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The U.S. is helping China build a novel, superior nuclear reactor by  Mark Halper February 2, 2015, 2:48 PM EDT Share icons The Department of Energy is dusting off one of the old betamaxes of nuclear technology: The molten salt reactor. But with political will lacking at home, it will rise in China.In 1973, the Nixon administration made a momentous decision that altered the course of civilian nuclear power: It fired the director of the renowned Oak Ridge National Laboratory, scuppering development of a reactor widely regarded as safer and superior to the complicated, inferior behemoths that define the global...

Japan will have as many as nine nuclear reactors in operation this winter, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday, seeking to ensure stable power supplies during peak demand. With five reactors currently running, the additions would boost combined capacity from nuclear power to around 10% of the country's electricity needs amid concerns of a power crunch this winter. "We want to have ample capacity to ensure a stable supply of electricity during peak times," Kishida said. "The national government will take the lead" on restarting these reactors, "making tenacious efforts to secure the understanding and cooperation of local governments and...

The creation of the Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) business was announced following a £195m cash injection from private firms and a £210m grant from the government. Small modular reactors are nuclear fission reactors but are smaller than conventional ones. Rolls-Royce SMR said one of its power stations would occupy about one tenth of the size of a conventional nuclear plant - the equivalent footprint of two football pitches - and power approximately one million homes. The firm said a plant would have the capacity to generate 470MW of power, which it added would be the same produced by more...

According to the 2021 World Nuclear Industry Status Report, global nuclear power generation dropped 3.9 percent in 2020 despite a 4.4 percent climb in China, where two new reactors were added. In 2021, 415 reactors were operational around the world – 22 fewer than in 2011. Another 26 are currently in long-term storage and 53 are under construction – around half in China and India. The rapid expansion of renewables and negative public sentiment towards nuclear energy created by disasters such as those in Chernobyl or Fukushima have been turning nuclear power into an also-ran of global energy generation. Nuclear...

Today, President Trump is issuing an Executive Order on Promoting Small Modular Reactors for National Defense and Space Exploration, which will further revitalize the United States nuclear energy sector, reinvigorate America’s space exploration program, and produce diverse energy options for national defense needs.The United States has used transportable nuclear reactors for nearly 70 years for functions like propelling aircraft carriers through the sea and enabling submarines to stay underwater for long periods of time. Using small modular reactors for national defense and space exploration will allow the United States to maintain and advance our leadership and dominance across space and...

"We are sidestepping all of the scientific challenges that have held fusion energy back for more than half a century," says the director of an Australian company that claims its hydrogen-boron fusion technology is already working a billion times better than expected.

There seems to be a similarity between international trade disputes and Texas Hold’em. There is always a certain amount of bluff that is part of the negotiations. The question is, how much is a bluff and how much is not. The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) has just revealed that they are going to use their stake in rare earth minerals production as their show card. Make no mistake -- the communist government is not bluffing. However, one good card does not make a winning hand. To understand the problem, we first must understand where rare earth mineral deposits are...

01/18/2018 NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy successfully performed their initial tests on a miniature nuclear power system, and will try a more developed test in March. Reuters reports: Months-long testing began in November at the energy department’s Nevada National Security Site, with an eye toward providing energy for future astronaut and robotic missions in space and on the surface of Mars, the moon or other solar system destinations. You may remember that human astronauts walked on the moon only a handful of times back in the 1960s and 1970s, and never for longer than three consecutive days. Longer...

It is safe to say that solar panel installations in the path of Hurricane Harvey are finding it impossible or nearly so to generate electricity this week in south Texas. It is also safe to say that wind turbines in the area are not faring so well, either. According to the online news source North American Wind Power, one large installation in the path of the storm sent all 39 workers home as the hurricane closed in, but operated remotely until the wind hit 55 mph. It was then shut down. Others were challenged by the “intermittency of wind” said...

For years nuclear scientists have talked about a revival of molten salt reactors, which are powered by a liquid fuel rather than solid fuel rods, that will help spark the long-awaited “nuclear renaissance.” Recent developments indicate that this alternative nuclear power technology is finally making progress toward commercialization. A consortium of research institutes and universities working under the aegis of the European Commission, including the Technology University of Delft (TU Delft), in the Netherlands, France’s National Center for Scientific Research, and the Commission’s Joint Research Center, in Brussels, in August embarked on a four-year research program designed to demonstrate the...

The first-ever global map of antineutrino flux, which accounts for natural and human-made sources of antineutrinos, with the latter making up less than 1 percent of the total flux. Credit: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency/AGM2015 The neutrino and its antimatter cousin, the antineutrino, are the tiniest subatomic particles known to science. These particles are byproducts of nuclear reactions within stars (including our sun), supernovae, black holes and human-made nuclear reactors. They also result from radioactive decay processes deep within the Earth, where radioactive heat and the heat left over from the planet's formation fuels plate tectonics, volcanoes and Earth's magnetic field....

SAN CLEMENTE (CBS) — An extended shutdown at the San Onofre nuclear power generating plant has prompted calls from one Orange County lawmaker to replace the aging reactor with newer technology. KNX 1070′s Mike Landa reports the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station has been out of commission since January due to safety concerns surrounding its two reactors Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) declared the plant safe after touring the facility on Thursday, but said the closure highlights the fact that the plant just south of San Clemente is outdated. “I am calling today for a moratorium on any more light-water...

Yukiya Amano says Iran has failed to clarify its atomic development activities to the satisfaction of the United Nations nuclear watchdog body -- and now it's his job to warn the world about its possible military intentions. Amano, chief of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency, said Thursday in an interview with the German-language Financial Times Deutschland an IAEA delegation will press Iran for "full cooperation" in meetings with officials in Tehran. "What we know suggests the development of nuclear weapons," FTD quoted the IAEA chief as saying "We want to check over everything that could have a military...

A war among the five commissioners of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission broke into the open Friday night when Republican Rep. Darrell Issa released a letter in which four of the commissioners said they have “grave concerns” about NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko. In the letter — which was sent to the White House in October but not made public until Friday night — the four NRC members say Jaczko, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, is a bully who is “causing serious damage” to the commission with “increasingly problematic and erratic" behavior. The letter from Democratic Commissioners William...

As Belgium becomes the latest European nation to agree to switch off nuclear power, operator Electrabel warned Monday of high costs, environmental fallout and increased dependency on foreign suppliers. ... A front-page cartoon in the Flemish daily De Standaard on Monday showed four pairs of eyes in the dark with one of the blacked out faces saying, "I think Electrabel is trying to make a message heard." ... Italy and Switzerland meanwhile have put nuclear power plans on ice, while Germany switched off several reactors in the wake of the Japanese disaster and has since passed legislation to phase out...

Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced full meltdowns at three reactors in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami in March, the country's Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters said Monday. The nuclear group's new evaluation, released Monday, goes further than previous statements in describing the extent of the damage caused by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11. The announcement will not change plans for how to stabilize the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the agency said. Reactors 1, 2 and 3 experienced a full meltdown, it said.

Press Release (Mar 29,2011)Status of TEPCO's Facilities and its services after the Tohoku-Taiheiyou-Oki Earthquake (as of 4:00PM) Due to the Tohoku-Taiheiyou-Oki Earthquake which occurred on March 11th 2011, TEPCO's facilities including our nuclear power stations have been severely damaged. We deeply apologize for the anxiety and inconvenience caused. Below is the status of TEPCO's major facilities. *new items are underlined[Nuclear Power Station] Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station: Units 1 to 3: shutdown due to the earthquake (Units 4 to 6: outage due to regular inspections) *The national government has instructed the public to evacuate for those local residents within...

Sunday, March 20, 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Plant To Be Decommissioned: Govt TOKYO (Kyodo)--The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is in no condition to restart and is most likely to be decommissioned as it has caused many critical problems since a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan on March 11, the top government spokesman suggested Sunday. ''Looking at the situation objectively, (the answer to the question of) whether it can be operated again is clear,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference, when asked whether the government plans to close the plant once its overheating reactors are...

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