The Atomic Show #114 – Dan Yurman Russia-India Reactors, GNEP meeting, Kentucky nuclear, RWE, Vermont Yankee
Dan Yurman of Idaho Samizdat and Rod Adams chat about nuclear news from India, Idaho, Kentucky, Germany, Scotland, and Vermont
Dan Yurman and I had a great time on November 21 talking about a number of different nuclear news items including a large new power plant deal in India for Russian reactors, Dan’s first hand report of a GNEP meeting held in Idaho Falls, Kentucky’s energy plan that includes nuclear power and coal to liquids, RWE’s interest in new nuclear plants for the Baltic states and Eastern Europe, and Vermont Yankee controversies.
Here are some links that you might find useful if you want to do more research on the topics covered:
- Lithuania nuclear shutdown information
- Gerhard Schroeder’s Sellout
- Gerhard Schroeder wikipedia page
- Gerhard Schroeder’s Answers.com biography
- Old King Coal’s Comeback in Scotland
- RWE nuclear expansion projects
- Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear’s energy plans
- LiquidCoal
- International Herald Tribune – NRG rejects Exelon takeover bid
- Vermont Yankee Protest clears Public Service Board offices
- Feasibility study for new nuclear power plant in New Brunswick
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November 23rd, 2008 at 6:56 am
I was under the impression that Australia hosted the worlds largest proven thorium reserves.
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:21 am
Finrod: I sit at my keyboard corrected and humbled by the expertise and careful attention that you pay to Atomic Show Podcasts. Thank you. Here is a link to the World Nuclear Association page that lists thorium reserves by country in order.
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf62.html
Just in case you simply hate leaving this blog, here is the table in descending order by percent of proven reserves:
Australia 18%
USA 16%
Turkey 13%
India 12%
Venezuela 12%
Brazil 12%
Norway 5%
Egypt 4%
Russia 3%
Greenland 2%
Canada 2%
South Africa 1%
Other countries 1%
Please remember that this table is for a mineral that is not in widespread commercial use so there has been very little incentive for exploration and development of these reserves – so far.
November 24th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
“Finrod: I sit at my keyboard corrected and humbled by the expertise and careful attention that you pay to Atomic Show Podcasts. Thank you.”
Looking at it now, it strikes me that I perhaps come across as a bit abrupt. I do apologise. Chalk it up to extreme tiredness and a little bit of podcast fatigue (I have spent a good deal of the past weekend listening to the first several episodes of the Napoleon show).
Of course, your expertise far exceeds mine, even in the matter upon which I commented. The table you’re working from is clearly more up-to-date than the one I worked on from memory, which had a ranking of (if I recall correctly) Australia, India, Norway, and so forth. Of course, given the ubiquity of thorium in Earth’s crust, we can’t really state authoritatively at this point just which country or region actually has the most, and it’s just my dumb luck that the latest assessment still has Australia at the top.
In other news, I’ve recently purchased a book titled “Big Red: Three months on board a Trident nuclear submarine.” by Douglas C. Waller. When I finish it, I’ll come back and explain to you all about the subject. :-)
November 24th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Finrod – maybe I should have put a smiley on my comment. I was sincerely grateful for someone taking the time to visit the blog and provide a correction to a statement that I made during the show. I LIKE it when people listen to what I say and call me out if I speak in error. (Heck, my wife has been doing it for years and I really like being around her. Beats being ignored!)