Nuclear Barbarians

Nuclear advocate, UC Davis grad student, environmentalist, and barbell squatter Amelia Tiemann joined me to talk about convincing people of nuclear, the Beautiful Nuclear Report, and more! Check her out on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TiemannAmelia Subscribe to Grid Brief: gridbrief.com/subscribe

My friend James Fleay, founder of Down Under Nuclear Energy (DUNE), joined me to talk about what's stopping Australia from building nuclear. We talk about the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, electricity spot market, economic complexity, human capital, Australian economic history, and more! Detailed description of how the anti-nuclear legislation was snuck in under cover of darkness in Australia: https://www.brightnewworld.org/media/2018/10/18/history-of-australias-nuclear-prohibition-5ceab Interested listeners can email DUNE at: info@downundernuclearenergy.com.au Subscribe to Grid Brief: https://www.gridbrief.com/subscribe

Mark Hinaman joined me again to talk about his vision for the Fire2Fission fund, nuclear regulation, the value of human capital, what the fossil fuel and nuclear industries can do better, and more! Check out his blog: https://fire2fission.com/2022/03/19/fire2fission-a-fund/ Follow Mark on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkHinaman Subscribe to Grid Brief: https://twitter.com/GridBrief

Dr. Chris Keefer, the host of the Decouple podcast, stopped by to update me on the incredible progress being made in Canada for nuclear energy. https://www.gridbrief.com/subscribe

Brian Gitt was once a true Amory Lovins all-renewables believer. But then, as he spent time in the industry, things stopped adding up. We talk about his journey towards the radiant light of nuclear and what renewables advocates leave out when they make their case. Follow Brian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianGitt Check out his website: https://briangitt.com/ Subscribe to Grid Brief: https://www.gridbrief.com/subscribe

Mark Hinaman, who grew up in an oil and gas family and found great success in fracking, is now turning towards nuclear for a vision of the future. In this first episode in a two-parter, Mark and I dove into his background, what nuclear can learn from O&G, realistic energy transitions, and so much more. I absolutely loved talking to him and am looking forward to part 2. Check out Mark's work: https://fire2fission.com/2022/03/19/fire2fission-a-fund/ Reach him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhinaman

Jenifer Avellaneda is one of my favorite new Twitter follows. She's a young Nuclear Risk Analyst for Westinghouse whose been passionate about nuclear since she was a kid and who does a great job of communicating nuclear safety to the public. We had a fun chat about her background and our mutual love of nuclear. Follow Jenifer: https://twitter.com/NuclearHazelnut Subscribe to Grid Brief: https://www.gridbrief.com/subscribe

Wiliam Davison (https://twitter.com/wdavison10) of Crisis Group (https://www.crisisgroup.org/) joined me to talk about GERD. It's a hugely informative episode about the hurdles developing countries face in scaling up the energy ladder.  Read more about it here: Shock death intensifies dam debate: was Abiy pessimistic or realistic about GERD? https://medium.com/@wdavison10/shock-death-intensifies-dam-debate-was-abiy-pessimistic-or-realistic-about-gerd-d306a98686fe Nile Dam Talks: Unlocking a Dangerous Stalemate https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/ethiopia/nile-dam-talks-unlocking-dangerous-stalemate Subscribe to Grid Brief: https://www.gridbrief.com/subscribe

Madi Hilly of the Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal joined me to talk about her organization's latest report on repowering retiring coal plants with nuclear reactors. We talk about giving energy communities a chance to choose their future, preserving American industrial ability, obstacles to repowering, and much more. Read the report: https://gndcampaign.org/repowering-coal Follow Madi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MadiHilly Subscribe to Grid Brief: https://www.gridbrief.com/subscribe

Return guest Robert Bryce joined me to talk about the NRC’s decision to rescind its license extension to Turkey Point in Florida. The conversation then turns to the dismal state of current energy policy, Biden’s State of the Union, the problem with how most people (especially those in the media) think about energy, what we can do about it, and some of my weird theories about how the internet has deeply changed our polity Read Robert’s piece on the Turkey Point situation: https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertbryce/2022/02/28/nrc-rescinds-license-extensions-creates-more-uncertainty-for-investment-in-nuclear-sector/?sh=2ff439262e55 Follow Robert on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pwrhungry Buy his book: https://www.amazon.com/Question-Power-Electricity-Wealth-Nations/dp/1610397495/ref=sr11?crid=3QA7TJC0QTXBM&keywords=robert+bryce&qid=1646363158&sprefix=robert+bryce%2Caps%2C133&sr=8-1 Watch his movie: https://www.amazon.com/Juice-How-Electricity-Explains-World/dp/B088N9SBC8/ref=sr14?crid=2Y5ZRK58Y7TMG&keywords=the+juice%2C+documentary&qid=1646363193&sprefix=the+juice%2C+documentary%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-4

Princy Mthombeni from Africa4Nuclear sat down with me to talk about how she ended up becoming such an amazing advocate for nuclear, the obstacles to building nuclear in Africa, overcoming energy poverty, and more! Check out her youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQZmA_Zryw077ModGyDEKpw Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Princymthombeni

DJ LeClear, The Rad Guy, sits down to talk to me about working in radiation safety, how he became a nuclear advocate, how he changed his mind on climate, what it means to be an advocate, and more! Follow The Rad Guy: www.youtube.com/channel/UCNRNPA4-VzJiNVOHEmLSEAg www.instagram.com/theradguyglows/?hl=en www.tiktok.com/@theradguyglows?lang=en twitter.com/ThatRadGuy5 www.patreon.com/join/TheRadGuy? rads-glowing-apparel.creator-spring.com/ Subscribe to my newsletter to get curated energy news and analysis in your inbox: www.gridbrief.com/subscribe

Italian nuclear advocate Luca Romano joins me to talk about the history of Italian nuclear, how he's amassed such an impressive pro-nuclear following, the great news of the EU's new green taxonomy, and more! Support Luca's work! Patreon: https://patreon.com/nicodaemon Facebook: https://facebook.com/AvvocatoAtomico Instagram: https://instagram.com/avvocatoatomico/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AvvocatoAtomico Twitch: https://twitch.tv/avvocatoatomico Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeieWsvQm00yw4GzBNLzJPw TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@avvocatodellatomo?lang=en

Isaac Orr of the Center of the American Experiment returns to talk about his latest article on MISO's potential for cold weather blackouts this winter. We dive into what's happening with solar in Minnesota, grid unreliability, coal, how wind turbines can be net consumers of energy in cold weather, phony environmental justice language, and more. Check out Isaac's article here: https://www.americanexperiment.org/magazine/article/below-zero-blackouts

Emmet chats with Edgardo Sepulveda to discuss some of the history of public power in Canada and the US in the context of trying to save the publicly-owned Pickering Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) from being shut down in 2025 in his home province of Ontario, Canada. This episode is a type of follow-up to Emmet and Edgardo’s first episode “A Brief History of the American Electricity Grid From the 1920s to Closure of Indian Point” in June 2021 (https://exhaust.fireside.fm/41). Edgardo discusses how Progressive Era organizers and politicians pushed back against private monopolies on both sides of the border and how in Ontario they succeeded by establishing in 1906 what would become for a while the largest publicly-owned integrated power system in the world. In the US the “Ontario experiment” would become a rallying cry for many reformers, including FDR that would use it as model for the NY Power Agency (NYPA) and the New Deal’s Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Rural Electrification Administration (REA). Fast-forward, and public nuclear power accounts for more than 60% for Ontario’s electricity. But the public company has decided not to refurbish and extend the life of Pickering’s 6 reactors, accounting for a whopping 17.5% of total generation. To be replaced by what? You guessed it: increased gas generation. Check out Edgardo’s analysis of how the refurbishment of Pickering is the least-cost climate-friendly option: https://edecarb.org/analysis/ontario-ix For a historical overview of public ownership in the first 40 years of the 20th century, check out Mark Sholdice’s “The Ontario Experiment: Hydroelectricity, Public Ownership, and Transnational Progressivism, 1906-1939” https://atrium.lib.uoguelph.ca/xmlui/handle/10214/15239 If you want to find out more about the effort to Save Pickering, this is the site: http://savepickering.ca/ and here are the Twitter (@NuclearSave) and Facebook (@savepickering) Edgardo tweets at @ERSepulveda. Also, check out his “Profiles in Decarbonization” site (www.edecarb.org) where he analyses the electricity price and emissions performance of 30 high-income countries over the last 50 years.

The legendary Rod Adams (@atomicrod) of Atomic Insights and Nucleation Capital joined me to talk about his time as a Navy nuke, changes in nuclear, what advanced nuclear is all about, and more!

Nick Touran, creator of whatisnuclear.com, joins me to talk about stewarding our nuclear past and learning from our engineering forefathers. Nick’s a great guy and I’ve learned a lot from his work. We had a fun time chatting and I encourage everyone to consult his website for valuable information about the development of nuclear energy in America.

Host of the famous Titans of Nuclear podcast and Managing Director of the Energy Impact Center, Bret Kugelmass joined me to talk about his background, the corruption of the American utility industry, nuclear deadlocks, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, regulation, and more! Check out Bret's podcast: https://www.titansofnuclear.com/ Subscribe to my Substack: https://nuclearbarians.substack.com/

Pronuclear zoomer Aidan Swanson came on the pod to talk to me about how he got into nuclear, his research on RTOs and natural gas, the posi/doomer divide amongst his generation, and more! Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MemdeeCapital Subscribe to my Substack: https://nuclearbarians.substack.com/ Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nukebarbarian

King of the energy analysts Mark Nelson swings by to talk about COP 26, his visit to Ghana, the energy crisis and how it's changing minds about nuclear. Follow Mark on Twitter: https://twitter.com/energybants Follow me on Substack: https://nuclearbarians.substack.com/ Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nukebarbarian