A quote for today:
“By telling the naked emperor to go get dressed, the Court has delivered an overdue rebuke to the NRC’s bad habit of pushing for the nuclear power plants while postponing the problems, as we now know the Japanese to have done at Fukushima. It’s hard to see how federal and state officials can justify putting more taxpayer or customer money at risk on new reactor projects until this situation is resolved.” Former NRC Commissioner, Peter Bradford [International Business Times]
Technology:
¶ Scientists and regulators are trying to figure out what to do about the potential for solar storms to disrupt nuclear plants, the electric grid, communications, and so on. [AOL Energy]
Japan:
¶ TEPCO’s report on the disaster has been announced by the chairman of the committee drafting it. According to CNN, it draws the stunningly obvious conclusion that TEPCO was not prepared for what happened. [CNN]
¶ Industry minister Edano has apologized for the fact that the Japanese government failed to use radiation maps supplied by the US during the disaster, with the result that evacuees were put in the path of fallout. [Business Recorder]
World:
¶ Solar panels are reducing Australia’s mains electricity consumption. [Eco-Business]
US:
¶ According to the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, current renewable technology could supply 80% of the electrical power in the United States by 2050, but government agencies grossly underestimate the apparently exponential growth in renewables. [Washington Post]
¶ A protest is planned for July 1, in which anti-nuclear activists plan to swarm the gates at Vermont Yankee. [Valley Advocate]
¶ Workers at the Pilgrim plant will vote on a new contract. [Boston Globe]
¶ A total of 174 MW of solar panels were installed in New Jersey during the first three months of 2012. [NJ Spotlight]
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