Lamar Alexander: Nuclear Energy Is Cheap and Reliable

Forty years ago, at the time of the first Earth Day, Americans became deeply worried about air and water pollution and a population explosion that threatened to overrun the planet’s resources. Nuclear power was seen as a savior to these environmental dilemmas. It could produce large amounts of low-cost, reliable clean energy. Unlike oil, nuclear power did not need to be hauled in leaking tankers from countries that didn’t like us. Unlike coal, it didn’t spew tons of pollution out of smokestacks...
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Southern Co. elects former NRC chair to board

Southern Co. said Monday it elected Dr. Dale E. Klein to its board of directors...
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U.S. Remains Cool to Nuclear Trade With Pakistan

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested yesterday the Obama administration was still not prepared to open nuclear trade with Pakistan, the New York Times reported...
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MI5 Thought Hussein Would Launch WMD as Last Resort

The United Kingdom's national intelligence service thought former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein would only launch weapons of mass destruction against Western nations in a last-ditch attempt to save his regime, the former head of MI5 testified today...
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House bill guarantees loans for nuclear reactors

House lawmakers approved a spending bill Thursday that includes $25 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors, an amount that could enable the expansion of North Texas' Comanche Peak plant. Dallas-based Luminant, which owns the plant, said the additional amount "would be sufficient" to allow funding for its plan to build two reactors. Luminant said it was "the first alternate" last year when the U.S. Department of Energy selected four nuclear projects to further consider for loan guarantees...
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Hamilton Supports Long-Term Waste Management Plan

The future of nuclear energy in the U.S. depends on whether this country can figure out how to treat and dispose of the waste that is created, a leader of a commission charged with reviewing U.S. nuclear waste policies said Thursday...
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DOE plans hearings on mixed oxide fuel use at TVA nuclear plants

The Tennessee Valley Authority, which has produced a key component for nuclear bombs at its newest reactor for more than a decade, could use its two other nuclear plants to dispose of materials from abandoned nuclear weapons...
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Nuclear reactors to use advance technology

Ten of China's proposed nuclear power reactors will use Westinghouse's AP1000 advanced technology considered safer, a Chinese energy official said...
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Lawmakers seek to halt Yucca shutdown

A group of 91 federal lawmakers Tuesday called for the Obama administration to halt the termination of the Yucca Mountain repository until legal questions about the shutdown are resolved....
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GOP energy bill focuses on nuclear power

Republican Sens. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Richard Burr of North Carolina have introduced energy legislation focused on expanding the nation's use of natural gas and nuclear power.The Republican senators' measure steers clear of proposals backed by many Democrats for a cap-and-trade provision that would cap carbon emissions and fine companies that go over set limits...
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NRDC Data Points to Nuclear Energy as Cleanest

Power companies using a lot of nuclear energy have been shown as among America's cleanest by the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) in recently published data...
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Iranian Official Sees Penalties Slowing Nuclear Work

A senior Iranian official today suggested that penalties adopted by other countries last month might "slow down" the progress of his nation's atomic efforts, Agence France-Presse reported...
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Calvert Cliffs first in line for nuclear loan guarantee

Constellation Energy's joint venture with a French company to build a nuclear reactor at Calvert Cliffs is now "first in line" for a federal loan guarantee, according to an influential lawmaker from Maryland...
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Yucca Action Blasted by ASLB

The people of the Northwest and supporters of the nuclear industry everywhere should cheer a decision preventing the Obama administration from abandoning the Yucca Mountain repository and walking away from two decades and $10 billion spent developing the nation's first long-term nuclear waste dump...
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2 Nuclear Power Plants Approved by Finland

The Finnish Parliament approved the construction of two nuclear power plants on Thursday, the latest victory for proponents of atomic energy in Europe...
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Japanese reactor cleared for extended operation

Japanese utility Kansai Electric Power Co (Kepco) has received regulatory approval to operate unit 1 of its Mihama nuclear power plant beyond its originally planned 40-year lifespan. The company also said that it will begin considering replacing the reactor with a new one...
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MOX Delivered to Japan

A consignment of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel that set sail from Europe in April has been delivered to its Japanese destinations...
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Debate Persists Over Nuking Oil Well

Following numerous failed attempts to seal off the BP drill site gushing massive amounts of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, debate has persisted over the possibility of closing the leak with a nuclear explosion, Reuters reported today...
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Potential Nuclear Detector Could See Through Shielding

Scientists have performed their first successful test of an experimental technology intended to spot potentially illicit nuclear materials obscured by heavy shielding, Wired magazine reported yesterday...
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New Nuclear Sanctions on Iran

The new law bars foreign firms dealing with Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the nation's energy sector or select Iranian banks from also doing business with the U.S. banking sector. In addition, it seeks to penalize firms selling gasoline to Iran through restrictions on their U.S. bank transactions, property transfers and foreign exchange in the United States...
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