Los Alamos National Labs to get multi-billion-dollar plutonium facility

Yesterday, The National Nuclear Security Administration confirmed its plans to replace an aging Los Alamos National Labs facility, which runs across a major fault line, with an estimated $4-6 billion plutonium lab. According to the NNSA notice, the new building “would provide vitally essential technical support capabilities to NNSA’s national More…

Fermi II nuclear plant at risk during an earthquake

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy is warning that the reactor it built for DTE Energy’s Fermi II nuclear power plant may not shut down properly during an earthquake.
The Pittsburgh Tribune reports that Fermi II is among 35 GE reactors where the company is recommending testing to determine what More…

Iowa legislature on the brink of fights over abortion, nuclear power

As the second funnel week of the legislative session looms two weeks from today, Iowa lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are identifying priorities for the next two weeks. But disagreements and passionate-fueled controversy, however, could put bills on hold until the next year.

Lawmakers could either pass or More…

Rep. Upton wants nuclear plants relicensed quicker

Rep. Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is criticizing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the time it is taking to consider license renewal applications from aging nuclear power plants.

The Pilgrim Power Plant in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Vermont Yankee Power Plant in More…

What environmentalists fear about Obama’s new climate strategy

Environmentalists have never been too keen about President Obama’s support for nuclear power and natural gas. But those positions got less attention amid the cap-and-trade debate.

With cap-and-trade all but dead, President Obama has decided to focus on energy provisions that can garner Republican support. This includes some things that More…

Zeroing In on House Republicans’ Energy Agenda

Now that Republicans have taken the House, it looks like we’ll be seeing a very different approach to energy and climate change policy next year, to put it mildly.

While it’s unclear exactly what presumptive House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) energy agenda will be, we can get some idea of More…

Midterm Wrapup: What the Election Means for Energy and the Environment

Here’s a quick recap of the midterm results from last night that have implications for energy/climate/environmental policy.

It was mostly bad news for House Democrats who voted for the chamber’s cap-and-trade bill. The two most stinging defeats were Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), who worked furiously behind the scenes to More…

A Nuclear Energy Obsession Leads to FBI Investigation

The New York Times has a bizarre story today about a former government scientist who attempted to sell Venezuela plans to build a nuclear bomb, in exchange for help furthering his vision for a nuclear fusion technology that could revolutionize the way energy is produced.

The Precarious Balance of the Renewable Energy Standard

It’s a tricky thing, getting 60 votes for a renewable energy standard in the Senate. As of yesterday, the RES had 25 co-sponsors, including four Republicans. While that’s not shabby, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said the bill, proposed by Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Sam More…

Sanders Stands Up to Big Nuke

These days, in their efforts to patch together a bipartisan coalition to pass climate legislation, Democrats have been falling over themselves to kowtow to nuclear energy. From President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu to members of Congress such as Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Democrats have readily agreed with their More…