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Obama's energy chief announces nuclear waste panel
Washington (AFP) March 11, 2009 US Energy Secretary Steven Chu backed a new generation of nuclear power Wednesday, and said a panel of experts would report back this year on the best long-term storage of radioactive waste. The Nobel laureate scientist, chosen by President Barack Obama to lead an ambitious drive for renewable energy, said nuclear power was also an "essential part of our energy mix" along with cleaner coal and carbon capture. Chu said he was convening a "blue-ribbon panel" of experts to "develop a long-term strategy that must include the waste disposal plan," after Obama's budget ruled out a proposed national repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain. "I don't want to suggest what this blue-ribbon panel might determine but let me stress this will be done this year," he told a Senate budget committee hearing on the energy proposals in Obama's 3.55-trillion-dollar budget. Chu said nuclear power, which currently generates 20 percent of US energy, must take its place alongside clean technologies such as wind and solar to wean the United States off foreign oil and fight climate change. He encountered criticism from Republican senators after the Obama administration stripped 50 billion dollars in loans for new nuclear power plants from a 787-billion-dollar economic stimulus plan. Chu said federal loans worth 18.5 billion dollars were still available, while stressing that the government's Nuclear Regulatory Commission rather than the Department of Energy approves licenses for new nuclear plants. He said the DoE and NRC, however, are working together to offer a simpler licensing process for next-generation reactors under development by Westinghouse Electric, part of Japan's Toshiba Corp., and General Electric. In the meantime, Chu said "I don't think the NRC should be limiting that or putting the licensing on hold" for applications for 31 nuclear plants now pending, despite the lack of a long-term national waste facility. He said that so-called dry cask storage at individual nuclear plants, "which can be safe for decades," was sufficient for now while the panel of experts investigates the long-term options. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Jordan says four firms bid to build nuclear plant
Amman (AFP) March 10, 2009Jordan said on Monday that four international firms have proposed to build a nuclear plant in the energy-poor kingdom to help generate power and desalinate water. |
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