Inside a bland industrial building in Wilmington, N.C., an experiment is in the works that could vastly reduce the cost, time, and space needed to make fuel for nuclear power plants.

In that building, secret uranium-enrichment technology licensed by GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy is nearing a pilot test. If successful, the new technology will enable the company to supply low-cost nuclear fuel to power reactors worldwide, officials say.

Only broad outlines of the “Separation of Isotopes by Laser EXcitation,” or SILEX technology, are public. Most details are classified under the Atomic Energy Act.

Clrivez says Russia will help build a reactor

CARACAS, Venezuela-President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Russia will help Venezuela develop nuclear energy a move likely to raise U.S. concerns over increasingly close cooperation between Caracas and Moscow.

Chavez said he accepted an offer from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for assistance in building a nuclear reactor.

"Russia is ready to support Venezuela in the development of nuclear energy with peaceful purposes and we already have a commission working on it," Chavez said.

My comment: Russia is not backward in getting new business around the world.

I though this is a timely article so I printed it here.

Time to Fast-track New Nuclear Reactors
Jack Spencer
WebMemo #2062
www.heritage.org
15 September 2008

Nuclear technology can help to meet America's growing demand for reliable, clean, affordable electricity. This has led many politicians, including presidential candidate John McCain, to conclude that the nation needs to start building new nuclear plants now.

The electric power industry has already begun plans to start building new reactors. While approximately 20 applications have been filed or are in preparation to build over 30 new reactors, no permits have been issued and no new plants have begun construction. A primary reason is that the regulatory process remains arduous and unknown. To overcome this, Congress should authorize a fast-track permitting process for a limited number of reactor projects.

A Slow, Arduous Process
The Department of Energy instituted the Nuclear Power 2010 program in 2002 as an effort to address the regulatory and institutional barriers to new reactors' near-term deployment. As its name implies, the original time frame called for new reactor deployment by 2010. Unfortunately, the program has not succeeded in this regard. Most believe that the earliest that a new plant will come on line is the latter half of the next decade.

The problem is not technical or economic—new reactors are being built around the globe, and plans for more are being announced every month. The problem is political. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), after so many years with no applications for new reactors, does not have a proven process for efficiently licensing new reactors. The NRC estimates that it needs a minimum of 42 months to issue the design, site, and construction/operation licenses required for reactor construction to begin. This includes—in addition to the safety assessments that are NRC's primary responsibility—about two years for environmental reviews, a year for design reviews, and a year for public hearings. And even this time frame is contingent on complete applications and minimal opposition from outside interests. This has led for calls to streamline the process.

Streamlining is necessary because the process cannot just be sped up. Specific procedures are in place that the NRC must follow, and that process takes time. Simply adding manpower, as some have suggested, would only provide marginal benefit. Because training regulators can take two years, it would be years before the NRC could hire and train enough people to shorten time schedules.

To speed up the current permitting process, Congress should authorize a fast-track program that is open to new reactor applicants that meet certain conditions. The goal would be to cut by at least 50 percent the amount of time it takes to permit a new plant. This must be done without sacrificing safety standards or security.

The lessons learned from the fast-track program could be applied to necessary regulatory overhauls in the future.

The program's objective would be to reduce the permitting schedule from four years down to two or less and should be available for up to two construction permits per reactor design.

The fast-track program would consist of:

1. Focusing NRC Resources. Per congressional direction, the NRC should focus its resources on permitting designated fast-track applications as quickly as possible without sacrificing safety or quality assurance.

2. Mobilizing National Laboratory Capabilities. Although the NRC already uses the national labs to support their activities, the national labs should be compelled by Congress to organize themselves to support the fast-track applications.

3. Focus University Funding Around Supporting the Effort. The Department of Energy funds programs that support nuclear education in the university system. These programs should be focused on supporting the NRC's fast-track program. This would not only provide additional resources to fast-tracking permits but would also develop a workforce with the technical expertise to design and operate America's reactors.

4. Ensuring a Science- and Technical-Based Assessment. The NRC must have the freedom to pursue a transparent, fact-based process in a non-adversarial environment. While inputs from local stakeholders must be accommodated, the NRC must be allowed to make decisions based on good science and engineering in a timely manner. This requires an efficient process that allows legitimate concerns to be heard and resolved without being hijacked by outside, agenda-driven interests.

Fast-track program applicants would have to meet certain criteria. These would include:

1. NRC Certified or Proven Design. The NRC has already certified four designs (although one is currently being amended) and reviewing three others. While only reactors with certified designs are licensable, applicants with designs that are nearing completion, especially if those designs are proven elsewhere, should be eligible for a slightly modified fast-track program that would include design certification.

2. Proven Site with Broad Public Support. The reactor site must already be licensed for operating reactors, and the applicant must demonstrate that the new reactor is welcome by the local community. Furthermore, the applicant must establish that an additional reactor will be safe and environmentally compatible. Under such conditions, the NRC should be permitted to provide an expedited environmental review, which takes roughly two years under current policy.

3. Proven Reactor Owner/Operator. The application must be submitted by an operator with extensive experience with nuclear operations and be in good standing with the NRC. This is not to suggest that some current COL applicants are not capable, but fast-track applicants must have extensive nuclear operations experience and credibility with the state and local community. Each applicant would have to demonstrate its competence to the NRC before entering the program.

4. Proven Demand. The applicant must demonstrate that there is a market for the power to be produced by the reactor.

5. Complete COL (Combined Operations and Construction License) Application. The applicant must have a full and complete COL application per NRC guidance. One of the current problems slowing the NRC is the lack of completeness of some of the applications. Complete applications are critical to ensuring that the NRC is able to conduct a comprehensive design and safety review without having to go back to the applicant for additional information.

6. Long-Lead Components Commitment. The applicant must demonstrate both a financial commitment and a preparedness to earnestly move forward by securing a source for timely delivery of long-lead components. Many of the components used to build a nuclear power plant must be ordered years in advance. Applicants seeking fast-track permits should be required to place early orders or deposits as soon as they are granted a fast-track permitting status.

7. Applicant Fees. Like most other NRC activities, industry should fund most of the activities associated with the fast-track program through the assessment of a program participation fee.

To execute the program, Congress must:

1. Provide Specific Direction to the NRC, National Labs, and Department of Energy. Congress must explicitly state its intentions for the fast-track program and make funding contingent on the NRC, national labs, and DOE to organizing themselves to achieve the objective of early completion of new reactor construction.

2. Adequately Fund. If Congress is serious about reducing the time it takes to permit and build new reactors, it must give NRC, the national labs, and the DOE the resources and regulatory flexibility they need to get the job done. Rebuilding America's energy infrastructure is exactly the kind of direction that each of these institutions should be working toward.

Many Benefits, Few Drawbacks

Many in Congress have begun to realize that the nation's energy, economic, security, and environmental objectives cannot be met without nuclear power. This has led to multiple initiatives to restart the industry in the U.S. Unfortunately, many of these plans rely heavily on subsidies and are not sustainable. However, instituting a program to fast-track the notoriously arduous process of permitting new plants would demonstrate Congress' commitment to nuclear power and provide the regulatory stability that investors need to grow the industry. Furthermore, it would provide a common purpose around which America's energy-related institutions could organize. And finally, it would provide the information necessary to bring about comprehensive regulatory reform that the nation needs for a nuclear renaissance to take hold.

Jack Spencer is Research Fellow in Nuclear Energy in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.

From Republican Whip, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO).

“Unfortunately, not only has the new majority in Congress failed to take meaningful steps to bring down the price at the pump, it actually helped expand our nation's dependence on foreign oil cartels like OPEC by nearly seven percent in 2007 alone.”

A statement that will undoubtedly be true if Obama becomes president.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi dos not know that natural gas is a fossil fuel. We have few competent leaders in the House of preventatives.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" where host Tom Brokaw pointed out that the "alternatives" that Democrats say should be our sources of energy aren't going to be available any time soon. In response, the thimble-brained Pelosi said, "You can have a transition with natural gas. That is cheap, abundant and clean compared to fossil fuels." Later she said, "I believe in natural gas as a clean, cheap alternative to fossil fuels." She followed up by saying wind, solar, biofuels and "a focus on natural gas, these are the real alternatives."

An excerpt from an article by:

Nouriel Roubini: 'Worst' Recession in Decades Ahead

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 8:30 AM

The U.S. is in for the "worst" recession in decades, one that may well be more severe than the downturn that followed the stock market bubble in 2001 and the savings and loan crisis of 1991, says Nouriel Roubini, former Clinton White House economist

"Roubini says that evidence is mounting that debt-burdened consumers may have reached the tipping point, as energy and food costs soar. A sharp slowdown in consumption growth will be the last straw that will trigger an economy-wide recession," he says.

Could be true the way things are going. May even be a depression

PNM Issues RFP for Renewable Energy

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Jul 21, 2008 -- BUSINESS WIRE

PNM has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for renewable energy projects that will decrease its dependence on fossil fuels and help PNM meet the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS).

Through the RPS, PNM earns renewable energy certificates (RECs) for each kilowatt hour of electricity that it generates or buys from clean, renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. PNM is required by state mandate to generate 6 percent of its retail energy from renewable resources. This 6 percent mandate will be in place until 2011, when it will increase to 10 percent. In 2015, the requirement will be 15 percent, and by 2020, it will reach 20 percent.

My comment: About time that New Mexico gets under way. Bill Richardson was going to do this years ago. By 2011 they will have a bunch of solar junk in the desert and wonder why they tried such a venture in the first palace.

Bids for nuclear power soar
Dec 10, 2007 - Knight Ridder Tribune Business News
Author(s): Greg Edwards
Dec. 10--The long-discussed second coming of the U.S. nuclear power industry is gathering steam.

Federal regulators have received license applications for six new reactors in the past five months. They include Dominion Virginia Power's filing late last month for a license to build and operate a third nuclear reactor at its North Anna Power Station in Louisa County. Officials expect applications for at least two dozen more reactors. Until this year, no company had applied to build a new reactor in the U.S. since the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania in 1979. A failure of that plant's cooling system resulted in a severe meltdown of the reactor core, but the reactor' containment building remained intact and prevented the potential release of massive amounts of dangerous radiation.

Italy Plans to Resume Building Atomic Plants

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

ROME — Italy announced Thursday that within five years it planned to resume building nuclear energy plants, two decades after a public referendum resoundingly banned nuclear power and deactivated all its reactors.

“By the end of this legislature, we will put down the foundation stone for the construction in our country of a group of new-generation nuclear plants,” said Claudio Scajola, minister of economic development. “An action plan to go back to nuclear power cannot be delayed anymore.”

The change is a striking sign of the times, reflecting growing concern in many European countries over the skyrocketing price of oil and energy security, and the warming effects of carbon emissions from fossil fuels. All have combined to make this once-scorned form of energy far more palatable

Pitch for nuclear energy made by two lawmakers at conference

Apr 9 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Greg Edwards Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va. Congressional leaders with years of experience on energy policy opened the second and final day of an energy conference in the nation's capital.

"The future of this country is dark without nuclear power," said Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Dingell and Sen. Pete V. Domenici, R-N.M., ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, acknowledged the need to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and address global warming. Both made a pitch for increased use of nuclear power.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) this week awarded $18.3 million to four industry teams to further develop plans for an initial nuclear fuel recycling center and advanced recycling reactor as part of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP). Today's awards include $5.9 million to EnergySolutions; $5.7 million to the International Nuclear Recycling Alliance, led by AREVA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries; $5.5 million to General Electric-Hitachi; and $1.3 million to General Atomics. These firms will further develop detailed studies that build on conceptual design studies, technology development roadmaps, business plans submitted earlier this year by these four industry consortia.

GNEP is part of President Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative and seeks to enable the expanded use of economical, carbon-free nuclear energy worldwide to meet growing electricity demand. GNEP seeks to close the nuclear fuel cycle in ways that reduce proliferation risks rarities xwsstp and further increase global energy security

I hope this endeavor is successful. since it it vital to the further use of nuclear power.

GE Unit to Help Meet Global Energy Demand by Investing $5 Billion Outside US by 2010, Expands in Southeast Asia, Mideast, India

SINGAPORE & STAMFORD, Conn., Mar 11, 2008 -- BUSINESS WIRE

GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE (NYSE: GE), announced today that it plans to invest US $5 billion - nearly a quarter of its total plan -- outside the United States to grow and help meet soaring energy demand by the end of 2010. It has opened offices in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and expanded in India.

. . "As we deepen our understanding of new international regulatory and legal environments, we are pursuing our full suite of products and segments, with emphasis on renewable energy, captive power and water projects," said Colleen Harkness, Managing Director and head of global growth at GE Energy Financial Services. "Our transaction targets range from small, growing power companies and independent power producers to major regional players and large multi-national corporations."

This excerpt from a GE announcement makes me, a GE retiree, a little nervous. Investing in renewables is not a good practice in my view.

From Professor Ferdinand E. Banks

Every time I turn on the TV I hear how wonderful Stanford Group people are when it comes to economics and finance, but according to your article, Ms Christine Tezak of that group implies that nuclear is sub-optimal. Let's put this thing into perspective. A nuclear plant can and should be constructed in 4 years, and if such a facility has the efficiency of Swedish installations, it will be able to produce the lowest cost power in the world, guaranteed. Maybe not today, as Bogart said in 'Casablanca', but soon - especially since its life will not be the 30 or 40 years on which cost-calculations are often made, but at least 60 years. Moreover, once they start building new plants again, the technological improvements that should have been made years ago will take place.

Professor Banks is a man after my own heart. Don Lutz

It sound like Russia intends to capture the worlds business in nuclear power plant construction. The US needs to do this to off set our imbalance of payments world wide. We could put lot of people to work if we did this.

ASE negotiating to build reactors in 20 countries, Sergey Shmatko, president of the Russian nuclear plant export company, told a press conference in Moscow last week. However, he said, many more countries than that are interested in development of nuclear energy.

ASE's completion of two VVER-lOOOs at Tianwan, China has shown that the Russians are ready to construct series nuclear units, Shmatko said. ASE plans to contract for the second stage of Tianwan, units 3 and 4, in November 2008. Shmatko said negotiations on the contract will be started in January or February, with an April target for signing the agreement on development of the detailed design.

According to Shmatko, ASE is now negotiating to build power reactors in several countries of the Middle East, in particular, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Egypt.

Shmatko said ASE has received inquiries from Indonesia, Thailand, and Bangladesh and is also "actively negotiating" with Vietnam. It is expected that the first Vietnamese atomic power station, to be between 1,000 MW and 2,000 MW, will be commissioned by 2017 in the province of Nintuan; construction work is planned to begin in 2012, he said.
ASE also plans to take part in tenders for construction of nuclear power plants in Morocco and Turkey. Shmatko said ASE, which recently had a team in Turkey, has proposed construction of nuclear units at both of the two sites under consideration, provided financing is available.

ASE has also begun preliminary talks with potential customers in Latin America, he said. In Moscow, at the end of October, ASE provided to senators of the Chilean National Congress information on Russian nuclear technologies, ASE's experience and possibilities, new projects, and information on Tianwan-1 and -2, which entered commercial operation in 2007. One of the conditions in Latin American countries is that part of the power plant equipment be delivered by local companies, said Shmatko.

TVA a player in nuclear's comeback

Feb 26 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Herman Wang Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn. The Tennessee Valley Authority is riding the wave of the nuclear industry's renaissance, investing billions of dollars in a revived program to keep up with the region's growing demand for electricity.

TVA, a pioneer in nuclear energy 40 years ago, is spending $2.5 billion on completing the unfinished Unit 2 reactor at Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant in Spring City, Tenn.

Last November, it submitted an application for a license to build two next-generation reactors at its Bellefonte site in Hollywood, Ala., after construction stopped there two decades ago because of delays and cost overruns.

"Nuclear is very important," said Jack Bailey, TVA's vice president of nuclear generation development. "It provides stable, competitively priced power for customers in the Tennessee Valley. Going forward, nuclear looks good, in terms of expanding its use."

This GNEP sounds good, but I do not think the US will get leadership in either party's president to pull it off. We do not have an Eisenhower any more and are not likely to get one in this century.

PURPOSE

As part of President Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative, the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) seeks to develop worldwide consensus on enabling expanded use of economical, carbon-free nuclear energy to meet growing electricity demand. This will use a nuclear fuel cycle that enhances energy security, while promoting non-proliferation. It would achieve its goal by having nations with secure, advanced nuclear capabilities provide fuel services — fresh fuel and recovery of used fuel — to other nations who agree to employ nuclear energy for power generation purposes only. The closed fuel cycle model envisioned by this partnership requires development and deployment of technologies that enable recycling and consumption of long-lived radioactive waste.

The Partnership would demonstrate the critical technologies needed to change the way used nuclear fuel is managed – to build recycling technologies that enhance energy security in a safe and environmentally responsible manner, while simultaneously promoting non-proliferation.

BENEFITS

Provide abundant energy without generating carbon emissions or greenhouse gases.
Recycle used nuclear fuel to minimize waste and reduce proliferation concerns.
Safely and securely allow developing nations to deploy nuclear power to meet energy needs.
Assure maximum energy recovery from still-valuable used nuclear fuel.-Reduce the number of required U.S. geologic waste repositories to one for the remainder of this century.

Areva files for EPR certification in USA

12 December 2007

The French owned Areva has underlined its commitment to the completion of its first European Pressurised Water Reactor (EPR) plant in the USA by 2015 by submitting a design certification application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Approval of the application would allow Areva to deploy its third-generation EPR technology in the USA through UniStar Nuclear, its joint venture with Constellation Energy. UniStar recently submitted an application in Maryland for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) for the potential construction of a new nuclear unit at Constellation Energy’s Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant.

Areva is confident of success with the application due to its experience in licensing in the US as well as in licensing the EPR technology in Europe. The EPR is currently the only third-generation nuclear reactor under construction anywhere in the world.

Areva-Bechtel to begin detailed design engineering of USEPR

06 February 2008

UniStar Nuclear Energy (UNE) has awarded a contract to an Areva-Bechtel Power consortium to begin initial detailed design engineering of the US Evolutionary Power Reactor (USEPR) design.

Detailed design engineering is a major milestone towards deploying a new nuclear power plant. It generates the tangible construction drawings and detailed specifications that are necessary to buy equipment and construct the plant.

UNE is a strategic joint venture between US utility Constellation and Electricité de France (EdF) to own and operate a fleet of USEPR plants in the USA and Canada. The 1600 MWe USEPR will form the basis of UniStar's proposed fleet of at least four advanced nuclear power plants in the USA. UniStar is working with Constellation, EdF, PPL, AmerenUE, and emerging energy companies such as Alternate Energy Holdings Inc (AEHI) and Amarillo Power to develop potential USEPRs in New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Idaho and Texas.

My Comment: The French are operational in the USA and intend to build nuclear power plants in the US. They are recruiting engineers in San Jose, California. I wonder how the Areva nuclear power plants stack up against General Electric's ABWRs? Seems like the turbine generators in the US are the domain of General Electric. I cannot envision Areva manufacturing the components, piping systems, and electrical components, etc, over seas and shipping them here. How would the quality assurance requirements be verified from a foreign country? The negotiations and contracts ought to be interesting to see.

Now that the UK has decided to go nuclear, it seems the all of the world suppliers of nuclear plants are rushing to get the business.

Nuclear Aim for EDF and Areva

Jan 10 - Evening Standard; London (UK) French eyes have lit up at the Government's go-ahead for new nuclear power stations with reactor builder Areva and the state- owned electricity generating company EDF saying they are ready to build up to four plants for the UK.

The Government's decision could see nuclear stations built next door to and replacing existing plants at Dungeness in Kent, Blackwell in Essex and Sizewell, Suffolk.

The vast majority of France's electricity comes from nuclear stations and France's preeminent manufacturer Areva, a company 34% owned by Siemens of Germany, immediately said it is ready to build up to six reactors in the UK.

Russia to Launch Nuclear University

Dec 24 - United Press International Russia will establish a nuclear-energy university in Moscow in 2008, RIA Novosti reported.

The national university will be based at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, coordinated with the Russian Education Ministry. Officials expect the program to be developed in the first quarter of 2008.

We still have to finish restructuring the nuclear sector, we will spend another two months on that, and I believe that all the organizational reforms in the sector will be accomplished by March 1, 2008, Russia's nuclear chief Sergei Kiriyenko said on Monday.

President Vladimir Putin signed a bill Dec. 3 on a state nuclear power agency that incorporates civilian and military nuclear facilities and enterprises, and appointed Kiriyenko its head, the Russian information agency Novosti reported.

My comment: Russia knows where the future is in energy production. And they are preparing well for it.

Southwestern Energy Service Providers Work Together to Get Large-Scale Solar Project Built

Dec 06 - Business Wire A multi-state consortium of southwestern energy service providers is issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a utility-scale concentrating solar power plant. The plant would be owned by a third-party with consortium members each signing long-term purchase power agreements.

The size, design and location of the new solar project will be determined by the RFP submissions. It is expected to produce 250 megawatts and be located in either Arizona or Nevada. When completed, it would be the largest solar power plant in either state. A concentrating solar plant uses the sun to heat a liquid that can directly or indirectly drive a turbine.

The Southwest Energy Service Provider's Consortium for Solar Development (aka Joint Development Group) was formed with the goals of reducing solar energy costs and increasing efficiency through economies of scale. Members of the group include Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, Arizona Public Service, Salt River Project, Southern California Public Power Authority, Tucson Electric Power and Xcel Energy.

My Comment: The above is part of a recent announcement. This group of utilities' are playing the game. But they will show how bad the solar system is both from a financial and energy production standpoint . A 250 MWe solar plant is comparable to a 30 MWe convention power plant due to the low capacity factor of the solar system. A 250 MWe plant is not really a utility scale plant. Why don't they go to a 1,000 MWe solar plant? Well I guess that is too much of a financial gamble.

Things are looking up for nuclear

The NRC has received four applications since September 2007 to build seven reactors and has been notified by various companies to expect 17 more applications for 25 reactors through 2009.

China Nuclear Power Poised for Export in `Self-Reliance' Bid

By Dune Lawrence and Alan Katz
Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- China, its safety reputation tattered by lead paint in toys, cancer-causing chemicals in seafood and antifreeze ingredients in toothpaste, is gearing up to become the world's biggest producer and operator of nuclear plants.

The country plans to build about 30 new reactors by 2020, at a cost totaling 450 billion yuan ($61 billion). It could add as many as 300 in time, according to an official from Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.

Deals signed this year with Westinghouse Electric Co. and Areva SA will put the Chinese in position to copy the latest technology. Its biggest threat may be as a competitor in selling the $3 billion to $5 billion nuclear plants at home and abroad. China's atomic industry may follow the copy-and-compete blueprint laid out by local makers of cars, drugs and coal-fired power plants.

"The driving force is self-reliance,'' said Howard Bruschi, 67, Westinghouse's former chief technology officer, who two decades ago helped spearhead the company's efforts to get a foothold in China. "I don't kid myself that they want to make their own designs and develop them and export them.'' The country of 1.3 billion people needs clean sources of electricity to fuel the fastest-growing major economy. At the same time, as China is poised to pass the U.S. as the world's biggest producer of gases that contribute to global warming, it's under pressure to curb emissions. A new round of United Nations-sponsored talks on climate change opens next week on the Indonesian island of Bali.

PG&E and Ausra Announce 177 Megawatt Solar Thermal Power Agreement

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 05, 2007 /PRNewswire

Pacific Gas and Electric Company today announced that it has entered into a 177 megawatt solar thermal power purchasing agreement with Ausra Inc. The project, to be located in central California, is being developed by Ausra.

"Today's agreement between PG&E and Ausra highlights how clean energy will create jobs in California while delivering a reliable source of renewable energy," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "I'm pleased to see California companies rising to the challenge of AB 32, California's historic initiative to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. Clearly, California continues to lead the nation in clean energy research, development and generation."

The plant, to be located in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., is expected to begin generating power in 2010. Ausra has filed its Application for Certification for this plant with the California Energy Commission, which must grant approval before construction begins.

"Solar thermal technology provides our customers with a reliable source of clean renewable energy that is ideally suited to meet peak energy loads," said Fong Wan, vice president of energy procurement, PG&E. "By partnering with Ausra, we are taking another significant step in providing our customers with some of the cleanest energy in the nation."

At the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in September, PG&E and Ausra announced separate commitments to build and purchase 1,000 MW of solar thermal power over the next five years.

China continues to go nuclear

PARIS -- French state-owned nuclear-engineering company Areva SA said it clinched contracts valued at as much as ($11.87 billion) to supply a Chinese electricity company with two advanced nuclear reactors, fuel to power them for 15 years and more uranium for other plants.

The deal between Areva and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co., disclosed Monday in China, was signed later in the day during French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Beijing. It is part of China's plan to build dozens of reactors during the next two decades to help meet increasing demand for power.

The French are again underway with a very large 1,650 MWe nuclear plant

EDF starts construction of nuclear block at French power station Dec 05, 2007 -- Datamonitor

EDF has announced that it has started the construction of the future
European pressurized water reactor nuclear power station at Flamanville
in Normandy, France, on schedule.

The European pressurized water reactor (EPR) is a third-generation
nuclear reactor with a capacity of 1,650MW. It will continue the
technological development of the current pressurized water reactors,
bringing together all of the recent advances to offer the guarantee of
safe and competitive electricity production with no carbon dioxide emissions.

Exelon Nuclear Selects GE- Hitachi's ESBWR

Illinois-based Exelon Nuclear, the nation's largest nuclear utility, has announced it will use GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's (GEH) next-generation ESBWR reactor design if the company decides to build a new nuclear power plant in Texas.

Exelon Nuclear is studying locations in Matagorda and Victoria counties in Texas as potential reactor sites to help address that state's rapidly growing demand for energy.

As part of preparing a federal combined construction and operating license (COL) application, utilities choose a preferred reactor design. Exelon's selection of the ecomagination(SM) certified ESBWR now preserves the utility's timeline for a potential new build project. Exelon began studying the COL in the fall of 2006.

The GE ESBWR (Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor) demonstrates measurable environmental and economic advantages over existing reactor designs and competitor's new designs.

Bush Administration Aims to Tap into Ocean's Wind Power

A year after a bitter congressional fight over offshore drilling for oil and gas, the Bush administration now wants to tap the ocean's winds, waves and currents as a source for alternative energy.

The plans could mean that within a few years, towering wind turbines could start spinning off North Carolina's Outer Banks to harness the same gusts that have tossed ships out there for centuries.

U.S. Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne said Monday that the 1.8 billion acres of the federal Outer Continental Shelf could become "a new frontier" for the nation's energy resources.

His remarks come a year after Congress argued over whether to open up much of the nation's federal waters to drilling for oil or gas. Those proposals, ultimately shot down, brought strong opposition from environmental groups and some state governments.

But now the administration has found some common ground with environmental groups in the push for wind- and water-generated energy.

My Comments: Wave and ocean currents are a farce, but wind is OK. So is drilling off shore for oil and gas. But no one wants wind machines off of their shores. Ask environmentalist Ted Kennedy. But what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

California Republican Party Unanimously Supports Nuclear Power

INDIAN WELLS, CA – In a unanimous Sunday morning vote, hundreds of members of the California Republican Party agreed to work to end the state’s 31-year ban on the construction of new nuclear power plants. The official vote was taken at the California Republican Party’s semiannual convention which featured appearances by presidential candidate U.S. Senator John McCain, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the governors of Texas, Florida, Utah, and Minnesota.

The pro-nuclear power resolution, authored by California State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine), was unanimously approved the day before by the state Party’s Initiatives Committee. The resolution places the full weight of the party of more than 5.3 million voters behind a ballot initiative to overturn California’s obsolete ban on the construction of new, safe, clean, and reliable nuclear power plants. The initiative is known as the California Energy Independence and Zero Carbon Dioxide Emission Electrical Generation Act of 2008.

My comments: It is time to get real and get on with the real solution to our energy problems both for global warming and energy. supply.

End GNEP, focus on start-ups, says US panel
30 October 2007

The USA should replace GNEP by a less aggressive research program,
instead giving top priority to achieving new reactor start-ups, a panel
of the US National Academy of Sciences has concluded.

Domestic radioactive waste management, security and nuclear fuel supply
needs do not justify the commercial-scale reprocessing facilities
visualized in the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) research and
development (R&D) program, and there is "no economic justification to
proceed", the panel found. Instead, the R&D program to develop nuclear
reprocessing and recycling technology and facilities under GNEP should
be replaced by a "less aggressive" program, and higher priority should
be given to facilitating the start-up of new nuclear power plants under
the Nuclear Power 2010 scheme.

I do not think I agree with this entirely. it seems to me the waste problems in the US have had front page for decades. It should not be neglected to the extent that the US give it second shrift. We can do both.

Uranium, not oil, will become the world's go-to energy source. And Uranium investors will gusher fortunes practically overnight.

Utah Uranium Corp. (UTUC)

Now trading under a $1.00. Look for this stock to build momentum
and 200%, 300% or even 400% profits within the next year.

My Comment: I put this here because it appeared in a financial magazine. I do not invest in materials and am not a financial advisor. But it is true, uranium stocks have been going up. With out the Fast Breeder Reactor, uranium stocks will probably always go up in price. It is fool hardy to use a fuel that has only a 0.7% isotope mass content in energy yield.

Southern California Edison Among Utilities to Work With the Clinton Global Initiative to Address Climate Change

NEW YORK, Sep 27, 2007 -- BUSINESS WIRE

Southern California Edison (SCE), which leads the nation in energy efficiency, joined seven other utilities and former President Bill Clinton today in announcing their commitment to investing in energy efficiency and seeking regulatory actions to increase that investment by $500 million annually from 2010 to 2016.

The commitment, which was announced today at the Clinton Global Initiative conference in New York, would raise the companies' total investments in energy efficiency by $500 million annually to about $1.5 billion annually and would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 30 million tons by 2016, the equivalent to removing 6 million cars from the road. It also will avoid the need for 50, 500-megawatt peaking power plants.

This is a bunch of Bull. There are no data that would verify SCE leading the nation in energy efficiency. Moreover, who is keeping accurate score? One way to accomplish the reduction is to raise the cost of energy so the poor will have to use less. That will work. How will they be more efficient in power production? Revamp all of their natural gas fired plants to the combined cycle configuration including existing peaking plants? The would cost too much. And stop using coal fired plants and switch to more efficient natural gas fired plants? This will not happen.

Next generation nuke plant designs sought

WASHINGTON, Jul 23, 2007 -- UPI

The U.S. Department of Energy is looking for industry teams to help conceptually design the department's "Next Generation Nuclear Plant."

The Energy Department's Idaho National Laboratory is conducting the program that seeks to use cutting-edge technology in building a high temperature reactor capable of producing hydrogen, electricity and/or process heat. Officials said such a nuclear power plant would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by enabling nuclear energy to replace fossil fuels in the petrochemical and transportation industries.

"Proceeding with conceptual design for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant brings the Department of Energy another step closer to developing this advanced new technology," Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis Spurgeon said. "Through this effort, (the department) will foster a public-private partnership to complete this development and spur the commercial scale deployment of advanced clean and safe nuclear energy as quickly as possible."

Expressions of interest, to be submitted by Aug. 20, will be used to identify a qualified pool of candidates to provide future engineering and design services, officials said.

Where has the DOE been the last few years?

I posted the below on my Hydrogen Web page.

A PROPOSED MODULAR-SIZED. INTEGRATED NUCLEAR

AND

HYDROGEN-BASED ENERGY SUPPLY-CARRIER SYSTEM

Bruce W. Spencer, Richard D. Doctor, and David C. Wade, Argonne National Laboratory

Prof. Kenneth Lee Peddicord Texas A&M University

Mr. Charles Boardman, General Electric Company

Dr. Giuseppe Marucci, ENEA (Italy)

Duke Plans More Coal Fueled plants

Duke Energy plans to build an 800-megawatt coal-fired generator at its Cliffside plant, located on the Cleveland/Rutherford County line

Environmentalists around the state plan to fight the plan at the hearing, which will be held at Chase High School on Sept. 18 at 6 p.m.

Ulla Reeves, regional program director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said a number of organizations are joining to oppose the plant, including Carolinas Clean Air Coalition, Clean Water for N.C., N.C. Conservation Network and Appalachian Voices, among others.

"We are concerned because predominately the carbon dioxide emissions will contribute to global warming," she said.

She wasn't against new energy plants, but said, "we have to get smarter."

I wonder what get smarter means? Environmentalists need to suggest alternates, not just oppose energy projects. A nuclear plant is a smarter idea for no pollution or green house gases.

Italy Reportedly Facing Power Blackouts This Winter
Italy, which depends heavily on gas imports, is due to face an acute shortage of natural gas for its domestic power generation this year, according to the chief executive of Italian utility company Enel, as cited by Reuters.

FPL Describes Plans to Expand Capacity at Existing Nuclear Facilities, Pursue Building Two Nuclear Units

JUNO BEACH, Fla., Aug 15, 2007 -- BUSINESS WIRE

Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) (NYSE:FPL) today said it proposes making nuclear power a bigger part of Florida's clean energy future.

At a Public Service Commission workshop on future energy needs today, FPL signaled its intention to file proposals by the end of the third quarter covering the expansion of power production at its existing nuclear generating facilities and to pursue building two new nuclear power units.

"These projects will meet the needs of our growing state by ensuring safe and reliable power," said Armando Olivera, president of FPL. "Nuclear power produces no greenhouse gases, and that is vital as we all work to reduce carbon dioxide emissions that are at the heart of climate change concerns. Moreover, adding more nuclear power will further diversify our fuel mix, which should contribute to increased price stability for our customers," Olivera noted.

California should take note and follow their lead.

South Korea, US to Cooperate on Sodium-Cooled Nuclear Reactor, and Fuel Reprocessing

Aug 12 - BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

South Korea and the United States have agreed to work together on fourth generation nuclear reactors and atomic fuel reprocessing, the Ministry of Science and Technology said Sunday.

The decision to cooperate in sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) and pyro-processing was reached at a meeting between South Korea's Science Minister Kim Woo-sik [Kim U-sik] and US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman.

SFR is a US-designed reactor that can better manage high-level wastes like plutonium. It has more safety features than conventional reactors, and is more efficient because it can use a wider range of fuel sources, including depleted uranium.

Pyro-processing is a process designed to store spent nuclear fuel that help could contribute to global non-proliferation efforts.

Kim, who met Bodman in the US last week, also exchanged views on expanding bilateral ties as Washington moves to expand its use of nuclear power generation in accordance with the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) plan, announced in February 2006.

Under the plan, the world's largest atomic energy user will move to increase nuclear power production while simultaneously designing and selling small-sized reactors and related technologies suitable for emerging economies.

The GNEP could allow the export of South Korean nuclear components to the US and foreign markets.

With 19 operational commercial reactors, South Korea has steadily built power plants since the 1970s, meanwhile gaining extensive experience in the nuclear energy field. The country can design its own reactors and is moving to export them abroad.

My Comments: Since I fought the Korean war it is a delight to me to hear that the South Koreans will develop the Fast Breeder reactor and fuel cycle and sell them world wide. The environmentalists will not be able to destroy this program as they did in the united States.

More nuclear on the way

River authority OKs water negotiations with Exelon Nuclear

Aug 16 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Victoria Advocate, Texas

A small but potentially significant hurdle has been overcome in Exelon Nuclear's plans to build a $4 billion nuclear power plant in Victoria County. The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority board of directors passed a reservation agreement Wednesday that gives their general manager Bill West permission to negotiate with Exelon for possible use of their water. Nuclear plants require millions of gallons of water a day to operate and the action by the board was an attempt to convince Exelon to choose Victoria over Matagorda County for the plant site, West said.

Washington Group International to Build Uranium-Enrichment Facility
Washington Group International received a contract by Louisiana Energy
Services (LES) to provide construction services in building a
uranium-enrichment facility near Eunice, N.M. Providing construction
services for the National Enrichment Facility is an expansion of
Washington Group's role at the site, WGI said. The engineering,
construction and environmental services firm has been providing related
construction-management services there since mid-2006.

The $1.5 billion facility will provide the U.S. with an alternative
domestic source of enriched uranium required to operate the country's
nuclear power plants, Washington Group said. It is the first major
nuclear facility to be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in
the U.S. in three decades, the company said.

Germany Going to Renewables

Merkel dashed the hopes of the energy lobby - led by E.ON, Vattenfall Europe, RWE and Energie Baden-Wurttemberg - to prolong nuclear power.

Under an agreement made in 2000 by the former Social Democrat and Green coalition led by Gerhard Schroder, Germany's 17 nuclear energy plants would be gradually decommissioned by 2021.

After Merkel, a conservative, was appointed chancellor in November 2005, the lobby went on an ultimately unsuccessful offensive to reverse the decision. But Merkel on Tuesday stuck to her coalition's policy of phasing out the plants.

The energy industry, however, criticized Merkel's plan as unworkable and likely to lead to higher rates for consumers.

My Comment: Germany is a relatively small country land area wise and this fact does not lend its self to renewables. Plus its climate is similar to that of Illinois which does not have solar electric systems. I doubt they have much wind area either. But they are a country that continually makes wrong decisions as they have here. Merkel is a woman who apparently doe not know much about energy. I am told that they are getting a lot of electric energy from France.

Senate votes to boast car, SUV economy standards to 35 mpg.

Automakers are currently required to meet an average for cars of 27.5 mpg and 22.2 mpg for SUVs. the new law requires a fleet average of 35 mpg by 2020. Also the measure requires that half of their vehicles be capable of running on 85% ethanol fuel by 2020.

My Comments: It will be necessary to do away with SUVs and to down size autos to meet the 35 mpg requirement. As for the ethanol, it will never come to pass that one half of the vehicles are operated on ethanol. The legislators will learn about ethanol in the future. Ethanol, in fact, puts more CO2 into the atmosphere per each unit of energy output than gasoline does.

California will not have nuclear power in ten years, if ever. The electrical energy needs of the state will be provided by natural gas plants at a high relative cost of energy. Don't be talked into believing that renewables will supply a significant amount of the electrical needs.

Expanding nuclear power in California many years away SACRAMENTO (The Associated Press) - Jun 26 - By STEVE LAWRENCE Associated Press Writer

The failure of the federal government to open a storage site for radioactive waste means any chance to expand nuclear power in California is more than a decade away, according to a draft report prepared for the state Energy Commission.

A California law passed in 1976 prohibits construction of nuclear plants until the Energy Commission concludes that the federal government has found a proven way to store or reprocess spent nuclear plant fuel.

My Comment: Well Jimmy Carter won on that one and we all lost.

PG&E Adds Utility-Scale Solar Projects to Its Power Mix

SAN FRANCISCO, June 27, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall

Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced today it has entered into agreements with two developers of utility-scale photovoltaic solar power: Cleantech America LLC and GreenVolts, Inc. The agreements will deliver up to seven megawatts (MW) of utility-scale renewable solar energy for PG&E's customers throughout Northern and Central California.

"These projects provide PG&E with a clean, reliable, and cost efficient way to deliver additional solar power to our customers," said Fong Wan, vice president of Energy Procurement, PG&E. "By harnessing the power of the sun's rays in a scalable way, we are taking a significant step towards reaching California's renewable portfolio goal of supplying twenty percent of our customer needs with qualifying renewable energy by 2010."

This ought to be in the comic strip. A utility scale photovoltaic solar system that is reliable and cost effective? It is just 7 MWe capacity and has a capacity capacity factor of only 15%. Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant will produce about 2,000 times more electrical energy in any given year and at a fraction of the cost. per kWh.

Bingaman, Domenici Offer Emission Plans: Proposals Face Vote in Senate

Jun 14 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Michael Coleman Albuquerque Journal, N.M. New Mexico's senators offered dueling proposals to slash greenhouse gas emissions Wednesday, setting up a showdown for a likely vote on the Senate floor today.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, Democratic chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced a proposal requiring utilities to use at least 15 percent renewable energy by 2020.

Sen. Pete Domenici, the top Republican on the energy committee, introduced an alternative that would force utilities to meet a 20 percent mandate of "clean fuels" that would include nuclear and hydro power, as well as renewables like wind and solar.

Bill to Repeal Wisconsin’s New-Nuclear Plant Ban Passes

Special Committee; Moves to Full Assembly

The Wisconsin Joint Legislative Council’s Special Committee on Nuclear Power on May 10 voted to lift the state’s moratorium on new nuclear plant construction. The bill now will go to the full assembly for consideration.

Hitachi, GE likely to win 1st joint order for nuclear power reactor

May 23 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Kyodo News International, Tokyo Hitachi Ltd. will likely clinch an order jointly with U.S. technology powerhouse General Electric Co. to build a next-generation nuclear power reactor in the United States, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

Hitachi and GE will sign an agreement with U.S. energy company Dominion by September to build a 1.5-million-kilowatt economic and simplified boiling water reactor, or ESBWR, for Dominion's plan to boost its atomic power output in Virginia, they said.

The first joint order to be placed with Hitachi and GE is expected to be worth 200 billion yen.

ESBWRs are more powerful than advanced BWRs and require lower maintenance costs because of a simpler design.

Following approval by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Hitachi and GE will start building the ESBWR in 2010 to put it into use in 2014.

Here are two news excerpts of solar PV projects soon to be constructed. See my comments below.

.Largest U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System Begins Construction at Nellis Air Force Base

Construction on the largest solar photovoltaic system ever to be built in North America began today at Nellis Air Force Base.

. The Nellis solar energy system will generate in excess of 25 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually and supply more than 25 percent of the power used at the base. Occupying 140 acres of land leased from the Air Force at the western edge of the base, this ground-mounted solar system will employ an advanced tracking system, designed and deployed by PowerLight, to follow the sun.

Approximately 70,000 solar panels and the patented PowerLight PowerTracker(R) will capture up to 30 percent more energy than an equivalent ground-mounted fixed-tilt system. Rated at approximately 15 megawatts (MW), the array will generate the power of a rooftop solar system with a rating of approximately 18 MW7

MMA Renewable Ventures will finance, own and operate the landmark system and sell the power to Nellis under the terms of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter and U.S. Senator Ken Salazar Break Ground on 8.22-Megawatt Photovoltaic Solar Plant

An 82-acre tract in south central Colorado will be the site for one of the largest photovoltaic power plants in the United States. Dignitaries including Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, U.S. Senator Ken Salazar, and executives from SunEdison and Xcel Energy spoke at today's groundbreaking ceremony for the 8.22-megawatt Alamosa Photovoltaic Solar Plant. The solar plant is financed and will be built and maintained by SunEdison, North America's leading solar energy services provider. Xcel Energy will buy the solar power generated by the Alamosa plant, which is scheduled for completion by early 2008.

The Alamosa Photovoltaic Solar Plant is an 8.22-megawatt (MW) facility that covers roughly 80 acres of land in Alamosa and San Luis Valley in Colorado. When completed, the facility will generate 17,000 MW hours annually,.

My comments:

They did not quote the capital cost of either project. The companies building the systems are financing each project and have sales agreements for the cost of energy delivered by each system. This is a bold move considering each supplier must deliver the energy for a predetermined cost per kWh.

Table of Data

	Capacity	Annual output	Capacity Factor	Area	Tracking
Nellis	15 MWe	25,000 MWh	19 %	140 Acres	Yes
Colorado	8.22 MWe	17,000 MWh	24%	80 Acres	Did not say

It is not possible to rely on data from a news paper, but the capacity factors do not make sense. If Nellis is a tracking system and the other is not, one would expect to see a much greater capacity factor for Nellis. This is not the case for the data shown.

At any rate it is obvious that the capacity factors are typical for solar PV systems, and are too low to provide economical electric energy.

GE Energy Celebrates Opening of 40,000 Square-Foot Advanced Technology Center

On Monday, March 26 at 9:30 am, GE Energy's Nuclear Business will host a reception and ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of its new, two-story, 40,000 square-foot advanced technology center at its Wilmington headquarters. Andy White, President and CEO of GE Energy's Nuclear Business, as well as Congressman Mike McIntyre and Wilmington Industrial Development CEO Scott Satterfield will speak about the company's initiatives in the nuclear power industry and investment in the Wilmington area.

GE will use the technology center to coordinate the commercial launch of its next generation reactors. The building will house more than 250 engineers, architects and support personnel. The center is one of several projects set to expand GE Energy's Nuclear Business headquarters site in Wilmington. In 2005, GE and the state of North Carolina announced expansion plans that included an overall investment of $77 million at the Wilmington site.

SOURCE: GE Energy

My comment: in the early 1950's GE moved their nuclear plant engineering operation to San Jose, CA and the Fast Breeder engineering was located in Sunnyvale, CA. And I worked at both places. Currently GE sold all of the land and buildings in San Jose and Sunnyvale and moved in mass to Wilmington, NC. All of the old timers are gone as well as some of the younger engineers who would not move to Wilmington, NC.

I wish them well. For us old timers it is a new world to develop nuclear power. It is too bad that all of the Fast Breeder Reactor engineering effort is now going on now only in Russia, China, Japan, and France. These countries will serve the world, we will not. And we will pay dearly for not doing so. And we can thank Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter for that as well as the environmentalists they paid off.

California ISO Enters New Era of Transmission Planning

FOLSOM, Calif., Jan 24, 2007 -- BUSINESS WIRE

The California Independent System Operator Corporation (California ISO) has entered a new era of transmission planning with a comprehensive plan that examines what California's power grid will need one to three years from now to ease bottlenecks and enhance reliability and what will be needed in five to 15 years to keep up with the expected growth in energy supply and demand.

The Transmission Plan is a living document that will grow and evolve over time. It is a collaborative effort that includes the work products of the California ISO, its Participating Transmission Owners (PTO), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the California Energy Commission (CEC) and many other stakeholders.

My Comments: These are the same folks that bought electric energy futures during the year 2000 fiasco and neglected to peg the energy delivery with the energy demand curve. Thus California had to pay for and give away millions of dollars of energy that was delivered when it was not needed.

GM is working on hybrid battery research

General Motors Corp. wants the world to know that the Chevrolet Volt electric concept car -- and the company's quest to diversify the energy sources used to propel the world's automobiles is a serious venture.

Nick Zielinski, chief engineer for the Volt, said GM wants a lithium battery that will last 10 years and 150,000 miles.

"We do set pretty aggressive targets for the durability of the vehicle," Zielinski said. "Right now, I don't think any of us are willing to give up those goals."

My comment: There is already a hybrid auto battery. What they need is a storage battery that can be discharged without losing battery voltage. It is questionable that the lithium ion battery can ever do that. Other metal hydride batteries cannot be discharges without losing significant voltage.

Uganda to Subsidize Use of Alternative Power Sources

Feb 20 - BBC Monitoring Africa The government has promised reasonable subsidies to the first 250,000 Ugandans who would voluntarily switch from hydroelectric power to alternative sources like solar, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya announced yesterday. The subsidies, the vice president said, are meant to ease pressure on the over stretched hydropower grid.

Prof. Bukenya yesterday said the incentive is also part of the rural electrification programme. He said the initial beneficiaries of the programme would be the middle class power consumers, who use water heaters and freezers in their homes or for businesses. The government would provide subsidies to such consumers to buy solar panels that would operate their freezers and water heaters.

This will happen the moment these power consumers get off the hydropower grid. He said the plan would see rural households concentrate on using solar power while district headquarters would remain on the national grid. For the last one and a half years, the country has faced a severe power crisis that was mainly blamed on the fall of Lake Victoria water levels.

He said district headquarters would remain on the grid system because potential investors that require more power than that generated by solar panels tend to set up their businesses within the environs of district headquarters.

My comment: OH brother ! solar panels to supply energy for freezers and water heaters. Not too bad for water heaters, they can take a lot of cold showers. But freezers? Food will spoil during long periods of no solar such as night time and winter periods when the sun does not shine for days. Professor Bukenya probably has not investigated solar panels which have capacity factors of only 15% to 20%.

Governor Rendell Says Merger of Renewable Energy Firms Will Generate $50 Million in New Investments, Create Jobs

HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb 22, 2007 /PRNewswire-USNewswire

Governor Edward G. Rendell today hailed the merger of California solar energy giant SunTechnics with Pennsylvania-based Mesa Environmental Sciences Inc., a move that will spark the development of $50 million in new solar energy projects and more than double the number of jobs at the company's new East Coast headquarters in Malvern, Chester County.

"This announcement reinforces how our clean energy initiatives have established Pennsylvania as a national leader in attracting international investment in alternative energy development," Governor Rendell said. "Our efforts will continue to pay off for years to come, creating high-paying jobs for Pennsylvanians and saving consumers billions of dollars in energy costs."

My comment: Since I lived in Pittsburgh for a year, I can tell governor Rendell that solar will not do well in Pennsylvania. This is another case of believing in what other say with out verification of the real facts. Winters in Pennsylvania are dark and snowy much of the time. What a farce about saving consumers billions of dollars in energy cost. It does not even do that in Sacramento, CA where it does not snow, but solar PV's are not popular.

British Energy Heralds New Nuclear Age; Generator in Talks With Rivals to Build New Reactors

Feb 11 - Independent on Sunday, The British Energy, the nuclear generator, has held talks with Europe's largest power companies about building a new generation of nuclear reactors in the UK.

The company has had meetings with executives from the French group EDF and German group RWE, which owns npower in the UK, ahead of next month's publication of the Government's White Paper on energy. E.ON is also understood to be involved

The above partial news release looks like the British are serious about new nuclear power plants.

NSA electricity crisis gets Senate scrutiny

The National Security Agency's impending electricity shortfall is "sort of a national catastrophe," Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said yesterday.

Rockefeller, who took over as head of the panel when Democrats regained control of the Senate this month, called the power shortage a symptom of a larger problem: the NSA's failure to manage long-range issues.

"They haven't focused on the large picture," the West Virginia Democrat said in an interview

Looks like some of us may have to do without electrical energy in the future. I am sure that California's dependence on renewables will not be successful and we will get some brown outs in the future.

Based on the news, several countries are expanding nuclear.

Bulgaria to build second nuclear plant

PLEVEN, Bulgaria, Dec 26, 2006 -- UPI

Bulgaria will employ about 10,000 people in the construction of its second nuclear power plant at Belene, on the Danube River bank.

Tsvetko Tsvetkov, governor of the Pleven municipality south of Belene, said once the first reactor of the nuclear plant is completed in 6 1/2 years and put into operation, about 5,000 people will be full-time employees, Bulgaria's Darik News reported Tuesday.

Russia's Atomstroyexport company is to built the Belene nuclear plant, whose two 1,000-megawatt, light-water reactors will cost $5 billion, the Sofia News Agency said.

The second reactor is to be put in operation one year after the first reactor.

The Kozloduy nuclear plant, on the Danube west of Belene, will be left with two of its six reactors operating when Bulgaria joins the European Union on Monday.

U.S and Russia Develop Action Plan to Enhance Global and Bilateral Nuclear Energy Cooperation

Dec 20, 2006 -- ENERGY DEPARTMENT DOCUMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS/ContentWorks U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman and Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) Director Sergey V. Kiriyenko last week submitted to U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin a joint work plan that will provide a framework for further bilateral cooperation in the development of nuclear energy technology and deployment. The plan was completed and signed by both parties the week of December 11, 2006, as part of an agreement that stemmed from the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, in July of this year.

"The Report establishes measures that will promote sustainable and safe nuclear energy use and expansion, in the United States, Russian Federation, and worldwide while strengthening nuclear nonproliferation and effectively addressing waste management. Specifically, it outlines national strategies in nuclear power; identifies the common bases for U.S.-Russian cooperation in advanced reactors, exportable small and medium reactors, nuclear fuel cycle technologies, and nonproliferation and; defines a plan for cooperation.

Principal areas of cooperation in nuclear science and technology outlined in the report include:

The development of exportable small-and-medium power reactors;
Use and design of fast reactors; How about this one?
Development and demonstration of new nuclear fuels for fast reactors and processes for their fabrication;
Development and demonstration of advanced methods for the recycling of spent nuclear fuel and transmutation;
Developing methods for providing international nuclear fuel cycle services; and
Development of nonproliferation and safeguard concepts, methodology and technology.

Clean Energy Could Create Thousands of Good Jobs; Significant Job Gains for California

WASHINGTON, Nov 1, 2006 -- U.S. Newswire

As America's energy dependence rises as a centerpiece of the national political debate, the Apollo Alliance released a report today documenting significant potential job gains from renewable power development in California.

The study, developed by the Renewable Energy Policy Project, demonstrates that the right federal and state incentives could create 95,000 new jobs in California related to manufacturing components for renewable energy projects, such as wind turbines and solar panels. In addition, thousands of California firms could benefit from the expanded manufacturing activity.

"The potential of an expanded renewable energy program will not only provide significant benefits to California, but to the nation," said Jerome Ringo, president of the Apollo Alliance. "By investing in alternative energy programs, we can end our dependence on foreign oil while also creating thousands of good, clean energy jobs here at home and re-invigorate the manufacturing sector."

The report validates claims that the renewable energy industry has the potential to create significant job gains. Similar reports also agree that California stands to gain more from the burgeoning clean energy industry than any other state.

My Comment: Jobs in wind and solar PV's? Wind in California is going nowhere and is not labor intensive, Solar PV panels will not be as prevalent as the one million home initiative expects. And most jobs are not labor intensive, but machine intensive, except installation which I do not think will take place on a large scale once the performance becomes more known.

This is the kind of bull were have been hearing for years.

U.S. may speed approval of nuclear plants: Regulator hopes to cut license time for sites, including 9 in Texas
The new head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission thinks he can cut the time it takes to license a nuclear power plant in half, to about two years.

South Korea, Indonesia agree to build reactors, share nuclear fuel and
technology
JAKARTA, Indonesia (The Associated Press) - Dec 7
Indonesia and South Korea agreed this week to consider jointly building
nuclear power plants and exchanging fissile material and technology,
according to documents obtained Thursday.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his South Korean
counterpart Roh Moo-hyun signed a bilateral agreement on the peaceful
use of nuclear energy Monday, but kept the details under wraps.

The agreement, seen by The Associated Press, said cooperation may
include "research, development, design, construction, operation and
maintenance of nuclear power plants" and "manufacturing and supplying of
nuclear fuel elements" to be used in the facilities.

Indonesia has set a deadline of 2010 for the start of construction on
the country's first nuclear power plant as it seeks to reduce its
reliance on fossil energy in its efforts to provide electricity.

It expects the plant to begin operation by 2017 and hopes nuclear power
will contribute a total of 4,000 megawatts to the national electricity
grid by 2025.

The agreement signed Monday, which allows for the transfer of "nuclear
material, equipment and technology," stipulates that it can not be used
for the development of atomic arms or be used for military purposes.

It also says "uranium transferred pursuant to this agreement shall not
be enriched to 20 percent or more ... unless otherwise agreed by the
parties."

FuelCell Energy Submits 98.6 MW of Bids for Ultra-Clean, Multi-Megawatt Power Plant Projects in Connecticut
FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL), a leading manufacturer of ultra-clean electric power generation plants for commercial, industrial and government customers, today announced that it has submitted bids for 98.6 megawatts (MW) of fuel cell power projects to the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) for Project 100.

My comment: 98.6 megawatts and they are not willing to tell us where the hydrogen comes from. I wonder where or how they get clean hydrogen ? Certainly not from renewables.

Xcel Energy Explores Renewable Alternatives to Meet Growing Energy Needs in the Midwest

Nov 08 - Daily Reporter (Milwaukee) The upper Midwest needs power, but not necessarily a plant.

Xcel Energy had been looking into options of building a coal- fired base-load power plant and some potential locations to meet growing energy needs for its customers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota.

It instead decided to pursue renewable alternatives and filed proposals last week to add hydroelectric and wind power resources throughout its territories.

The package will fill a 375-megawatt base-load shortfall (generation available 24 hours a day, seven days a week) projected for Xcel by 2015 due to a growing energy demand in the region.

The company said the renewable options will provide the same level of reliability as a new 375-megawatt coal plant but at a lower cost and significantly lower environmental impact, and Elizabeth Engelking, Xcel's manager of resource planning, said the company knows it's the best option.

Here is one that blows my mind. They are going to build a 375 MWe hydro dam and also a 375 MWe wind farm to provide 375 MWe of continuous power for a 100% base load system. . At it is cheaper than building a single 375 MWe coal plant?

Well they will need to build both a 375 MWe hydro system and a 375 MWe wind farm to cover the 100% energy generation capacity. There will be times when no wind is available and also times when no water is available. And that is a cheaper system than one coal plant? I doubt thy they will get a 100% capacity factor out of this arrangement.

New nuclear plant in Iowa?
A revival of nuclear power development in Iowa received the backing of Cedar Rapids Mayor Kay Halloran, the Hawkeye Labor Council and several Democratic state lawmakers Thursday at the Duane Arnold Energy Center

Nuclear Industry Leader Voices Support for H.R. 5360, Urges DOE to Move Used Fuel From Reactor Sites
A Bush Administration legislative proposal to facilitate management of used nuclear fuel is strongly supported by the nuclear energy industry and would be "a major milestone" on the road to proper environmental stewardship of this material, an industry leader told the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality today.

General Electric plans to build two large Advance Boiling Water Reactors (ABWR) power plants

US NEWS:
--NRG ENERGY PLANS TO ORDER MAJOR COMPONENTS, INCLUDING THE NUCLEAR STEAM SUPPLY
system, by 2007 for two new General Electric ABWRs it plans to construct in
Texas, according to information provided NRC July 27. In a presentation to NRC,
representatives of STP Nuclear Operating Co., which will interact with NRC in
the licensing process, said the goal is to have the new units online by 2014-
2015. NRG holds a 44% stake in the two-unit South Texas Project, which is
operated by STP Nuclear. STP Nuclear said it plans to submit a combined
construction-operating license to NRC for the new units -- South Texas Project-3
and -4 -- in the latter part of 2007. Separately, Amarillo Power has made public
in a newly released letter its plans to also build two ABWRs in the vicinity of
Amarillo, Texas and has told NRC that it will work with STP Nuclear on a
standard ABWR design to submit to NRC.

Hybrids, flex-fuel cars not likely to impact energy use. Article in part.

Dec 6 - McClatchy-Tribune Business News Formerly Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Justin Hyde Detroit Free Press Many of the U.S. auto industry's environmental efforts, including plug-in hybrids and flexible-fuel vehicles, will have little affect on the nation's energy use or output of greenhouse gases if the latest government forecast of energy trends through 2030 holds true.

While sales of flexible-fuel vehicles are expected to rise, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) says E85 will barely get off the ground over the next two decades. More electricity will come from burning coal, which increases greenhouse gases, raising questions about the benefits of plug-in hybrids. And U.S. dependence on foreign sources of energy is expected to increase, despite more fuel-efficient vehicles.

My Comment; So much for plug in hybrids

GE Energy, Bechtel Sign Front End Engineering Design Agreement for AEP's Second 'Cleaner Coal' Project; 630-MW Plant Planned for West Virginia Site

ATLANTA, Aug 17, 2006 -- BUSINESS WIRE

GE Energy (NYSE:GE) and Bechtel Power have signed their second agreement with American Electric Power (AEP) to move forward with plans for an integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC), or cleaner coal, power plant.

Under the agreement announced today, GE and Bechtel will proceed with the front-end engineering design (FEED) phase for a proposed, 630-megawatt IGCC plant in Mason County, West Virginia. Appalachian Power, an AEP subsidiary, would operate the plant, which would be located next to Appalachian's existing Mountaineer power plant.

My comment: Looks like the IGCC is becoming a reality. But sequestering the CO2 is not yet a reality.

Greenpeace Co-Founder Urges Iowans to Join National Coalition Supporting Increased Use of Nuclear Energy
Dr. Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace and co-chair of the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, today brought his message about the benefits of nuclear energy to Iowa.

PSC Wants to Boost Nuclear

Sep 09 - Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.

The Louisiana Public Service Commission wants to go nuclear to fight rising electric bills. Four of the five commissioners who regulate electric rates in Louisiana said they want some utility to build a new nuclear plant in Louisiana in the near future.

Pennsylvania Redoubling its Purchase of Green Electricity

NORRISTOWN, Pa., Aug 29, 2006 /PRNewswire

Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced the commonwealth has redoubled its green electricity purchase to 20 percent from 10 percent, harnessing state resources to further develop markets for sustainable energy sources that will create jobs, enhance homeland security and provide significant environmental improvements in Pennsylvania.

Through modifying its existing contract with Community Energy Inc., the commonwealth will purchase 200,000 megawatt hours a year, or 20 percent of state government's electricity, from renewable sources such as wind and hydroelectric energy, all at a premium rate of only 0.34 cents per kilowatt hour.

My Comment;

What a deal. Electric energy for 0.34 cents per kWh. About 5 times more than the average consumer pays for energy. The commomwealth uses tax payers money for this so why do they care about the cost?

Pacific Gas and Electric Company Adds More Renewable Geothermal Energy to Electric Mix

SAN FRANCISCO, July 28, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall

Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced it has entered into contracts with IAE Truckhaven I, LLC and Northwest Geothermal Company to purchase up to a total of 169 megawatts (MW) of renewable geothermal energy resources to help meet its customers' future electricity needs.