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Articles on Nuclear Energy

• Panelists outline problems with U.S. nuclear plant safety
  Oct 10, 2013 - Christine Legere - capecodonline.com
  
  BOSTON — A panel of nuclear experts says it's time to retire the entire fleet of nuclear reactors in the United States because the consequences of an accident far outweigh the benefits of keeping them active.
  
  
• Former Japan Prime Minister calls for “global network” to oppose nuclear power and build a renewable energy future
  Jun 5, 2013 - BeyondNuclear.org
  
  On June 4, 2013, the San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts, Friends of the Earth and Physicians for Social Responsibility hosted an expert panel on the lessons of the tsunami-triggered Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe for California to bolster the campaign to permanently shut down the damaged San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in San Clemente, CA
  
  
• Power from Nuclear Waste
  Apr 8, 2013 - MARTIN ROSENBERG - energybiz.com
  
  Technology visionary Bill Gates is actively backing a new approach to nuclear power that he believes will play a huge role in our energy future.
  
  
• EIA Projects Massive Growth for Renewables, Nuclear Power Through 2040
  Jul 25, 2013 - POWERnews
  
  The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) International Energy Outlook 2013 (IEO2013) released today projects that renewable energy and nuclear power will each increase 2.5% per year through 2040, but fossil fuels will continue to supply almost 80% of world energy use by 2040.
  
  
• Japan's nuclear dilemma: Is geothermal the answer?
  Nov 6, 2012 - The Christian Science Monitor
  
  Japan's hot spring operators were once vocal opponents of geothermal power, which, along with other forms of renewable energy, is now being considered as an alternative to nuclear power.

• Kuwait scraps nuclear power in light of Fukushima crisis
  Mar 8, 2012 - mdn.mainichi.jp
  
  Kuwait is no longer pursuing nuclear power following the disaster in Japan, scrapping a plan last July to build four reactors by 2022, officials of a Kuwaiti government research body told Kyodo News and other media Tuesday.
  
  
• Renewable energy passes nuclear as U.S. power source
  Feb 8, 2012 - Steven E.F. Brown - bizjournals.com
  
  Renewable energy sources -- wind, water, solar and others -- passed nuclear generation as a share of U.S. power in September, according to the Energy Information Administration.
  
  
• Renewables Pass Nuclear
  Feb 2, 2012 - Bill Opalka - renewablesbiz.com
  
  Has renewable energy passed a threshold it has been seeking for years? It has surpassed nuclear in energy production and inching up on domestic oil production.
  
  
• Germany sets timeline for all nuclear plant shutdowns: puts pressure on PV to cut costs
  Jan 31, 2012 - Mark Osborne - pv-tech.org
  
  A dramatic u-turn by German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been officially proclaimed with the announcement that all nuclear plants in the country will be shut down permanently by 2021. Initially, eight of Germany’s oldest nuclear plants will shut down immediately and the remaining plants will be phased out over the next 10 years. However, three plants could remain operational until 2022 to allow for the possibility of delays occurring in the addition of new energy sources - mainly renewables - as a replacement.
  
  
• Energy Costs to Rise 'Viciously' Without Nuclear, IEA Says
  Nov. 11, 2011 - Lananh Nguyen - businessweek.com
  
  Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Energy will become "viciously more expensive" and polluting if governments don't promote renewable and nuclear power in the next two decades instead of burning coal, the International Energy Agency said.
  
  
• Pictures—Ten Oldest U.S. Nuclear Plants: Post-Japan Risks
  Sept. 30, 2011 - nationalgeographic.com
  
  The world's largest nuclear energy producer, the United States, Tuesday aired its first detailed public examination of whether stronger safety standards are needed in light of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
  
  
• Japan's renewables bill clears first hurdle in parliament
  Sept. 20, 2011 - Chris Whitmore - pv-tech.org
  
  The lower house of Japan's parliament has passed a new green bill aimed at promoting investment in solar and other renewable energy sources and weaning the country off nuclear power.
  
  
• Probe: Radioactive Tritium Leaks Found at Many Nuke Sites
  Sept. 20, 2011 - moneynews.com
  
  Radioactive tritium has leaked from three-quarters of U.S. commercial nuclear power sites, often into groundwater from corroded, buried piping, an Associated Press investigation shows.
  
  
• Germany Decides to Abandon Nuclear Power by 2022
  Sept. 16, 2011 - abcnews.go.com/Business
  
  Europe's economic powerhouse, Germany, announced plans Monday to abandon nuclear energy over the next 11 years, outlining an ambitious strategy in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster to replace atomic power with renewable energy sources.
  
  
  
• Coming Clean about Nuclear Power
  Jun 29, 2011 - scientificamerican.com
  
  Regulators and industry have one precious moment to recapture the public's trust
  
  
• After quake, Japan ends bid to boost nuclear power
  June 4, 2011 - Mari Yamaguchi - Associated Press - sfgate.com
  
  Japan will scrap a plan to obtain half of its electricity from nuclear power and will instead promote renewable energy and conservation as a result of its ongoing nuclear crisis, the prime minister said Tuesday.
  
  
• Nuclear Power is Dead - Part 2
  June 4, 2011 - Warren Reynolds - energypulse.net
  
  This is a continuation of a two-part series. In Part II, we will discuss:
  
  * Nuclear Power Plant Costs
  * Aging Nuclear Power Plants
  * NIMBY Factor
  * Summary
  
  
• Nuclear Power is Dead - Part 1
  June 4, 2011 - Warren Reynolds - energypulse.net
  
  The U.S. Government is actively looking into the safety of our existing nuclear power plants. Any new power plant design and construction will undergo heavy Government scrutiny before permits are issued. In addition, eight different non-profit clean energy organizations including Green Peace have just recently (2009) petitioned the U.S. Government to stop and abandon all nuclear power plants2.
  
  
• Nuclear dilemma: adequate insurance too expensive
  May 14, 2011 - Juergen Baetz - Associated Press - energycentral.com
  
  From the U.S. to Japan, it's illegal to drive a car without sufficient insurance, yet governments around the world choose to run over 440 nuclear power plants with hardly any coverage whatsoever.
  
  
• Nuclear Power: Still Not Viable Without Subsidies
  Mar 06,2011 - Doug Koplow, Earth Track, Inc. - EarthTrack.net
  
  Conspicuously absent from industry press releases and briefing memos touting nuclear power’s potential as a solution to global warming is any mention of the industry’s long and expensive history of taxpayer subsidies and excessive charges to utility ratepayers. These subsidies not only enabled the nation’s existing reactors to be built in the first place, but have also supported their operation for decades.
  
  
• Construction of $12.2 Billion Plant To Turn Nuclear Waste into Glass Takes Shape in Eastern Washington State
  Feb 08, 2011 - Seattle Times - McClatchy Tribune News
  
  Rising from the desert sand in eastern Washington state is a construction project unlike any in history.
  
  
• Nuclear Energy Loses Cost Advantage
  Aug 25, 2010 - By DIANA S. POWERS - New York Times
  
  PARIS — Solar photovoltaic systems have long been painted as a clean way to generate electricity, but expensive compared with other alternatives to oil, like nuclear power.
  
  
• Fusion Power Gets an Architect
  May 20, 2010 - Geoff Brumfiel - nature.com
  
  After a year-long pause it looks like construction may finally swing into high gear at ITER, the multibillion-dollar fusion experiment located in St-Paul-lez-Durance, France...
  
• Climate Bill Calls for 12 Nuclear Plants
  May 18, 2010 - Timothy Gardner - scientificamerican.com
  
  The draft U.S. climate bill expected to be unveiled on Monday contains incentives to help build a dozen nuclear power plants...
  
  
• The Coming Nuclear Crisis
  May 18, 2010 - arXiv blog - technologyreview.com
  
  The world is running out of uranium and nobody seems to have noticed.
  
  
• A New Road to Fusion?
  May 18, 2010 - David Chandler - technologyreview.com
  
  Reactor mimics a planet's magnetic field, but the results might be stellar
  
  
• Japan plans nuclear power expansion
  May 18, 2010 - David Cyranoski - nature.com
  
  Proposal for eight new reactors and nuclear fuel reprocessing faces public opposition.
  
  
• Japan fires up its fast breeder
  May 18, 2010 - Daniel Cressey - nature.com
  
  Monju, Japan’s prototype fast breeder reactor, restarted operation yesterday.
  
  
• Tainted nuke plant water reaches major NJ aquifer
  May 12, 2010 - Wayne Parry - Associated Press - Energy Central
  
  Radioactive water that leaked from the nation's oldest nuclear power plant has now reached a major underground aquifer that supplies drinking water to much of southern New Jersey, the state's environmental chief said Friday.
  
  
• Fusion power gets an architect
  Apr 14, 2010 - blogs.nature.com
  
  After a year-long pause it looks like construction may finally swing into high gear at ITER, the multibillion-dollar fusion experiment located in St-Paul-lez-Durance, France.
  
  
• World's largest laser blasted over fusion plan
  Apr 12, 2010 - Jeff Hecht - newscientist.com
  
  The world's largest laser is meant to spark off a fusion reaction this year – but don't bank on it.
  
  
• Laser Nuclear Technology Might Pose Security Risk
  Apr 12, 2010 - Richard Harris - npr.org
  
  World leaders have gathered in Washington to talk about how to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. The discussions are mainly about keeping actual weapons, and weapons-grade material, under strict control.
  
  
• Nuclear Waste May Get A Second Life
  Apr 9, 2010 - Richard Harris - npr.org
  
  The Obama administration is promoting nuclear power, but at the same time it has put an end to plans to bury nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain, Nev.
  
  
• Laser 'punch' could bump up fusion power
  Apr 1, 2010 - Colin Barras - newscientist.com
  
  How do you create efficient fusion power with fewer radioactive by-products? Use a laser to send the equivalent of a seismic wave through the fuel.
  
  
• Nuclear waste piling up in region
  Mar 22, 2010 - Pam Sohn - Chattanooga Times Free Press - McClatchy
  
  Three nuclear power plants along the Tennessee River near Chattanooga are storing 3,013 metric tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste.
  
  
• Israel, Syria announce nuclear energy ambitions
  Mar 9, 2010 - Angela Charlton - The Associated Press
  
  Mideast rivals Israel and Syria on Tuesday each announced ambitions to develop nuclear energy, with Israel facing the prospect that its plan could bring new international attention to its secretive nuclear activities.
  
  
• A need for new nukes? "Modular reactors" for energy attract interest
  Mar 5, 2010 - David Biello - scientificamerican.co
  
  The entire budget of the U.S. Department of Energy branch that covers today's energy mix—from cleaning up energy generation's environmental aftermath to energy efficiency programs and renewable energy development—is $10 billion.
  
  
• Hybrid fusion: the third nuclear option
  Mar 4, 2010 - Julian Hunt and Graham O'Connor
  
  THE long-anticipated nuclear renaissance has arrived.
  
  
• Bill Gates on energy: Innovating to zero!
  Feb 28, 2010
  
  At TED2010, Bill Gates unveils his vision for the world's energy future, describing the need for "miracles" to avoid planetary catastrophe and explaining why he's backing a dramatically different type of nuclear reactor. The necessary goal? Zero carbon emissions globally by 2050.
  
  
• Are New Types of Reactors Needed for the U.S. Nuclear Renaissance?
  Feb 19, 2010 - David Biello - scientificamerican.com
  
  Ongoing problems with nuclear waste might resurrect plans for reactors that would leave less of it
  
  Nuclear Power By the Numbers
  Feb 19, 2010 - Kati Fehrenbacher - earth2tech.com
  
  With all of the attention on nuclear power this week — due both to the $8.3 billion in loan guarantees awarded to build the first nuclear plants in the U.S. in almost three decades.
  
  
• Small Reactors Generate Big Hopes
  Feb 18, 2010 - Rebecca Smith - Wall Street Journal
  
  A new type of nuclear reactor—smaller than a rail car and one tenth the cost of a big plant—is emerging as a contender to reshape the nation's resurgent nuclear power industry.
  
  
• Germany likely to phase out the nuclear phase out
  Feb 17, 2010 -- Datamonitor
  
  Germany's Atomic Exit Law of 2001 is back on the political agenda. Given coal's poor environmental profile and the expensive and intermittent reality of renewable energy, concerns have been raised over whether Germany can afford to phase-out nuclear power generation and still keep the lights on and meet ambitious emissions reductions targets.
  
  
• TerraPower: How The Traveling Wave Nuclear Reactor Works
  Feb 15, 2010 - Katie Fehrenbacher - earth2tech.com
  
  When Microsoft Chairman and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates mentioned TerraPower in his speech at the exclusive tech conference TED last week, it was the first time that many had heard of the nuclear project.
  
  
• Nuclear Giant Areva Buys Solar Company Ausra
  Feb 9, 2010 - Laura Lsensee - Reuters
  
  The world's largest nuclear plant builder, Areva SA, is diversifying into solar power with the aim of becoming an industry leader, as it acquires U.S.-based solar thermal player Ausra, the company said on Monday.
  
  
• Obama Budget Increases Funding for Energy Research and Nuclear Power
  Feb 2, 2010 - Scientific American
  
  Nuclear energy and energy research are among the big winners in the proposed $28.4 billion Energy Department fiscal 2011 budget the White House unveiled today.
  
  
• Leaks imperil nuclear industry
  Jan 31, 2010 - Beth Daley - boston.com
  
  The nuclear industry, once an environmental pariah, is recasting itself as green as it attempts to extend the life of many power plants and build new ones. But a leak of radioactive water at Vermont Yankee, along with similar incidents at more than 20 other US nuclear plants in recent years, has kindled doubts about the reliability, durability, and maintenance of the nation’s aging nuclear installations.
  
  
• Steven Cowley: Fusion is energy's future
  Dec 31, 2009 - Steven Cowley - TED.com
  
  Physicist Steven Cowley is certain that nuclear fusion is the only truly sustainable solution to the fuel crisis. He explains why fusion will work -- and details the projects that he and many others have devoted their lives to, working against the clock to create a new source of energy.
  
  
• Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke
  Dec 21, 2009 - Richard Martin - wired.com
  
  The thick hardbound volume was sitting on a shelf in a colleague’s office when Kirk Sorensen spotted it. A rookie NASA engineer at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Sorensen was researching nuclear-powered propulsion, and the book’s title — Fluid Fuel Reactors — jumped out at him. He picked it up and thumbed through it.
  
  
• Nuclear power isn't the answer, expert says
  Nov 4, 2009 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Richard Mial La Crosse Tribune, Wis.
  
  Former federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission member Peter Bradford does not believe nuclear power will be a major answer to America's energy issues.
  
  
• A Guide to New Nuclear
  Sep 8, 2009 - Michael Kanellos - greentchmedia.com
  
  Nuclear power has been stuck in neutral in the U.S. for over 30 years. New reactors and concepts may bring it back. Here’s a roadmap.
  
  
• Nuclear power could cost trillions over renewables
  Jun 19, 2009 - Brendan Borrell - Scientific American
  
  Nuclear power plants may not emit greenhouse gases, but they sure could suck in the tax dollars. 
  
  
• 43 more nations planning to have nuclear power plants, association says
  May 26, 2009 -McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Kyodo News International, Tokyo
  
  Forty-three more nations, including some emerging countries, have plans to launch nuclear power programs in addition to the 31 economies that currently have atomic power plants, according to a recent report by the London-based World Nuclear Association.
  
  
• Will the nuclear power "renaissance" ever reach critical mass?
  May 21, 2009 - David Biello - Scientific American
  
  Despite an abundance of plans and applications, new nuclear reactors outside of Asia are few and far between, which puts nuclear's contribution to fighting greenhouse gas emissions at risk.
  
  
• TR10: Traveling-Wave Reactor
  Apr 10, 2009 - Matt Wald - technologyreview.com
  
  A new reactor design could make nuclear power safer and cheaper, says John Gilleland.
  
  
• China Bets Heavily on Nuclear, Wind Power
  Apr 8, 2009 - SinoCast Daily Business Beat
  
  China, one of the biggest power consumers worldwide, has paid much attention to clean energy, and particularly, it has decided to greatly boost nuclear and wind power generation.
  
  
• The High Cost of Nuclear Power: Why America Should Choose a Clean Energy Future Over New Nuclear Reactors (Maryland)
  Mar, 2009 - Maryland PIRG Foundation
  
  Nuclear power is among the most costly approaches to solving America’s energy problems.
  
  
• The Future of Nuclear Power
  Jan 26, 2009 - Scientific American (sciam.com)
  
  The U.S.--and the world--is gearing up to build a potentially massive fleet of new nuclear reactors, in part to fight climate change. But can nuclear power handle the load?
  
  
• Billions of fish, fish eggs die in power plants
  Oct 18, 2008 - Jim Fitzgerald - The Associated Press
  
  For a newly hatched striped bass in the Hudson River, a clutch of trout eggs in Lake Michigan or a baby salmon in San Francisco Bay, drifting too close to a power plant can mean a quick and turbulent death.
  
  
• FPL Says Nuclear Power Should Be Considered a Renewable Energy Supply
  Aug 30, 2008 - John Dorschner - The Miami Herald
  
  In the massive discussion that's starting to shape the future of electric power in the state for decades to come, an executive of Florida Power & Light insists that the best way to reduce greenhouse gases is to define nuclear as a renewable energy source.
  
  
• Nuclear Sites Cost Warning
  Jul 10, 2008 - Birmingham Post
  
  The pounds 73 billion cost of decommissioning nuclear power sites could be increased "significantly", the head of an influential committee of MPs has warned.
  
  
• Brown Says World Needs 1,000 Extra Nuclear Power Stations
  Jun 13, 2008 - The Independent
  
  Gordon Brown has signalled he wants Britain to play a major role in the race to build an extra 1,000 nuclear power stations across the world as part of his vision for ending the global "addiction to oil". The Prime Minister, who will be flying to Saudia Arabia for an emergency oil summit next week, said in spite of the risks of terrorism, Africa could build nuclear power plants to meet growing demands for energy.
  
  
• Egypt's president announces plans to build several nuclear energy plants
  Oct 29, 2007 - Maamoun Youssef - The Associated Press
  
  Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday announced plans to build several nuclear power plants, joining several Middle East Arab countries that recently have said they are kick starting their nuclear energy ambitions.
  
  
• Experts warn of severe challenges to peaceful use of nuclear energy
  Sep 20, 2007 - Xinhua
  
  Experts warned here on Thursday that the development of the peaceful use of nuclear energy in the world would face severe challenges over the next 25 years.
  
  
• China announces plans to build 32 nuclear power plants in next 15 years
  Feb 27, 2006 - The Associated Press

  BEIJING - China will build 32 nuclear plants over the next 15 years in an effort to meet the country's burgeoning energy needs - more than doubling its reliance on the controversial source, the government said Monday.
  

• France, India sign civilian nuclear deal
  Feb 20, 2006 - UPI
  
  NEW DELHI - India and France put aside their current disagreements to conclude a civilian nuclear agreement that they said will be for peaceful purposes. The agreement was signed in New Delhi following talks between visiting French President Jacques Chirac and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reports the BBC.
  
  
• Iran planning to construct 20 nuclear power plants
  Feb 19, 2006 - BBC Monitoring
  
  Tehran - A Majlis deputy from Tabriz, Azarshahr and Osku, Mohammad Hoseyn Farhangi, has said: "The preparation, study and construction of 20 nuclear power plants have been envisaged in the upcoming year's budget bill."
  
  
• United States Proposes Global Plan To Encourage Nuclear Energy
  Feb 9, 2006 - STATE DEPARTMENT RELEASE/ContentWorks
  
  The U.S. Energy Department has proposed a broad global energy partnership to promote nuclear energy as a clean and safe source of electricity and develop advanced nuclear technologies to prevent spent nuclear fuel from being used to produce nuclear weapons.

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