ECA Update: September 27, 2016 |
IN THIS UPDATE: Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Whitney to depart DOE-EM
Pentagon declassifies some nuclear weapons data
A new lifeline for nuclear
SMRs may lead the way to nuclear standardization
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Whitney to depart DOE-EMDOE-EM September 27, 2016 Dear EM Colleagues:
It is with gratitude for his service to EM that I share with you the news that Mark Whitney is leaving DOE to pursue an opportunity in the private sector. As Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) for Environmental Management since 2014, he has worked to
institute many management reforms intended to improve the performance and efficiency of the organization. These efforts include working with me on the reorganization of EM, championing the 10-year program planning effort, strengthening relationships with State and Federal regulators, developing a consistent acquisition approach that best incentivizes our contracts, and ensuring alignment of our budgets, contracts, and regulator decision-making. Most importantly, Mark shared my
vision that empowerment of our employees is critical to the success of the mission and fervently supported organizational and morale improvement efforts.
Mark started at DOE in 2005 and has held senior leadership positions in the field, at headquarters and internationally. During that time, he has led complex cleanup efforts as the Oak Ridge EM Manager, advanced U.S. energy and nuclear security policies abroad as the Executive Director of the DOE Moscow Office and
the Assistant Deputy Administrator for Nonproliferation and International Security, and in addition to his current role as EM PDAS, served as acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management for over a year while I awaited confirmation.
We are also pleased to announce that Sue Cange, Oak Ridge EM Site Manager, has graciously agreed to come to headquarters on a detail as acting PDAS to help us out during these critical times. She brings nearly three decades of
environmental leadership experience that includes multiple management roles in Oak Ridge for EM and the Office of Nuclear Energy, a Site Manager under DOE’s Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program, and as an environmental engineer for the Environmental Protection Agency and in private industry. Sue is highly-respected for her exceptional leadership skills and ability to collaboratively work with stakeholders, the community, congressional delegations and regulators to advance the EM
mission.
The timing of this transition is still being finalized, but we expect Mark will depart DOE in mid-October.
Please join me in thanking Mark for his outstanding service to our nation and welcoming Sue to headquarters as the acting PDAS.
Sincerely,
Monica Regalbuto
Assistant Secretary Office of
Environmental Management U.S. Department of Energy Pentagon declassifies some nuclear weapons
data POLITICO Pro September 26, 2016 The Pentagon has declassified a host of data related to nuclear weapons, including the size of the stockpile from 1962 to 2015 and the location of nuclear
storage sites in the U.S. and its territories previously shielded from the public.
In 2015, according to the data, the Pentagon had a total of 4,751 nuclear bombs, not including those retired or awaiting dismantlement.
The newly released information,
posted last week, also includes the types and yields of a series of nuclear weapons tests conducted during the Cold War.
A new lifeline for nuclearInvesting Daily September 23, 2016 It would be a bit much to call the latest efforts to revive the nuclear
power industry a “renaissance,” as there have been so many false dawns. In fact, in a recent issue of Utility Forecaster, we noted that global nuclear power generation is poised for a substantial decline given the number of announced closures, higher operating costs, safety issues and a lack of political support.
But that may be about to change, at least in the U.S.
Recent developments in New York offer the industry and would-be contrarian investors a small ray of hope. State regulators’ new willingness to pay for
zero-carbon nuclear could materially change the fortunes of nuclear power-owning utilities, if adopted nationally.
The largest diversified utilities with nuclear that would stand to benefit are Exelon Corp., Entergy Corp., Dominion Resources Inc. and NextEra Energy Inc.,
to name a few.
Last month, the New York State Public Service Commission approved a $7.6 billion expenditure to support existing nuclear power in the state as part of its Clean Energy Standard, which aims to have 50% of electricity come from renewable resources by
2030.
SMRs may lead the way to nuclear
standardizationWorld Nuclear News September 26, 2016 Licensing small modular reactors (SMRs) "presents a new opportunity for standardization" in the nuclear power industry, Vanessa Jakovich, counsel at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, told delegates at the World Nuclear Association’s 41st Annual Symposium in London on 16 September.
Jakovich, who chairs the World Nuclear Association's Licensing and Permitting
Task Force, said traditional licensing frameworks and standards "pose lots of challenges" in terms of standardization and cooperation. But, noting that 19 of the current reactor designs being considered by regulators are SMRs, she said, "This seems to be the new world".
"Existing nuclear countries have licensing and certification regimes that have been in place for over half a century and to try and create standardization in a retrofitted world is very difficult. They present a status quo that forms a significant barrier to international standardization of licensing requirements for nuclear new build, at anything more than an incremental level," she said.
"Legal frameworks will in some cases need to be updated and new standards will need to be developed, but standardization is obviously more efficient and it lowers barrier to entry, with more opportunities for knowledge and experience sharing. These benefits are magnified in the world of SMRs."
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| October 2016 | | 6 | DOE-EM Site Specific Advisory Board Meeting in Piketon, OH
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| October 2016 | | 11-13 | Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association's Business Opportunities Conference in Knoxville, TN
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| October 2016 | | 15 | DOE-EM Site
Specific Advisory Board Meeting in Paducha, KY
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| October 2016 | | 20 | DOE-EM Site Specific Advisory Board Meeting in Paducha, KY |
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| November 2016 | | 16-18 | INVITATION ONLY 2016 Intergovernmental Meeting with DOE in New
Orleans, LA |
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Find the most recent ECA Bulletin here |
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