Nuclear power is a people business. Through the hard work of many, most plants operate at very high operating factors and produce clean economic electricity 24 hours a day 7 days a week. They produce in good weather and bad, when it is sunny and when it is dark, when Read more…
It has been about two months that most of us have been staying home to help flatten the curve of the COVID 19 pandemic. While it may seem difficult, we keep telling our kids how lucky we are to have incomes as we work from home to limit our health Read more…
Watching the news has never been more difficult. The world seems to have changed in an instant. Although only named on February 11, 2020, a mere few weeks ago there is likely no one on the planet who has not heard of COVID 19. Trying to both understand what is Read more…
At the Canadian Nuclear Association conference on February 27, the Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, made the Canadian position on the role of nuclear power to combat climate change crystal clear. “As the world tackles a changing climate, nuclear power is poised to provide the next wave Read more…
In December European leaders agreed to make the European Union carbon neutral by 2050. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described it as Europe’s “man on the moon” moment. With this kind of strong statement of commitment, you would think that EU countries would use every option available to Read more…
It’s hard to believe, but a new decade is upon us. (We wrote the decade and nuclear power in our post earlier this year celebrating 10 years of blogging.) As the decade comes to a close, 2019 seems to be the year that climate change is finally being taken seriously, Read more…
It has been more than a decade since the nuclear industry focused its attention on the next generation of nuclear plants, the Generation III designs. Most of the world’s current operating fleet (440 nuclear reactors in 30 countries) are classified as Generation II plants, the first generation of truly commercial Read more…
Here in Canada, we recently held a bitterly fought federal election with the outcome being the existing government was returned to power but reduced to a minority. One of the big issues this election cycle was climate change. It was fascinating to watch as one side claimed government was not Read more…
On the cusp of the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York where there was a collective outrage at the slow pace of decarbonization in the world, we lost another operating nuclear plant before its time as Three Mile Island Unit 1 closed after 45 years of operation. It Read more…
The facts are clear. Nuclear power is a critical part of our global low carbon electricity generation system. It provides abundant, reliable and economic low carbon electricity needed to power our energy hungry economies. Yet, as stated in the recent IEA report, Nuclear Power in a Clean Energy System, even Read more…
It has been a wonderful experience participating in the World Nuclear University (WNU) for the last 12 years. The best part has been meeting fascinating people who are interested in nuclear power in so many different countries. I am involved in two WNU programs, the WNU 3-day short course – Read more…
The International Energy Agency (IEA) plays an important role in looking at the global energy scene. Every year it publishes the World Energy Outlook (WEO) providing important information and analysis to countries to support their development of energy policy. Over the years, the focus of the WEO has been to Read more…
It’s hard to believe, but this month it is 10 years since our first blog post in May of 2009. 10 years! And what a decade it has been for the nuclear power industry. There were highs and lows, and most of all change….. In 2009, there was still optimism Read more…
We often speak about the incredible energy density of nuclear fuel; a pellet the size of the end of your finger can deliver as much energy as a ton of coal. In addition to producing a large amount of energy from a very small amount of resource, the plants themselves Read more…
“We are the healthiest, wealthiest, and longest-lived people in history. And we are increasingly afraid. This is one of the great paradoxes of our time.” As said by Daniel Gardner in his book “The Science of Fear: How the Culture of Fear Manipulates Your Brain” more than a decade ago; Read more…
If decarbonizing global energy systems is a priority; it seems obvious that all low carbon options should be considered as part of the solution. Yet, a year and a half after 21 prominent scientists disproved the Jacobson paper that claimed a 100% renewables electricity system is feasible in the USA Read more…
Nuclear projects are large and large projects are hard. They are hard to organize, and they are hard to execute. We have seen what happens when we try and convince people they are easy – or that we can make them easy by shifting the risk onto the vendor/contractor – Read more…
The world is burning – or it’s about to – so says the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its special report considering the benefit to the planet if we manage to keep the increase in temperature to 1.5 C rather than the target most often discussed of 2 Read more…
When it comes to nuclear project implementation there is no greater challenge than getting the costs right. The industry can focus on improving public acceptance and demonstrating a need for low carbon generation, but only a cost competitive nuclear industry will really meet its full potential. This is the third Read more…
It is with great sadness that we see the Wolsong Unit 1 reactor start to defuel after being shut down prematurely as part of the South Korean government’s plan to reduce reliance on nuclear energy. This is part of the South Korean government’s commitment to replace nuclear and coal with Read more…