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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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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).

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

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.

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. My comment: This is about all we will see in new Geothermal plants. It is peanuts in the overall needed generating capacity in California, Entergy Keeps Buffer to Avoid Power Outages -- Tries to Make Enough so Losing One Plant Won't Shut System Jul 28 - Commercial Appeal, Rolling blackouts for electrical utilities are necessities to keep overall use within prescribed limits of generation capacity, Pat Nelson, regional customer service manager for Entergy, said this week. "No one in the industry likes to see them, but you simply can't allow the drain to exceed the load capacity," Nelson said. Nelson referred to blackouts in Northern California and in New York in recent days, where high summer temperatures have elevated the use of air conditioners. In high temperatures like we've had this summer, the losses from the blackouts are somewhat offset by the high electrical use by customers who remain online." However, without the blackouts, Nelson said the entire matrix could overload, short-out and collapse.   Washington Group International to Provide Architect/Engineer Services for New Coal-Fired Unit at Arizona Power Plant Washington Group International Inc. (Nasdaq: WGII) announced today it has been awarded a contract by Salt River Project, the largest municipal provider of electricity to the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, to provide architectural, engineering, and procurement support services for a new 400-megawatt, coal-fired generating unit at the Springerville Generating Station in eastern Arizona. BOISE, Idaho and PHOENIX, July 18, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall     My comment: Coal may be the worst energy fuel to mitigate  global warming, but it is growing in the US. We have a choice, nuclear with no greenhouse gases or coal with many. Smart Energy Use; CEO Rogers Unveils National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 31, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) will join today with other utilities, regulators, environmental and consumer groups to promote investment in energy efficiency and to help create a sustainable national commitment to smart energy use. This "call to action" comes as a National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency (Action Plan) is unveiled today at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' (NARUC) summer meeting in San Francisco. The Action Plan was developed over several months by a broad-based group of stakeholders and spearheaded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. It highlights a series of energy efficiency best practices and recommendations designed to encourage innovative solutions that can be adopted and embraced by consumers, utilities and regulators in state after state across the country. For more information on the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, visit: http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/eeactionplan.htm. My comment: Another set of good words about energy efficiency. Encourage innovative solutions, etc. Duke came to California and bought the Moss Landing power plant from PG&E. They built a 1,000 MWe combined cycle gas fired plant at the site. They are now selling out and leaving the state.  They found out that California is a garbled energy state where a new power plant does not get a preference in capacity factor. Thus they were operating at a capacity factor or 40% and losing  money just as Calpine did and  went broke. So much for deregulation.\

China, Russia To Join Generation IV Nuclear Energy Forum China and Russia are expected to join the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), a group of leading nuclear nations who are working to develop more efficient and less waste-intensive advanced reactors, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis Spurgeon announced July 13. Jul 18, 2006 -- STATE DEPARTMENT RELEASE/ContentWorks   California's conservation is not evident when it gets hot. News release: California Breaks All-Time Record Demand For Peak Power; Call for Conservation Continues as State Faces Stubborn Heat Wave The California Independent System Operator (California ISO) managed record high demand for power yesterday. With the help of consumers conserving, the ISO successfully matched megawatts to meet the new record for peak demand of 46,561 megawatts set at 2:41 p.m. FOLSOM, Calif., Jul 18, 2006 -- BUSINESS WIRE

Democrats unveil unworkable energy plan

By Gretchen Randall
 
Date: May 17, 2006
 
Issue: Today Senate Democrats unveiled their plan called "Clean Energy Development for a Growing Economy."  According to E&E Daily, the plan calls for more flex-fuel vehicles, reducing our use of petroleum, an increase in the number of gas stations selling alternative fuels, tax incentives for the purchase of hybrid cars and a requirement that oil companies invest in alternative fuels.
 
Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee called the plan "more empty political rhetoric at the expense of the American people." The senator went on to say that opposition by "Senate Democrats over the past twenty years to reasonable solutions like expanding domestic refining capacity, increasing domestic supply by drilling for oil in Alaska and off our nation's coasts and opposition to local projects is the primary reason for the high price of energy today."
 
The senator also points out that many of these same Democrat senators push for alternative energy and then return home to oppose such projects in their home states such as the Cape Wind turbine project off Cape Cod, building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Massachusetts and a pipeline planned to increase supplies of heating oil and gas to New Jersey and New York.
 

Challenges emerge for wind power

July 12, 2006 - By Chris Mulick, Herald Olympia bureau A preliminary report shows the cost of building and operating Northwest wind farms has shot up by as much as 70 percent in two years.

A series of factors -- including increasing demand for wind farms, rising costs for materials and the weakening U.S. dollar -- have driven up construction prices.

At the same time, Northwest dams don't have enough remaining flexibility to supplement and smooth the up and down generation patterns of new wind farms.

My comment: It is becoming increasingly obvious that the backup for wind power is difficult to accommodate.

Japan's first nuclear reprocessing plant to begin trial run Friday

AOMORI, Japan, March 29, Mar 29, 2006 -- Kyodo

Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. plans to begin a test run of Japan's first plant on Friday to extract plutonium and uranium from spent nuclear fuel for reprocessing, the plant operator said Wednesday.

The operator on Friday signed a safety agreement with Aomori Prefecture and the village of Rokkasho, which hosts the plant, and plans to conclude similar agreements with surrounding municipalities Friday before beginning the trial operation later in the day.

Aomori Gov. Shingo Mimura on Tuesday announced a plan to sign the accord to pave the way for Japan Nuclear Fuel, chiefly controlled by the nation's utilities, to begin the operation to reprocess spent fuel from nuclear power plants that have been stuck with a growing volume of it.

The start of a test run represents a major step forward in Japan's attempt to establish a nuclear fuel reprocessing cycle centering on the so-called pluthermal method, under which nuclear power plants will use oxide fuel mixed with plutonium and uranium to be extracted at the Rokkasho plant.

The safety agreement comprises provisions on ensuring safety, information disclosure and the right of local governments to conduct on-site investigations of the plant's premises.

The test run will involve the same procedures as an actual operation, in which the spent fuel will be reprocessed to extract plutonium and uranium.

The plant, whose construction started in 1993, aims to start full operations in August 2007.

The construction costs have grown to 2.19 trillion yen as a result of delays in the start of operations due to a series of problems including a design error in the cooling devices.

Whitman, Moore to head nuclear PR effort

WASHINGTON, Apr 26, 2006 -- UPI

A former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief, along with a co-founder of the Greenpeace organization, will lead a nuclear reactor PR campaign.

Former EPA Administrator Christie Whitman and Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore have been hired by the Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade association of reactor operators, to campaign for the construction of new reactors, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Whitman, a former New Jersey governor, told reporters Tuesday she believes nuclear power is "environmentally friendly, affordable, clean, dependable and safe," During the same news conference, Moore -- who left Greenpeace in 1986 -- said his organization had been wrong to oppose nuclear energy, which he says is essential to help reduce global warming.

Moore is currently the director of a company that distributes geothermal systems in Canada.

Representatives of the United States Chamber of Commerce and the Teamsters Union also spoke in favor of new reactors,

Pebble-Bed Cracker to Begin Construction

Feb 21 - China Daily; North American ed.

A US$370 million nuclear plant using a new kind of technology is expected to start its construction this year.

The project is led by China Huaneng Group, the parent company of Hong Kong-listed Huaneng Power International Inc.

Industry analysts said the plant's new technology, called the "pebble-bed technology," is a high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor technology that is supposedly safer.

Nuclear plants commonly use pressurized water or boiling water reactors.

Nine out of the 11 nuclear reactors running in China are designed with pressurized water technology imported from France and Russia, and the remaining two use Canada's pressurized heavy-water technology.

Liu Wei, vice-president of Beijing Institute of Nuclear Engineering, yesterday said that now is not the right time to use the pebble-bed technology commercially in building reactors, because the cost is still much higher than other technologies and it can be only used in small reactors.

Cost for building the pebble-bed reactors will be about US$500 more per kilowatt in capacity, compared with other commercialized technologies, Liu said.

Industry analysts said the pebble-bed technology can only be used in reactors of less than 300 MW, but China is building reactors of at least 1,000 MW each.

However, as the research evolves, the new technology could be competitive in 2020 or 2030, said Liu.

My Comments: At GE we investigated the Pebble Bed nuclear power plants. The concept was invented by the Germans. The concept can be expensive because the helium gas cooled reactors are very large compared to their output capacity. In addition the emergency cooling systems limit the power rating of the reactor  because they use passive cooling of the reactor fuel pebbles. That is the pebble fuel emergency decay heat is cooled by conduction of reactor decay heat through the reactor vessel to air flowing over the outside of the reactor vessel by natural convection to the atmosphere. The Chinese must not have passive cooling because a reactor of 1,0000 MW e would be too large to  permit passive cooling and certainly not conduction of heat through the core elements.

But it is good to see the Chinese exploring all facets of nuclear power systems.

I have to add this news item here because it is so important.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY: Blacklight Pow­er, a company founded by a medical doctor, claims to have found an alternative source of energy. And it has gotten $50 million from respected investors riding on it, ac­cording to VentureWire.

This is significant because alternative energy is a hot sector right now.

Some are calling the work of the compa­ny's founder, Randell Mills, profound. Oth­ers are calling it "utter nonsense."