A Free-Market Energy Blog

Is Nuclear “Safe’? Let Price-Anderson Expire in 2025

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- February 6, 2024

“Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.”

– Milton Friedman

It was supposed to be a ten year window to allow commercial nuclear power to prove its economy and safety. But the Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act of 1957 (Price-Anderson Act), capping damage claims and establishing a fund “to protect the public and to encourage the development of the atomic energy industry,” is still with us today, some two-thirds of a century later.

The 1957 law’s limit of $60 million per plant (about 10x in today’s dollars) was supplemented by an up-to-$500 million indemnification guarantee per accident. [1] These provisions, vetted among the parties, was just enough to remove a major barrier to the commercialization of nuclear power for electric utilities and for Westinghouse, GE, and others to build.…

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Energy and Environmental Review: February 5, 2024

By -- February 5, 2024

Ed. Note: This post excerpts energy and climate material from the Media Balance Newsletter, a free fortnighly published by physicist John Droz Jr., founder of the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions. The complete Newsletter for this post can be found here.

Greed Energy Economics:
*** Report 1: The High Cost of 100% Renewable Electricity by 2040
*** Report 2: The High Cost of 100 Percent Electric Home Heating
*** Report 3: The High Cost of 100 Percent Electric Vehicles
*** New study warns of soaring energy bills
How Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) Rip Us Off

Unreliables (General):
*** Renewables: an expensive nightmare to nowhere
*** JUICE (Episode 1) – Texas Blackout
*** Michael Bloomberg’s $1 Billion Assault on the Electric Grid
*** Green Crime: An Electric Car, Wind and Solar Crime Wave

Wind Energy — Offshore:
*** Orsted announces withdrawal of plans to build wind turbines off MD coast
*** Comments requested on draft law to promote offshore wind
Energy developer delivers major blow to Maryland’s climate agenda by canceling offshore wind contracts
Groups Investigating Death Of Critically Endangered Whale Take Wind Industry Money
Dominion wind project gets final 2 permits

Wind Energy — Other:
*** Taking the Wind Out of Climate Change (referencing 60± studies)
*** The Death of a Wind Project (Minnesota)

Solar Energy:
Killing fields fear solar will destroy locals’ livelihoods
Europe’s solar panel manufacturers ask EU for emergency support

Nuclear Energy:
Lessons to be learned from Fukushima
The U.S.

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Hurricanes 2023: Andrew Dessler’s Hollow Alarm

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- February 1, 2024

“… your argument appears to rely on the same tactic you disparage in others: ‘the selective emphasis of certain facts that bolster their stance’…. You omit the abundant and vital array of studies…. You’re also way out of date.” – Andy Revkin to Dessler (below)

Last summer/fall was supposed to be another hurricane season of note, according to climate scientist/alarmist/activist Andrew Dessler. On June 12, 2023, he wrote in “Climate change is making hurricanes more destructive” (Substack):

Because hurricanes are one of the big-ticket weather disasters that humanity has to face, climate misinformers spend a lot of effort muddying the waters on whether climate change is making hurricanes more damaging. With the official start to the 2023 hurricane season in the North Atlantic on June 1, I figured it was time to explain why we can be so confident that hurricanes are indeed more destructive today due to climate change….

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Alaska ‘Green New Deal’ Lurks (RPS danger)

By -- January 31, 2024
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Koch Industries Saves Mona Lisa (climate nuts thwarted)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 30, 2024
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Bummed Joe Romm on Failed Climate Policy

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 29, 2024
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Storm Uri: The Supreme Court’s Decision (Part 3)

By -- January 26, 2024
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Texas Defeats Electric Competition (Part 2)

By -- January 25, 2024
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Storm Uri: The PUCT’s $26 Billion Electricity Tax (Part I)

By -- January 24, 2024
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EV Proponents in Hiding? David Cooke (Union of Concerned Scientists) Declines AEI

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 23, 2024
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