Energy Security posts, articles, and infographics

In an Election Year, Time to Talk Energy

May 17, 2012 by Mark Green
with 121 views

Just a thought, but how great would it be if one of this fall’s presidential debates focused solely on energy issues?Past presidential debates have discussed the economy and jobs, national security and foreign policy, and of course all of those are important. Yet, when you think about it, energy is the nexus where all come together.... [read more]

The Opportunities And Pitfalls Of Managing Smart Grid Data

May 16, 2012 by Joseph Romm
with 143 views

At the advent of the Internet 30 years ago, having large amounts of personal information accessible on a shared network would have been unthinkable — even if that network would make our lives easier. But we found a way to navigate this privacy minefield with one straightforward idea: Entrust our personal information to certain entities... [read more]

Saudi Arabia to Unleash Solar by Investing $109 Billion

May 14, 2012 by Rhys Clay
with 826 views

cofkocof/Shutterstock

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter of crude oil plans to install a solar capacity of 41,000 megawatts by 2032. Critics have noted that to achieve this, Saudi Arabia would need to produce and export approximately half of the world’s total annual installed capacity of solar. Can the country achieve this ambitious target? [read more]

Japan Without Nuclear Power: What Does it Mean for Them, and For Us?

May 9, 2012 by Christina Nunez
with 394 views

Maxx-Studio/Shutterstock

One of our fathers had a sign in his garage: “If you don’t have time now to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”That line comes to mind with the latest energy news from Japan, which is embarking on a massive switch in its energy policy, on the fly.Once the proud operator of 52 commercial nuclear reactors, as of Saturday... [read more]

Overheated rods & rhetoric

May 8, 2012 by Steve Skutnik
with 1,005 views

IEEE spectrum

A little knowledge is sometimes a dangerous thing - particularly when fundamentally incomplete technical knowledge is used to make sweeping engineering recommendations. The latest example of this is the concern over the spent fuel storage pools at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4, which has been getting attention from several corners. First,... [read more]

Military moves ahead on smart energy investments despite political opposition

May 3, 2012 by Peter Lehner
with 305 views

Frontpage/Shutterstock

Last month, the U.S. Army announced the opening of a 30,000-square foot research facility in Michigan for developing fuel cells, hybrid systems, battery technologies and advanced alternative fuels for the next generation of vehicles. Under Secretary of the Army Joseph Westphal described the benefits of the lab in his dedication speech:... [read more]

Gas industry’s first stabs at ‘standards’ & ‘practices’: how much do they reduce accident risk?

May 2, 2012 by Jim Pierobon
with 125 views

That’s at least one question on this blogger’s mind. One cannot help but note the absence of “best practices” because, well, they aren’t, at least not yet. [read more]

Climate Change's Impact on International Arctic Security

May 1, 2012 by Jay Gulledge
with 381 views

Volodymyr Goinyk/Shutterstock

Is the Arctic region a bellwether for how climate change may reshape global geopolitics in the post-Cold War era? [read more]

Argh! Debunking some nuclear nonsense

April 30, 2012 by Dan Yurman
with 428 views

Once again it is time to spit on your hands, rub them together, and raise the black flag of contention to respond to deliberate attempts at creating fear, uncertainty, and doubt Critics of nuclear energy can and do raise useful issues that need attention. The lessons learned for the global industry coming out of Fukushima include the... [read more]

Addressing Military Rights in the Warming Arctic Region

April 18, 2012 by Tom Schueneman
with 205 views

Climate change and global warming deniers deny, but there’s one important group of decision makers that are taking the reality of global warming seriously: Arctic region military leaders. [read more]

Nuclear start-ups have stretch goals

April 13, 2012 by Dan Yurman
with 897 views

The desire is for independence and to innovate with great results Conceptual drawing of a molten salt reactor (Image: Idaho National Lab)Two recent nuclear energy start-ups have the potential to create new business opportunities with unconventional reactor technologies. Two of them are pursuing new designs using molten salts... [read more]

TVA digs in to deliver two reactors

April 12, 2012 by Dan Yurman
with 483 views

Delays at Watts Bar 2 push back start up at Bellefonte While the rest of the country focuses on the NRC’s approval of four new Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at two sites, the Tennessee Valley Authority has its own in-house version of the nuclear renaissance and right now it is running late. TVA CEO Tom Kilgore told the utility’s board of... [read more]

US Army Lab Pushes Energy Tech To The Extreme

April 11, 2012 by Nino Marchetti
with 334 views

What contains 30,000 square feet of research space, eight state-of-the-art labs and one of the world’s largest environmental testing chambers capable of testing equipment in temps ranging from minus 60 F to 160 F? The U.S. Army‘s new Ground Systems Power and Energy Laboratory (GSPEL), slated to open today, which will be home to advanced... [read more]

Hormuz and ASEAN: Are we ready?

April 10, 2012 by Beni Suryadi
with 351 views

Nowadays, it seems like everyone stares at the board of oil prices. The situation in the Strait of Hormuz is worrying to say the least. Are ASEAN member states prepared? What steps do they need to take to be so? [read more]

Vermont Yankee is Not Fukushima

April 5, 2012 by Meredith Angwin
with 202 views

Vermont Yankee is not Fukushima On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan. Schools collapsed, villages were swept out to sea, and an estimated 20,000 people died. Five nuclear stations containing fifteen reactors were affected by the tsunami. All the reactors survived the earthquake, but transmission... [read more]