Approval of the Sizewell C was lawful — France confirms commitment to Nuclear Energy — Did coal bail out solar? — Battery fire killed four in NYC — Siemens Energy’s profits have tumbled — China authorises a new Thorium MSR — No babies were harmed — New platform for nuclear videos — SONE Jubilee essay competitions continue.
Notes for a talk at the Reform Club, London, on 21 June 2023: Ensure that people have access to a plentiful supply of energy that is affordable, safe, secure, and reliable and which does not contribute to our carbon emissions, then there will be no need to feel guilty about not denying ourselves the benefits of energy. And no need to cheat on any environmental commitments. The only energy source that meets all of these requirements is electricity generated from nuclear energy.
Of all the options, only electricity generated from nuclear energy ticks all the boxes against the required criteria. It is safe, clean, secure and reliable; managed properly it is one of the cheapest forms of electricity available to us. It emits almost zero carbon.
Since life began on Earth there have been four energy revolutions. Now we stand at the threshold of the fifth. This should maintain the environment, follow the laws of natural science, and support the socio-economic needs of society. Only nuclear energy can match these, but a new spirit of informed public engagement is needed to replace seventy years of irrational aversion.
It is proving difficult to persuade the public to replace their efficient and convenient gas boilers because generally, heat pumps will not have equivalent thermal performance. This is a blessing in disguise, because providing the electrical energy for the new equipment will be a massive challenge.
SONE Silver Jubilee: Prizes and Competition announced — The Plusses and Minuses of the Energy Beauty Pageant — “Hug pylons, not trees” — A new paper on the fear of radiation by Brookes et al — X-Energy: news of actors getting together, there and here — A second discussion with Hugo Kruger — A few older videos and other links.
To stimulate the imagination of the current generation, unfettered by the mistakes of their elders, Supporters Of Nuclear Energy (SONE) is offering two prizes, each of £1000, to mark the 25th anniversary of its foundation on 1 June 1998.
SONE escapes the clutches of the Green — Change in Whitehall — Poland, Canada, Estonia, USA — Japan supports extended reactor life times — Uranium mining and fuel milling — Enthusiasm from Korean shipping lines — MoltexFLEX — Equilibrion, a startup for hydrogen, heat and synfuels — Safety of ionising radiation — JET's impending retirement.
News of New Nuclear in UK — Robert Oppenheimer’s name cleared — At the Science Museum — At the Frontier Energy 2050 Summit Conference — Review of Net Zero by Chris Skidmore MP — A view on low level nuclear waste — Wind energy.
The plan to cut the combustion of fossil fuels was accepted at the 2015 Paris Conference. The instinctive reaction around the world has been to revert to “Renewables”, the sources of energy replenished intermittently by the power of the Sun. Unfortunately this power, attenuated by the huge distance that it must travel to reach the Earth, is extremely weak.
A short in-person lecture given at the Frontier Energy 2050 Summit Conference, 24 Nov 2022, organised by Frontier Energy, and sponsored by various energy interests.
Slides with notes of a brief talk given at the first international in-person conference for shipping interests organised by CORE POWER at the Science Museum, 6 Oct 2022.
Happy Christmas — Sizewell C — Nuclear power in Scotland — Electricity price fluctuations — Production of electricity as the wind speed changes — Hydro — Low Dose Radiation and Hormesis.