Carnival of Nuclear Energy 297

1. From Atomic Insights: Clean energy, sustainable energy – both terms include nuclear energy

During a Democratic Party debate, Senator Sanders said he wants to move away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy. Governor Martin O’Malley declared that he believes in science and has a plan that will result in a 100% clean electric energy grid by 2050 that includes solar, wind, new technologies etc.

Though Senator Sanders has a lengthy record of opposing nuclear energy, his use of the word “sustainable” provides an opportunity for changing his mind with new information. Governor O’Malley has a record of supporting new nuclear plants from his time as Maryland’s governor. That indicates that his definition of "clean energy" includes nuclear.

2. Forbes – James Conca – DOE Tries To Change The Rules On Nuclear Waste Disposal

DOE is trying to change the rules on nuclear waste disposal. For the better. Instead of the old top-down decision-making, DOE is going to implement a consent-based strategy. So instead of ordering some individual state to take all of the Nation’s high level nuclear waste whether they like it or not, we’ll ask “Who would like to take this waste? It will create fantastic jobs, will bring huge economic benefit to the region and, contrary to popular opinion, it’s safer than putting in a Mall.”

Deep Borehole Disposal uses a combination of the natural properties of deep crustal rocks plus engineered barriers like asphalt, bentonite and concrete to isolate waste for geologic time. At these depths, you’re so deep in the crust that the overlying rocks don’t matter. The water table doesn’t matter. The climate doesn’t matter. Human activities don’t matter. Because of its size, it will take more technological advances for most of our nuclear waste, but some waste is small and perfect for this approach. Source: Sandia

3. Yes Vermont Yankee – Renewables at 90% only IF grid-level storage comes first

Renewables cannot be a high percentage of grid power, unless grid-level storage is available. Previous posts at this blog described how natural-gas fired electricity substituted for the nuclear plant output. Some people commented that renewables could eventually substitute for natural gas. The current post describes why renewables cannot expand to that level, without energy storage.