Carnival of Nuclear Energy 179
ANS Nuclear Cafe is proud to host the 179th Carnival of Nuclear Energy this week. This long running tradition features top posts and stories by pro-nuclear authors and bloggers each week, and provides a window into the foremost issues in nuclear energy and nuclear science in a single convenient post. Here are this week's entries!
Next Big Future - Brian Wang
Lightbridge has developed an advanced metallic fuel, made from a zirconium-uranium (Zr-U) alloy, which uses a unique composition and fuel rod geometry enabling it to operate at a higher power density than uranium oxide fuels in use today.
Lightbridge is developing innovative, proprietary nuclear fuel technologies designed to significantly enhance the nuclear power industry's economics and increase power output by:
Extending the fuel cycle length to 24 months or longer while simultaneously increasing the power output by up to 17% in existing pressurized water reactors (PWRs), including Westinghouse 4-loop reactors, which are currently limited to an 18-month fuel cycle; Enabling increased reactor power output (up to 30% increase) without changing the core size in new-build PWRs.
They have a detailed pricing study of providing such upgrades to 16 pressure water reactors.
Nuke Power Talk - Gail Marcus
At Nuke Power Talk, Gail Marcus reflects on a recent article citing continuing challenges for women in engineering. As someone who pursued a career in engineering when the number of women in the field was far smaller than it is today, she confesses to being surprised to learn that there are still such barriers. She reports some of her own experiences, particularly some comments she had to field during job interviews "back in the day."
Yes Vermont Yankee - Meredith Angwin
State of Vermont Sues in Favor of Federal Pre-Emptive Regulations
The State of Vermont believes it has the expertise to regulate nuclear safety, but does not have the expertise to regulate wood boilers. Outdoor wood boilers can cause considerable pollution in rural areas. Many states regulate them, but Vermont is suing the EPA, asking for them to revise their regulations on the boilers.
ANS Nuclear Cafe
"European renewable energy subsidies under fire from major power
The leaders of electric power companies owning half of Europe's
generating capacity have joined together to inform the European Union
that its policies are leading to a dangerously unstable power grid. In
addition, the power suppliers are concerned that their continent is not
on a path to achieve its CO2 emissions targets and they are worried
about the response of customers that continue to see their electricity
bills rise. The European utility CEO's are calling for reform of the
continent's power markets and energy policy.
Atomic Insights - Rod Adams
First hand report from trained US Navy radiation worker about experience associated with Fukushima