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On Friday, the owners of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) announced that they would close the station and decommission it. That was a very gloomy end to the week. I had volunteered to host the Carnival of Nuclear Energy Blogs. Was I in for a miserable experience, documenting much wailing and gnashing of teeth?
Well, no. The SONGS closing is a huge piece of bad news, but it is far from the only news in the nuclear world. So here we go. Let's start with SONGS.
The SONGS closing (gloom section)
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The latest news on the recent decision to retire the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California. The post includes information from a press teleconference held by Southern California Edison, and many explanatory links.
San Onofre Closing Wasn't Necessary, posted by Meredith Angwin at Yes Vermont Yankee.
I was a project manager at the Electric Power Research Institute, in the Steam Generator group. In my post about San Onofre, I assert and explain that the closing simply wasn't necessary. It shouldn't take the NRC more than a year to determine whether a plant can be run safely at reduced power. My post also has explanatory links.
The rest of the nuclear world (non-gloom section)
Nuclear Uprates in the U.S., and a new reactor in China. Posted by Brian Wang of Next Big Future.
NextEra Energy has just completed 700 MW of reactor uprates at six plants. Meanwhile, in China, a 1080 MWe PWR just began commercial operation.
New Tepco groundwater study confirms that isotopic levels are negligible Posted by Les Corrice at Hiroshima Syndrome/ Fukushima Commentary.
Japan's Press says Tepco's recent report of the actual levels of Cesium in F. Daiichi groundwater is a reversal of their previous assessment of it being negligible. To the contrary, the new assessment proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the cesium value in the groundwater is indeed negligible.
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Academy award-nominated director Robert Stone has premiered a new look at nuclear energy, at the Sundance Film Festival. The film is due to open in theaters all over America the week of June 12.
Questions and Answers about Nuclear Power Posted by Jessica Lovering of the Breakthrough Institute at ANS Nuclear Café.
The Breakthrough Institute recently compiled some of the tough questions it is frequently asked about nuclear power by fellow environmentalists. Many careful explanations of how nuclear energy helps the environment, compared to the alternatives.
Vermont Yankee Gets Permission to Install Diesel Posted by Meredith Angwin at Yes Vermont Yankee.
Sometimes "Moot" is good. The Public Service Board (PSB) was delaying and dragging their feet about allowing Vermont Yankee to install a necessary back-up diesel. When Vermont Yankee sued the PSB in federal court, the PSB decided to give permission for the generator installation. This rendered the federal court case "moot".
Washington Internships for Students of Engineering Posted by Gail Marcus at Nuke Power Talk.
At Nuke Power Talk, Gail Marcus follows up on an earlier blog in which she discussed a technology policy internship for engineering majors from different schools across the country. She now reports that this year, she will be serving as the faculty member in residence for the program, and she hopes to provide input from time to time during the summer on how engineering students respond to what they learn this summer about how the government handles technical issues.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug.
Too often, the nuclear industry in the United States is the bug: for example, SONGs. But even in the U.S., there is good news: Pandora's Promise is opening, new internships for engineering students, power uprates at existing plants. And when you look abroad, the situation is even better.
Enjoy the Carnival!
Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug.
Too often, the nuclear industry in the United States is the bug: for example, SONGs. But even in the U.S., there is good news: Pandora's Promise is opening, new internships for engineering students, power uprates at existing plants. And when you look abroad, the situation is even better.
Enjoy the Carnival!
