ANS Nuclear Cafe

The ANS Nuclear Cafe is a blog owned and edited by the American Nuclear Society. Information contained on the ANS Nuclear Cafe has been provided by numerous sources. Therefore, the American Nuclear Society assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy of information contained herein. DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in posted articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Nuclear Society. The views expressed here are those of the individual authors. ANS takes no ownership of their views. The American Nuclear Society assumes no responsibility or liability for any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained on this site.


Parity

October 26, 2016, 3:52PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

We've seen in the last two weeks both good news and bad for the U.S. nuclear plant fleet, as one nuclear unit under construction came on line and one of the earliest remaining in the U.S. was permanently shut down. The net effect? Raising the total rated megawatts of U.S. nuclear plants slightly, but remaining at the same number of nuclear units on line.

Andy Klein on leading nuclear into the future

October 14, 2016, 4:03PMANS Nuclear Cafe

Dr. Andy Klein

Klein: "We need to start somewhere"

At the ANS Annual Meeting in New Orleans in June, ANS President Andrew Klein introduced the Nuclear Grand Challenges project, which is aimed at understanding the technical challenges facing nuclear science and technology. To identify those challenges, ANS will be accepting ideas from members and the public from now until March 2017. Klein discussed with Nuclear News Associate Editor Tim Gregoire his goals for the project and how the final challenges will be chosen.

Perspective on Nuclear Construction

October 12, 2016, 5:40PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

Indian Point Unit 1 under construction.  Photo in Will Davis library.

Indian Point Unit 1 under construction. Photo in Will Davis library.

A new article published by the Korea Times, entitled "Korea is second-fastest nuclear plant building country: IAEA" points up the fact that South Korea has historically built its nuclear plants on the average of 56 months (from construction start to commercial operation.)   The article points up the fact that two nations normally thought of as nuclear power leaders and pioneers, France and the United States, have historically seen this average way up at 126 months and 272 months, respectively.  I'd like to offer some comments -- not a defense, but just some comments -- on those numbers to provide perspective, since they're pretty long and, in the case of the U.S., extremely long.

Cuban Agreement Awakens Memories of Juragua

October 5, 2016, 4:04PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

The announcement made this past September 27 that Russia had signed an agreement with Cuba to cooperate in the advancement of nuclear technologies raised in some quarters the notion that Cuba might again aspire, eventually, to investigate nuclear energy.  The details of the original effort to give nuclear energy to Cuba were remembered in some places; we will take a brief look at that effort and what became of it.

Monju May Face End

September 21, 2016, 1:35PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

Monju fast reactor; courtesy Japan Atomic Energy Agency

On Wednesday, September 21, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced that the nation would undertake a thorough review of the Monju fast-reactor project. Nikkei Asian Review quoted Suga as saying that the government "will fundamentally review it by the end of the year, including (the option of) scrapping it." Thus, it would appear that Monju may finally be facing the final curtain as a working project - although it has not operated in some time.

How the Fear of Nuclear Power is Hurting the Environment

September 16, 2016, 4:11PMANS Nuclear Cafe

Today's Friday Nuclear Matinee video of climate policy expert Michael Shellenberger comes to us from TED.com. "We're not in a clean energy revolution; we're in a clean energy crisis," says climate policy expert Michael Shellenberger. His surprising solution: nuclear. In this passionate talk, he explains why it's time to overcome longstanding fears of the technology, and why he and other environmentalists believe it's past time to embrace nuclear as a viable and desirable source of clean power.  Enjoy the 14 minute video.

Choosing Between Dependable and Intermittent Clean Sources of Energy

September 12, 2016, 3:48PMANS Nuclear CafeAlex Pavlak, Ph.D., P.E.

On June 2 Exelon announced the early retirement of two nuclear power plants (Quad Cities and Clinton) in Illinois. On June 21 Pacific Gas and Electric announced a decision to close the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in California. Those decisions have been explained in part on cost. The plants are aging, maintenance cost has been increasing, and low natural gas prices have reduced the cost of competing electricity. When a nuclear plant's contract comes up for renewal, politicians who think natural gas prices may stay low forever refuse to renew the nuclear plant's contract at a higher price.

Diablo Canyon Shutdown Gets Personal

September 5, 2016, 2:05PMANS Nuclear CafeAbe Weitzberg

While the nuclear community has been encouraged by the recent action taken by New York giving recognition for the intrinsic value of carbon-free emissions from nuclear power, the same cannot be said for California. New York has found value in keeping their nuclear power plants operational, but unfortunately, given the political situation in California, it is unlikely that any proposed resolutions in favor of keeping Diablo Canyon Power Plants (DCPP) open will happen.