Nuclear Archives - Inside Climate News

Wyoming Could Gain the Most from Federal Climate Funding, But Obstacles Are Many

By Marianne Lavelle — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 09:15:00 +0000

Ambitious climate action could reap rewards for the No. 1 coal state, one study concludes. But the state economy remains tied to fossil fuels.

By Marianne Lavelle

Wyoming Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, leading Republican voices on energy policy, have been among the foremost critics of the nation’s first comprehensive climate law.

Amid Glimmers of Bipartisan Interest, Advocates Press Congress to Add Nuclear Power to the Climate Equation

By Emma Ricketts — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Cost overruns and missed deadlines remain a powerful deterrent to investors. Still, the nuclear industry hopes clean energy goals will help unleash federal aid.

By Emma Ricketts

Even as climate change spurs interest in low-carbon energy sources, high costs and stubborn construction delays are impeding global investment in nuclear power, an expert told Congress this month.

Meet the Millennial Scientist Leading the Biden Administration’s Push for a Nuclear Power Revival

By Dan Gearino — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Kathryn Huff, head of the Office of Nuclear Energy, on the administration’s plans for how and where to build new plants, and why some in her generation are bullish on atomic power—despite the skepticism.

By Dan Gearino

Kathryn Huff grew up in Bellville, Texas, a city of about 4,200 residents in the rural area west of Houston, and discovered at a young age that she had an aptitude for math.

What Lego—Yes, Lego—Can Teach Us About Avoiding Energy Project Boondoggles

By Dan Gearino — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000

A new book looks at why big projects fail and finds that solar, wind and transmission lines are some of the best kinds of big projects, while nuclear power is among the worst.

By Dan Gearino

In the late 1980s, Denmark’s government announced plans for a massive bridge and tunnel project, the largest infrastructure plan in the history of a country that had little experience building tunnels. Bent Flyvbjerg watched the announcement on the news with his father, who had worked in bridge and tunnel construction.

Germany’s New Government Had Big Plans on Climate, Then Russia Invaded Ukraine. What Happens Now?

By Dan Gearino — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 09:00:00 +0000

A new chancellor and his coalition want to enact major clean energy legislation at the same time that the war has scrambled the geopolitics of energy.

By Dan Gearino

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has made Germany’s reliance on Russian oil and gas untenable, and led the center-left government of Chancellor Olav Scholz to accelerate the transition to clean energy.

Chernobyl Is Not the Only Nuclear Threat Russia’s Invasion Has Sparked in Ukraine

By Michael Kodas — Sat, 26 Feb 2022 10:15:00 +0000

The potential for fires in the “Red Forest” still tainted by radioactive fallout from the 1986 meltdown, and 15 reactors running elsewhere in the country, pose greater risks.

By Michael Kodas

It took only hours for the Russian invasion of Ukraine to hang a nuclear threat over Europe. But the defunct Chernobyl power plant may pose less of a hazard than the forest surrounding it, or the 15 nuclear reactors still operating in the country.

In Georgia, Bloated Costs Take Over a Nuclear Power Plant and a Fight Looms Over Who Pays

By James Bruggers — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Vogtle’s two new nuclear reactors are six years late and at least $16 billion over their original budget. The plant will have no direct carbon footprint, but critics say there are much cheaper ways to reduce emissions.

By James Bruggers

Ballooning cost overruns and construction delays at Georgia Power Co.’s Vogtle nuclear project threaten to cost the state’s electricity consumers billions of dollars in the decades to come, a new think tank report concludes.

Nuclear Fusion: Why the Race to Harness the Power of the Sun Just Sped Up

By Tom Wilson in Oxford and Ian Bott in London, Financial Times — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Fusion companies have now raised $2.3 billion in investment, believing they can begin producing unlimited amounts of zero emissions energy by the 2030s.

By Tom Wilson in Oxford and Ian Bott in London, Financial Times

A nervous excitement hangs in the air. Half a dozen scientists sit behind computer screens, flicking between panels as they make last-minute checks. “Go and make the gun dangerous,” one of them tells a technician, who slips into an adjacent chamber. A low beep sounds. “Ready,” says the person running the test. The control room falls silent. Then, boom.

Bill Gates’ Vision for Next-Generation Nuclear Power in Wyoming Coal Country

By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times, and Judy Fahys, Inside Climate News — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 10:00:00 +0000

An innovative reactor could help slow climate change and bring employment to the struggling coal town selected for the project this week, if it works.

By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times, and Judy Fahys, Inside Climate News

Third in a series with the Seattle Times on the future of nuclear power in the United States in the era of climate change.

This Next-Generation Nuclear Power Plant Is Pitched for Washington State. Can it ‘Change the World’?

By Hal Bernton, The Seattle Times — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 10:05:00 +0000

Proponents say new, small reactors could play a critical role in reducing climate-warming greenhouse gases. Environmentalists aren’t sold, pointing to waste, safety and cost issues.

By Hal Bernton, The Seattle Times

Second in a series with the Seattle Times on the future of nuclear power in the United States in the era of climate change.