“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”
MAR 12, 2024
LLAW’s CONCERNS & COMMENTS, Tuesday, (03/12/2024)
OMG! $1.6 Billion in 2025 for a Nuclear Energy Office Budget that is an administrative agency? Have we gone crazy? Don’t answer that — I already know the answer.
A small part of the budget is reserved to help Deploy U.S. Reactors Internationally to what I gather 3rd World countries who may not be contributing at all to global warming/climate change, but to hap-hazardly spread nuclear power around the planet indiscriminately is a really bad idea, just as Biden’s ‘carrot and stick’ uranium sales to poorer countries who ‘want’ to build nuclear power plants — or do they really want to traffick in nuclear fuel for building bombs — especially with HALEU fuel (although I don’t know (and they probably don’t either) if there is enough HALEU or even military grade uranium to go around) to fire them up in an effort to compete with Russia’s uranium fuel varieties of enrichment. Low enrichment does not mean that it increases the the safety of avoiding accidents at new nuclear power plants. We human beings should not be doing this kind of stuff because we are not qualified to do it.
The really bad news is that we are increasing our risk of nuclear extinction when we should be doing the exact opposite. Einstein may well be turning over in his grave. It is as though we are bound and determined to do the lemming thing and follow each other over the proverbial cliff, purposefully exterminating ourselves. What we need is world peace, as Einstein said, not a world of nuclear power plants and nuclear bombs. Read on . . . ~llaw
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5 Key Takeaways from the FY25 Budget Request for Nuclear Energy
MARCH 11, 2024
- Office of Nuclear Energy
- 5 Key Takeaways from the FY25 Budget Request for Nuclear Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy’s FY25 budget request includes $1.59 billion for the Office of Nuclear Energy.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released its Fiscal Year 2025 budget request, which includes nearly $1.6 billion for the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE).
The request includes $694.2 million in research and development activities that will help advance important reactor and fuel technologies, address gaps in the domestic nuclear fuel supply chain, and harness the latest artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to optimize the performance of the nation’s fleet of reactors.
Below are five key takeaways from the FY25 budget request for nuclear energy.
1. Access to HALEU
HALEU reguli made from EBR-II spent nuclear fuel at Idaho National Laboratory.
Idaho National Laboratory
NE is requesting $188 million to secure a near-term supply of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for DOE-supported research and demonstration projects.
These efforts include the recovery and downblending of government-owned legacy uranium and ramping up enrichment operations in Piketon, Ohio to help make limited quantities available.
The funding complements the Department’s longer-term strategy to expand its domestic enrichment capacity through purchase agreements with industry partners to help spur demand for additional HALEU production.
The recently passed FY24 spending bill directed $2.72 billion to further build out a low-enriched uranium and advanced nuclear fuel supply chain. It will also help assure there is an adequate supply of low-enriched uranium fuel to meet the current needs of U.S. reactors and our allies to eliminate the nation’s dependance on Russian fuel services.
2. Developing New Reactor Technologies
The FY25 request includes $142.5 million to support the continued execution of five advanced reactor projects supported through DOE’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.
NE is also requesting $56 million to establish new testing facilities at the national labs, including $12 million to finish the construction of the NRIC DOME at Idaho National Laboratory.
DOME will be the world’s first microreactor test bed and could start testing designs as soon as 2026.
The funding also includes $16.5 million for DOE’s MARVEL microreactor testing platform to complete the fabrication of its fuel and key components.
NE is also requesting more than $18 million to initiate construction of the LOTUS testbed that will be used to test first-of-a-kind technologies to generate data required for design and licensing.
3. Boosting University R&D
NE is requesting $143 million to support emerging technologies developed by U.S. universities, colleges, and small businesses.
The funding will also be used for university infrastructure improvements and fuel services, along with workforce development activities such as scholarship and fellowship opportunities.
NE is inching closer to eclipsing the $1 billion funding mark with more than $990 million awarded to colleges and universities across the country since 2009.
4. Additive Manufacturing and AI
The FY25 request also includes $32 million to advance the use of cutting-edge digital tools and manufacturing methods to strengthen nuclear supply chains and help optimize reactor performance.
This funding includes $17 million to support the qualification of additively manufactured materials for use in nuclear reactors and $9 million to develop and demonstrate advanced sensors, instrumentation and control systems, including potential ways to apply artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to advanced reactor designs and operations.
The two technologies combined could drastically reduce the time it takes to test, qualify, and deploy new reactor components and fuels.
The remaining $6 million will address high priority supply chain needs for the near-term deployment of advanced reactors.
5. Deploying U.S. Reactors Internationally
Finally, the FY25 request includes $8 million to support several U.S. international projects, including providing workforce development, training, and technical expertise to new and emerging nuclear energy countries in Africa, Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe.
The funding will be used to establish regional clean energy training centers in key markets to provide capacity-building and professional development opportunities in regions looking to develop or grow their civil nuclear programs.
Read the full FY2025 Budget Request
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:
There are 6 categories, including a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives, as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links in each category about the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
- All Things Nuclear
- Nuclear Power
- Nuclear Power Emergencies
- Nuclear War
- Nuclear War Threats
- Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in tonight’s Post.)
Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS (03/12/2024):
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
Modernizing America’s Nukes: The Stakes of the Sentinel ICBM Project | The Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation
All three of these systems have prevented nuclear war and kept America … Unfortunately, things are not going at all well with the Sentinel missile.
The Conversation: Despite its big night at the Oscars, ‘Oppenheimer’ is a disappointment …
The Portland Press Herald
As global conflicts increase the possibility of nuclear war, it’s certainly important to talk about the ongoing legacies of the bombings of Hiroshima …
Radius: The legacy of America’s nuclear weapons testing program from States Newsroom …
Arizona Mirror
All three states would benefit from the expanded program. … things that have … that is released into the environment during nuclear weapons testing.
Nuclear Power
NEWS
U.S. Can and Should Dominate World’s Nuclear Power Resurgence – Jeff Duncan
Jeff Duncan – House.gov
The Atomic Energy Advancement Act is not only a practical, commonsense solution but also a bipartisan one. It will modernize licensing and streamline …
What is nuclear waste and what are the challenges of handling it? | Explained – The Hindu
The Hindu
In a fission reactor, neutrons bombard the nuclei of atoms of certain elements. When one such nucleus absorbs a neutron, it destabilises and breaks up …
5 Key Takeaways from the FY25 Budget Request for Nuclear Energy
Department of Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy’s FY25 budget request includes $1.59 billion for the Office of Nuclear Energy. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) …
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEW
Kentucky House votes to decrease emergency safety measures in small coal mines
Fox News
KENTUCKY SENATE VOTES FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AS COAL INDUSTRY DECLINES. “I don’t think it’s any threat to the safety of our miners,” he …
Nuclear War
NEWS
Putin Ally Debates Nuclear Strikes on Four NATO Countries – Newsweek
Newsweek
Solovyov, and his guests who appear on the Russia 1 channel, frame Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a proxy war with the West and over the …
India’s PM Modi helps avert a nuclear catastrophe | Gravitas Highlights – YouTube
YouTube
Go to channel · On Biden’s Plea, PM Modi Helped Prevent Potential Nuclear Attack In…: Report | Russia-Ukraine War. Hindustan Times New 68K views · 3 …
Russia-Ukraine war live: Russia denies Ukraine-based armed groups have entered territory
The Guardian
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi has said there is no direct safety issue from Ukrainian staff being barred from accessing the Russian …
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
Top U.S. General Sees Changing Nuclear Threat From North Korea | Mint
Mint
… threats from Kim’s military. He has urged his soldiers to grab lessons from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as the nature of combat evolves.
Modi’s role in averting Russia’s ‘nuclear threat‘ to Ukraine hailed by US Congressman
The Economic Times
Think that it’s really important as we go forward that we don’t succumb to just idle threats. And maybe this is not an idle threat. If it’s not an …
Russia can start ground invasion of NATO countries without using nuclear weapons – Zelenskyy
Yahoo
Russia’s nuclear threats are unlikely to be serious, but Russia can indeed carry out a ground invasion of NATO member states, President of Ukraine …