VIDEO: Nuclear Power: The road to a carbon-free future

January 8, 2020, 5:40PMANS Nuclear Cafe

carbonfreefuturevideoimageNuclear energy provides 10% of the world's electricity. To counter climate change, we need more clean and reliable energy sources. Currently, 30 countries operate nuclear power plants, and more than two dozen others are looking at nuclear energy to meet their power and climate needs. In the U.S., more than 30 towns and cities look to go carbon-free, and they're taking a chance on small modular reactors (SMRs) to achieve their goals. Enjoy this short video from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to learn more about how nuclear power can help bring our world toward a carbon-free future.

SMR's, Ships, and History

January 2, 2020, 4:30PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

As we start 2020 I find myself thinking about the slew of articles and posts that I'm seeing about SMR's - that is to say, Small Modular Reactors.  Many are written by knowledgeable people, many not so much - but in some places I've started to see some references to the pollution caused by heavy ocean shipping and whether or not we could use SMR's to stop that by converting ships to nuclear power.  Well, let's not rush into this - after all, all of the "consideration" phase was done once before and there was in fact ocean-going hardware.  So, keeping in mind that it's the holiday season, I'd like to just offer up a quick look at what was considered and what was surprisingly found out to be true in regards to nuclear cargo or passenger ships in the 1950's and 1960's.  I hope this is new for many of you!

Experimental Breeder Reactor I: A retrospective

December 19, 2019, 5:29PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Searight

In the not-so-distant 20th century past, our planet was in an uncertain new-world order. The second of two major wars had dramatically reshaped the landscape of the world's nations. It was not by any means assured that the extraordinary nuclear process of fission, which itself had been discovered mere years before the second war's end, would be successfully utilized for anything but the tremendous and frightening powers realized in thermonuclear warheads. In the years following, a humble project materializing out of the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho was to challenge that assertion and demonstrate that nuclear fission could indeed be a commercial, peaceful source of electrical power for civilizations around the globe.

More Nuclear for Mexico?

December 12, 2019, 3:42PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

Laguna Verde c Morrison Knudsen UEC

Mexico's Laguna Verde nuclear plant sits at a beautiful location in Veracruz. This plant has operated successfully for three decades. Photo courtesy Morrison-Knudsen / United Engineers & Constructors.

Nuclear power never really did take off in Mexico; although the populous nation seriously considered nuclear energy for a variety of purposes it ended up with just a single commercial plant.  It is beginning to look like that might change, sooner or later.

Atoms in the Ice

December 5, 2019, 1:28PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

December 5 marks the anniversary of the launch of the first nuclear powered icebreaker, the Lenin, in what at that time was the Soviet Union.  The job that icebreakers perform is among the very most demanding that any type of seagoing vessel endures due to the environment, the remoteness, and the tremendous stresses on the ship itself.  As it turns out, it's a perfect application for nuclear energy.  Let's take a look at this historic ship, its design and the operation of icebreakers with a variety of photos from my library.

Live! From ANS Winter Meeting 2019

November 19, 2019, 9:22PMANS Nuclear Cafe

The ANS Winter Meeting has been awesome. Everyone is talking about this fantastic meeting and the excellent session offerings! Were you unable to attend the ANS Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C? If so, we have the video from the Monday morning Opening Plenary to share! ANS President Marilyn Kray started off the event and then introduced the new Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy.  And of course, don't miss out on the great Opening Plenary speakers:

Thermal System Coupling - from the 2019 ANS Winter Meeting

November 19, 2019, 1:09AMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

It's no secret that public will and a great deal of marketing have combined to legislate large amounts of renewable energy onto parts of the US grid (and indeed grids around the world.)  The challenges that this brings are particularly severe for nuclear energy, which is commonly threatened when expected to operate in an environment where everything else has to "get out of the way" for renewables.  The question is:  Can nuclear play a role if it's coupled with some kind of energy storage?  The early answers seem to be well into the "yes" range, as was explained today during an excellent technical session featuring a number of speakers.

Does TEPCO Have a Nuclear Future?

November 14, 2019, 4:06PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

The ultimate survival of TEPCO as a long term profitable business continues to be in question as the company struggles with the ongoing decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi plant.  In recent times the company has also stated that it will dismantle the other, more southerly nuclear station in Fukushima prefecture.  This leaves TEPCO with only one nuclear plant it can return to operation, and from which it can generate revenue in order to survive (although it has considerable other generating assets).  Will that happen?  The answer is only a "maybe," although the company is certain it's "yes."

Hallam Nuclear Station on 1960's TV!

November 8, 2019, 2:16PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

This week's enhanced Friday Matinee feature is a fascinating, albeit short, compilation of television clips that were made at Sheldon Station in Nebraska.  This pioneering power station included a very modern coal fired facility and the Hallam Nuclear Generating Station, as one interconnected and combined facility.  The original idea was that coal could be used when the nuclear facility was not operating, although it was later planned to add another turbine generator to allow both ends (as it were) to run continuously.  The sodium-cooled Hallam facility was shut down before this happened.

RadioNuclear podcast featuring Gene Grecheck: The value of preserving the LWR fleet

October 24, 2019, 9:15PMANS Nuclear Cafe

RadioNuclear.orgEpisode 27 of RadioNuclear is now online! In this episode, the new partnership between the DOE and NRC, aimed at accelerating developments in new nuclear was discussed.  Also France's plan to reboot the EPR program, and finally get into a detailed discussion with Gene Grecheck, ANS Past President 2015-2016, about the value in preserving our LWR fleet.

ALCO's 1950's Nuclear Gamble

October 18, 2019, 12:49PMANS Nuclear Cafe

AlcoBelvoir1detail1

In April 1957, when the new, small nuclear plant at the Army's Fort Belvoir, Virginia site first started up, it seemed as if the plant's vendor, ALCO Products, had carried off something of a coup.  Winning this important early contract had come about three years earlier for this small but well-equipped company that was looking to diversify and it seemed as if a bright future lay ahead for it.  However, by mid-1962 the company had sold the bulk of its nuclear business to Allis-Chalmers (with some vessel contracts going to Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton.)  What happened? We'll take a brief look as we walk through a photo montage.

Podcast: Tales from the Nuclear Island (countries). Alyse Huffman and Harsh Desai Guest!

October 7, 2019, 5:24PMANS Nuclear Cafe

YPC19Thank you for joining us on Episode 26 of RadioNuclear! Today, we discuss news items from two literal "Nuclear Islands". How can nuclear help out island nations that are energy constrained? Are there examples of this? Tune in to find out! We also discuss Westinghouse's purchase of Rolls Royce's North American nuclear business, and discuss how this could benefit utilities looking to reduce operations and maintenance costs.

ANS Nuclear Cafe Friday Matinee: Hanford Success Story

October 4, 2019, 1:11PMANS Nuclear Cafe

Friday-Nuclear-Matinee

Recently, a tremendous success story culminated at the Hanford Reservation - the completion of radioactive sludge removal from one of the K-Reactor basins.  Announcement of the completion of this task ends a years-long process that was a major barrier to finally cocooning the K reactors, which are the last two other than B left in their original state (albeit long since shut down and defueled) at Hanford.  (Of course, B Reactor has been preserved as a historic landmark and can be toured.)