Nuclear Barbarians

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/nicodaemonFacebook: https://facebook.com/AvvocatoAtomicoInstagram: https://instagram.com/avvocatoatomico/Twitter: https://twitter.com/AvvocatoAtomicoTwitch: https://twitch.tv/avvocatoatomicoYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeieWsvQm00yw4GzBNLzJPwTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@avvocatodellatomo?lang=en Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

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. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

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 @E_R_Sepulveda. 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. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

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! Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

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. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

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, Titans of Nuclear. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

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 Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

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. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

I got to speak with Heather Hoff, an employee at Diablo Canyon and founder of Mothers for Nuclear. This one was a big deal for me—I really admire Heather and all the work that she does. We talked about how Heather came to work at Diablo, how she overcame her fears of nuclear and became one of its fiercest advocates. We also talked about the amazing march to save Diablo that took place over the weekend. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

Author of Shorting the Grid and Campaigning for Clean Air, Meredith Angwin joins me to talk about electricity wholesale markets, grid resiliency, the beauty of energy, and more! Follow Meredith. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe