Good Words on Nuclear Energy

John Batchelor hosts a radio talk show known for the variety of topics it covers and guests it draws. The show is broadcast in the evenings here on the East Coast, and podcasts of past shows are available on the show's website. For us, one of the more interesting guests recently was John Moore, CEO of Acorn Energy, who appeared in the fourth hour of the October 15 show (Minutes 0:00-9:27). Mr. Moore has a new book called "The Hidden Cleantech Revolution: Five Priorities for Securing America's Energy Future without Breaking the Bank."

In his Batchelor Show appearance, Mr. Moore spoke about inconsistencies in federal policies towards nuclear energy, contrasting the promise of loan guarantees on the one hand with killing the Yucca Mountain project on the other. Mr. Batchelor remarked on the unreasonably high 11% fee the government would have charged for its loan guarantee on the Calvert Cliffs-3 project. Mr. Moore offered figures showing that nuclear is among the least subsidized energy sources, contrary to popular perception. He emphasized the importance of a diverse energy supply and warned that the current "romance" with renewables could blind us to the risks in becoming too dependent on one source of energy. He said that pursuing renewables to excess, for example, could result in trading our dependence on foreign oil for an equally problematic dependence on foreign supplies of strategic minerals such as rare earths, used in high-strength magnets needed for wind turbines and in solar cells.

Mr. Moore's book is available for downloading at his web site.
Upper photo: John Batchelor at work.
Lower photo: John. A. Moore, CEO, Acorn Energy (ACFN-NASDAQ).