbacks. 1. Business as usual. Continue building nuclear reactors as in the past. This is pretty clearly not going to work, because citizens are worried about the situation in Japan, and want to make certain a similar situation doesn’t happen near where they live. At a minimum, citizens want a re-examination of the risks involved, so as…

• Japan's Crisis Hold Lessons for India's Nuclear Future

  Four of the reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan seem to be steadily moving towards progressive core melting. If sizeable core melt occurs, very dangerous species of radioactive fission products in the form of gases, micro-dust and droplets could spread to large areas, depending on wind conditions. This inevitably raises real concerns for other countries, such as India, that have nuclear facilities of their own. It is unlikely that the kind of devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan will strike any of the Indian nuclear plants. But the earthquake-resistant designs and tsunami abatement measures we have…

• Japan’s Nukes – Scary or Interesting Concern?

  Fast answer – an interesting concern.  Those words are chosen as the human tragedy unfolds.  Perhaps hundreds or thousands of people are exposed to the elements, including overnights in cold windy and wet weather.  Thousands more have perished.  The nuclear problems while serious in several ways are secondary shows.  Food and shelter progress information is slow and tiny giving more concern and stirring painful thoughts and feelings. The Red Cross donation was done days ago.  Thoughts and prayer continue. Meanwhile the nuclear reactors are under control.  The control rods seem to have been inserted – no runaway reaction has been…