In our recent post on nuclear project financing, we noted the importance of reducing risk to investors to ensure projects can raise sufficient competitively priced capital needed to build them. Today we will discuss project structures. What are they and why are they important? The project structure is how the Read more…
We previously talked about energy security and the impact on global energy markets resulting from the crisis in Ukraine. In that post we discussed energy security from the traditional perspective of risk of disruption in global energy flows as a result of geopolitical issues. Today we will expand upon the Read more…
Energy is life. We depend upon it to get from place to place, warm (or cool) our homes, cook our food and communicate with one another. Everything we need to live our lives comes from a supply chain that uses energy to mine raw materials, manufacture products and ship them Read more…
Ten years have passed since Japan suffered the great Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that killed 20,000 people, caused US$300 billion of damage and initiated the accident at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant. Reviewing the media reporting last month, the nature of the stories has changed. There were of course 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…
Of the many challenges to expanding the use of nuclear power, economic competitiveness is essential for future success. Nuclear projects are large complex projects that have frequently experienced delays and overruns. Earlier this year, we wrote about the need to build nuclear plants on time and on budget as the Read more…
Over the last few years, we have written extensively about the strength of peoples’ beliefs and how difficult it is to change them. In spite of this, I thought we were making progress with a push to more evidence-based decision making. For something as polarizing as nuclear power, facts-based decision Read more…
Yes, you read that right. For years, there have been efforts to demonstrate that people who live near nuclear plants or work at nuclear plants are getting sick from all that darn radiation they are receiving. Over the years these stories have been debunked as study after study has shown Read more…
A huge milestone has been achieved in the United States as Watts Bar Unit 2 produced its first electricity; becoming the first new nuclear plant in the US to start up in 20 years since Watts Bar Unit 1 came into service in 1996. Unfortunately, this good news was overshadowed Read more…
When a report on the benefits of nuclear technology starts with “The public are often unaware of the extent to which aspects of their everyday life involve products and processes originated from the application of nuclear technology via the nuclear industry”, it tells me that the time has come to Read more…
Recent public outcry as a measles outbreak has managed to impact much of North America has once again showed the nature of public deniers of science. In this case it is concerns about vaccinations that have led to numerous children falling sick with measles. While not considered a highly risky Read more…
After many years of effort, this month it finally happened. The UK government and EDF Energy, the French-owned UK integrated energy company, agreed to a strike price making the first new nuclear build in the UK in a generation, at Hinkley Point C, a reality. It was a long hard Read more…
Finally this week, we are feeling the heat of summer. I am off next week to teach for the WNU in Korea and China. I always enjoy these summer courses and find the interest of those attending to be inspiring. That being said I thought I would be a bit Read more…
As I was thinking about what to write this month, I was invited by my dry cleaner to attend a protest in a nearby park against genetically modified food. This somewhat infuriated me as I know without doubt that GMO has helped millions around the world and had never killed Read more…
Last month we talked about Fukushima two years on and focused our discussion on making sure we remember the real people whose lives continue to be severely impacted by this accident. This month, as we also remember Chernobyl on its 27th anniversary, I wanted to talk about the legacy of Read more…
I have just done my first pass of the Word Energy Outlook 2012 issued by the IEA this November. Many of you will have seen some of the headlines – one of the most intriguing is that the US is expected to become the world’s largest oil producer by 2017 Read more…
I participated in the WNA Annual Symposium in London earlier this month. During the event I had ample opportunity to discuss my last post on developing a better understanding of the beliefs behind the public’s view of nuclear power and what we as an industry need to do going forward. Read more…
Since the Fukushima accident earlier this year, it has become clear that the nuclear industry has a fundamental problem. As so eloquently said in the introductory session of the WNA Annual Symposium in London last month by WNA Executive Director John Ritch there is a common belief that while nuclear Read more…
It has now been about two months since the horrific earthquake and tsunami that caused the damage at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The people of Japan continue to suffer from this mind boggling natural disaster with the death toll at well over 20,000. And yet when we hear Read more…
With everything going on due to this major natural disaster in Japan, it is absolutely incredible to watch how much of the reporting is about the Fukushima plant that goes well beyond the current status of the plant and efforts to get the situation under control. There is a lot Read more…