Clean Energy Insight - Moving Energy Forward

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The NA-YGN Speaker’s Bureau stepped into the classroom on Monday. A sustainable energy class at CPCC in Charlotte, NC welcomed the group for their first presentation. The group spoke to the class about growing energy demands, how nuclear works, and our current and future energy portfolios. The group’s goal is to dispel myths and arm the public with unbiased facts about nuclear energy. The class was receptive to the presentation and asked some great questions. The group hopes to develop several more presentations and continue to find venues in which to speak. For the long term, other NA-YGN chapters and advocacy groups can simply adopt the prepared presentations.

Other NA-YGN chapters are spear heading advocacy initiatives as well… Check out what the chapter at Braidwood Nuclear Generation Station is doing:
http://www.cleanenergyinsight.org/category/advocacy/nuke101/

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Harvard MBAs get Straight Answers on Nuclear Power

Entergy’s John Herron addresses Harvard Business School Energy Symposium

(Cambridge, Mass.) -

One of the nation’s nuclear leaders, Entergy Chief Nuclear Officer John Herron, encouraged future business leaders to seriously consider the nuclear energy in terms of career opportunities and future energy policy. Eager to access industry CEOs, Harvard students heard a simple and memorable message from Herron: Nuclear energy is “sexy” in its appeal for the future. The Harvard Business School held the Energy Symposium 2010, “Changing the Balance: Our Energy Future” on October 23-24.

With the transformation of the country’s energy policy, innovation of the U.S. electric grid and the addition of new power sources being imminent, the Entergy Nuclear leader spoke frankly about the green power path of nuclear to a standing room crowd at the HBS Energy Symposium.

“The financial challenges, the need for clear energy policy and the imperative to evaluate clean, baseload options to serve our country makes it a particularly exciting time to be in the nuclear power profession,” Herron said. “Nuclear is the way to go.”

Herron joined a prestigious lineup of energy sector thought-leaders on a panel including Sheeraz Haji, president of the Cleantech Group; Edward McGinnis, deputy assistant secretary, Department of Energy; Thomas Flaherty, senior vice president of the North American utility business for Booz & Company; Lisa Clark, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and moderator Dr. Mathew Bunn, associate professor at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

The student questions and discussions circled around the issues of having the political will to implement a solution to the long-term fuel storage issue and the nation’s commitment to move to a cleaner energy policy by supporting nuclear and new nuclear building.

“Public education is the key,” Herron repeated to 28 selected students in a luncheon that followed the panel. ”If you believe in reducing our carbon footprint, in energy independence and in creating jobs for our economy then nuclear power is the answer. It’s time we got this message out.”

Nuclear energy provides 20.2 percent of the United States’ electricity and is its No. 1 source of emission-free electricity. There are 104 nuclear power plants in the United States in 31 states generating more than 798 billion kilowatt-hours in 2009. In seven states, nuclear makes up the largest percentage of their electricity generated: Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut, South Carolina, Illinois, New Hampshire and Virginia

“We have got to do a better job of educating the general public and policy-makers. Financial incentives are helping renewables, which are only a small piece of our clean air energy challenge,” Herron continued. “License renewals and new nuclear are needed, but politics and economics aren’t always aligned to support our industry in these important efforts. If our country is serious about clean energy then it is time to get serious about expansion of nuclear energy,” he concluded. Entergy Nuclear operates or provides management services to 12 reactors in eight states.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $10 billion and more than 15,000 employees.

Visit Entergy Nuclear at www.entergy-nuclear.com, or follow them on Twitter, @EntergyNuclear

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President’s Corner with Elizabeth McAndrew-Benavides

Elizabeth McAndrew-Benavides, NA-YGN President

From our inception, NA-YGN has been a leader in efforts to inform the public about nuclear science and technology.  When NA-YGN was established, many utility companies did not even publicly acknowledge their nuclear facilities. The public was of the mindset that the industry was shut down, and many government officials did not support the operating facilities, let alone expansion. 

It is important to remember how nuclear has changed from a dirty word to our current booming global renaissance. The previous generation of nuclear professionals saw the value in illustrating the industry’s safety, reliability and cost effectiveness. They knew that these elements would aid in the industry’s efforts to overcome the negative viewpoints the public and governments had about our field. For the nuclear youth, the previous generation provided the dedication and foundation we use today to help bring this perception change to fruition.

The founding Core members were leaders and made communicating the benefits of nuclear science and technology a priority. NA-YGN developed programs that would support their initiative, such as the 5th grade poster contest to begin public education.   They also began attending the public NRC meetings. These meetings were and still are incredible opportunities for NA-YGN to voice their opinions on safety issues and relicensing of the operating plants. However, when NA-YGN began initiating this outreach effort in the early 2000s, the nuclear community initially did not support our efforts. At the time, the nuclear community was busy focusing on the operational performance of the fleet and legislative issues like Yucca Mountain, not public outreach.

The previous generation also knew that the licensing uncertainty under the Code of Federal Regulations part 50 would dissuade operators and investors from considering new nuclear power plants. In the early 1990s, a new licensing method was developed, but not tested. In 1997, Senator Pete Domenici made a speech entitled “A New Energy Paradigm: Resurgence of Nuclear Power” at Harvard University. This speech is what ignited the nuclear renaissance in the United States. Based on Senator Domenici’s vision, the U.S. Department of Energy proposed the Nuclear Power 2010 Program. This program was designed to promote new nuclear power plant licensing in the United States by testing new nuclear power plant licensing under what is commonly known as CFR Part 52. Unless this new process worked, the global renaissance would not be accessible within the United States.

Thankfully, NA-YGN remained steadfast in its conviction to engage and educate the public. NAYGN continued attending public meetings for new nuclear facilities initiated by the Nuclear Power 2010 Program. Together, we debunked common held myths about nuclear power and provided scientifically based answers to issues anti-nukes were declaring at the public meetings. Eventually the public meetings were not sensational media events. Instead, they were venues for the public to propose questions and learn about nuclear projects.

Since then NA-YGN’s value has been recognized across the industry, our outreach portfolio includes some impressive successes; Congressional Hill Days, the Clean Energy Insights blog, Career Awareness Seminars, youtube.com testimonials and many other activities in the past few years. With all of this effort, I predict that our generation will be remembered as the generation of nuclear communicators.

But I wonder if this is enough?

I think our collective value could be more than this. Our value to the nuclear community could be creating the innovative vision for the future of nuclear science and technology.  And we need to establish what future we want, together. 

I would like the members of NA-YGN to ponder this question: What does NA-YGN want for the future of our nuclear community?

I ask each member to spend 5 minutes thinking about this question. I will share with you that my personal goal for the industry is to develop global non-proliferation initiative that I know will keep not only keep me but my daughter, Belen, and her children safe and secure for generations to come. 

I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on what you hope our future looks like. Please add comments on this blog. I will check them regularly. Thank you in advance for sharing your ideas with me! Every member of NA-YGN is a leader. I hope everyone takes the opportunity to practice your leadership skills by projecting what our future could be and should be. Together, I believe our generation could be remembered as the generation who communicated nuclear’s future.

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If only the Justin Bieber fans who stand in the freezing cold, pouring rain or sweltering heat for hours on end just to catch a glimpse of the 16 year-old pop star felt the same passion to cast an election ballot on November 2, that would really rock the vote!

Even though most of those fans are not able to cast their ballot yet, nor Bieber himself (plus he’s Canadian), there are quite a few fans with Bieber Fever, including yours truly, that are able, willing and have every intention of voting in the upcoming election.

The excitement of the pending election is almost too much to handle for all the political wonks out there.  There are so many questions in the air that no one really knows the answer to but plenty of speculation.  Will the Tea Party come out on top?  Will the GOP will take over the House AND the Senate?  What if the GOP takes the House and not the Senate?  Or vice versa?  How will that affect how President Obama works with the next Congress?  Will anything ever pass again in his Administration without a supportive Congress?  And does he even care – he got health care passed – even Clinton couldn’t do that!!  The predictions on what could or should happen on November 2, range in extremity but are consistent in that change is for certain.

When a country is faced with financial and economic threats, the voting trends show change.  The degree to which the change happens is yet to be determined.  That is why it is important for all NA-YGN members to cast your ballot on November 2.  Big changes are coming our way and if we want to have any say in what happens next, we have to exercise our civic responsibilities and get out the vote!

The nuclear industry is gearing up for some tough political battles up ahead and is going to need your support on election day! Nuclear energy is at the center of energy debates throughout the United States, not only on Capitol Hill in Washington, but in state capitals and in numerous local communities considering new nuclear facilities.  The 112^th Congress will likely consider significant legislation that will affect our industry, such as the expansion of the federal loan guarantee program, comprehensive climate legislation, non-proliferation, workforce development and manufacturing demands for the nuclear renaissance.

Learn more about your candidates and their positions on nuclear power policies at the Nuclear Advocacy Network’s GOTV website at www.NANVotes.com

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Many manufacturing companies are looking for ways to diversify their clientele in these hard economic times. With American companies building new reactors around the world and preparing to build here in the United States, the global nuclear renaissance presents an opportunity many U.S. manufacturers are trying to access, seize and leverage.

(NEI's Nuclear Supplier Database)

I have friends and family that work in different sectors of manufacturing and used to find myself asking, how can I help them connect with the procurement staff at all of the nuclear companies?  Thankfully, there is now a way to systematically connect manufacturers to the procurement staff at all of the nuclear utilities, reactor designers, and construction companies!

The industry came together to develop the Nuclear Supplier Database (NSD). The database is an interactive, online program that connects the suppliers of nuclear components and services with companies that procure these items. By creating a profile, manufacturers will be able to market their organization and the products they provide.

http://www.nei.org/keyissues/newnuclearplants/nuclear-supply-chain/nsd

The best part of the database is that nuclear utilities, reactor designers and construction companies will be accessing this database to supplement their supply chain. Manufacturers have one location to enter company information and make their profile available to every nuclear procurement specialist in the country!

How much easier could it be?

After hearing that many of the domestic new nuclear construction projects are targeting 80-90 percent of total procurements from U.S. manufacturers, I’m definitely encouraging my friends and family members to enter their company’s information into this database.  I encourage you to do the same if your company has a product and service they can provide to the industry.