By Kennedy Maize The U.S. Department of Energy has signed a deal with a mysterious startup company with no track record, directed by ultraright billionaire techbro Peter Thiel, to lease 100 acres of the agency’s mammoth (3,556 acres), elderly, and moribund uranium enrichment plant near Paducah, K.Y. for undisclosed terms. The new lessee is San … More DOE-General Matter Paducah enrichment lease: more or less than meets the eye?

By Kennedy Maize Texas-based engineering, energy, and construction giant Fluor Corp. (NYSE:FLR) announced dismal 2nd quarter earnings last week (Aug.1), with only its holdings of the soaring stock of  Oregon-based small modular reactor firm NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR) propping up its financials.  Revenue fell 6%, adjusted earnings dipped 42% to $96 million, profits plunged 60%. Oilprice.com … More NuScale and Fluor: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

By Kennedy Maize Carbon dioxide, the simple and ubiquitous chemical that many see as the scourge of the earth driving global warming, may also be a salvation that turns intermittent wind and solar electricity into a round-the-clock asset. Late last month (July 25), Google announced a deal with Energy Dome, a company based in Milan, … More The once and future tale of long-duration energy storage

By Kennedy Maize Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York has thrown a monkey wrench into the Trump administration’s plans to rapidly remold the federal government in his image through executive branch appointments.   Schumer on Saturday (Aug. 2) forced the Senate into its month-long August recess without acting on a long list of … More Schumer stymies Trump and Thune on Senate nominees

By Kennedy Maize Disarray dominates the leadership at two important federal government energy agencies–the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Tennessee Valley Authority — a result of the Trump administration’s sloppy mismanagement. On Tuesday (July 29) Republican NRC Commissioner Annie Caputo abruptly announced her resignation a year ahead of the end of her term. She … More Fear and loathing at the NRC and TVA

By Kennedy Maize The Wyoming legislature is in a politically radioactive tizzy over lust for nuclear lucre and distaste for nuclear waste. Here’s how the statewide, online news service Cowboy State Daily summarized the atomic kerfuffle: “The Wyoming Freedom Caucus is pushing back against expanding nuclear waste storage in the state, opposing efforts supported by some … More Wyoming’s political nuke waste merry-go-round

By Kennedy Maize The massive PJM Interconnection, which governs the high-voltage electric grid among 13 Middle- Atlantic states and the District of Columbia and serving some 67 million people, held its annual auction for reserve capacity July 22 to protect against system-wide electricity outages for the 2026-2027 season. The PJM variant of a “reverse Dutch … More PJM’s latest capacity auction: success or failure?

By Kennedy Maize Departing Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie said farewell to his colleagues, commission staff, and the public at yesterday’s (July 24) open meeting. He left offering advice that he said he received when he joined the Virginia State Corporation Commission 31 years ago. Christie said he left his first public SCC … More Mark Christie bids FERC adieu…maybe

By Kennedy Maize In acquiring control of the nation’s only rare earth mining company, the Trump administration has mimicked the model developed by China’s Communist Party government, according to an analysis by London’s prestigious Financial Times newspaper. On July 10, MP Materials of Las Vegas announced a deal where the Pentagon acquired a controlling interest … More Financial Times scopes out Trump’s rare earth communism

By Kennedy Maize The Interior Department has approved a tiny new strip mine in Tennessee, claiming hyperbolically that the action by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) would “strengthen America’s energy independence and create local jobs. The coal from this mine will support important industries like steelmaking and power generation.” The 635-acre … More Interior approves a strip mine, much ado about not very much