Some households just can’t afford to save energy. When the upfront costs of new light bulbs exceed the savings from using less electricity, people will stick with the old ones. That also appears to be the case for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In spite of supporting regulations that will force all Americans to switch out old light bulbs for more expensive new ones (the good old incandescent bulb will be illegal in 2012), it seems that the DOE itself finds that it’s too much trouble and too expensive …
For anyone who has ever taken a timed shower or gone to a laundromat to cut down on their household utilities bills, it should not come as a surprise that an efficient showerhead is an easy way to cut costs. Likewise, luxury shower and bath lovers might consider the extra energy cost of multiple showerheads to be a worthy sacrifice for the daily spa experience. Either way, the choice is a personal one made based on preference or financial constraints. Or is it? Of the many microscopic issues in which …
The Secretary of Energy’s request that the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future not consider Yucca Mountain has been debatable from the beginning. After all, America’s electricity ratepayers have already invested over $10 billion into the repository. And besides that, federal statute clearly states that Yucca Mountain will be the nation’s repository. Whether or not that is the best policy, it is the law. Ignoring this investment and federal statute seemed like bad policy from the start. However, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission changed what seemed to be bad policy …
In a welcome decision, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission yesterday announced that it will not act on the Department of Energy’s motion to withdraw its application to construct the nuclear materials repository at Yucca Mountain until the court system rules on related lawsuits. Not only will it not consider the motion but it will continue its work on the application review and expects to have a significant portion completed by November. In other words, Yucca is far from dead. The announcement from the NRC was a pleasantly unexpected one. Just days …
Lost in President Obama’s rhetoric that the science is settled on climate change, the president is willing to shut down Yucca Mountain without scientific justification. Today, the Department of Energy (DOE) filed to withdraw the application for the geologic repository Yucca Mountain that was supposed to begin collecting used fuel in 1998. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 set January 31, 1998, as the deadline for the federal government to begin disposing of used fuel. More than a decade after the deadline, the government has still not settled on …
President Obama released his fiscal year 2011 budget this morning; his budget provides $28.4 billion for the Department of Energy (DOE) and $10 billion for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Both sections in the budget reflect the president’s message in the State of the Union address delivered last week: a government attempt to facilitate America’s transition to a clean energy economy. Highlights of the DOE budget include: $36 billion for Nuclear Loan Guarantees: Many are writing that nuclear is one of the big winners this year because of the $36 billion …
In what chief executive John K. Welch called “shocking and disappointing,” the Department of Energy denied USEC’s request for $2 billion in loan guarantees for a new uranium enrichment plant in Piketon, Ohio. But should anyone really be surprised? The fact is that government policymakers have been dictating the future of nuclear power for decades. And this decision shows exactly why the nuclear industry should not put its future in the hands of Washington. America’s nuclear plants will need to be fueled with enriched uranium, and the U.S. has very …
Today, USEC, Duke Energy and the international nuclear company AREVA announced plans for a new 1,650-megawatt nuclear reactor to be built in Piketon, Ohio, creating even more jobs for southern Ohio. The announcement comes almost a year after USEC announced it would build a new uranium enrichment plant in Piketon. Nuclear plants are fueled with low-enriched uranium and the U.S. currently has very limited uranium enrichment capabilities. While America’s limited domestic enrichment is currently provided by USEC’s plant in Paducah, Kentucky, the company is building a new $3.5 billion plant …
Looking at the energy sections of the budget blueprint released Thursday, two themes come to mind. Theme #1 Let’s give The Department of Energy (DOE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) more money. DOE’s budget for the fiscal year 2009 is just shy of $34 billion, up dramatically from $24.1 billion for 2008. Part of this is due to some of the $39 billion provided to the DOE in the 2009 stimulus bill signed by President Obama, but that $39 billion will be spent over the next several years. The EPA’s …
Or should the question be how much will they waste? Economist Arnold Kling has a list of risks associated with a large stimulus. Number one on the list is: It is harder to spend larger amounts quickly and cost-effectively. One of Obama’s chief economists, Larry Summers, emphasized that stimulus spending must be quick and temporary. That doesn’t seem to be the case with the energy projects in the bill. From the WSJ: Minnesota’s Sage Electrochromics Inc. has been ready for months to move on just the sort of project the …
