We really love the art work of PopAtomic Studios…. Thier effort is “a series of artistic experiments in my community to see if I can shift perception of atomic energy using only art and and creative input from some amazing artist friends!”
PopAtomic.org
Their mix of art and science is just fun. And check out their growing lists of artistic experiments here.
This speech has been getting noticed ever since literally the moment it occurred, being tweeted and covered by various press…but the TED folks just put the video up.
Here is a key quote (with bolding being from us):
“So let’s look at this fourth factor — this is going to be a key one — and this is the amount of CO2 put out per each unit of energy. And so the question is, can you actually get that to zero? If you burn coal, no. If you burn natural gas, no. Almost every way we make electricity today, except for the emerging renewables and nuclear, puts out CO2. And so, what we’re going to have to do at a global scale, is create a new system. And so, we need energy miracles.
Now, when I use the term miracle, I don’t mean something that’s impossible. The microprocessor is a miracle. The personal computer is a miracle. The internet and it’s services are a miracle. So, the people here have participated in the creation of many miracles.”
By Mike McMahon
My name is Mike McMahon, and I am an American living in the south of France on an expatriate assignment at AREVA’s MELOX mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility in the Rhône family. My family and I moved from Bethesda, Maryland to France in July 2008 to begin a multi-year assignment learning firsthand the technologies that AREVA uses to recycle nuclear fuel for the entire French nuclear fleet and for customers in Japan and Germany as well.
read more…
Think you know a lot about clean energy? Challenge yourself and try for
the top score on AREVA’s Clean Energy Quiz.
read more…
Watch as AREVA Renewables CEO, Anil Srivastava, and Ausra CEO, Robert Fishman, discuss how the acquisition and how their expertise will create for a leader in the solar industry.
Good to see the reaction to our just announced deal to aquire Asura online at the Earth2Tech site. They write:
Whoa — big news on the solar thermal front today, as French power giant Areva says it’s agreed to buy solar thermal startup Ausra. Back in November there were several media reports that said Ausra was in talks to be acquired by one of three companies, and it looks like Areva won the deal….Solar thermal technology uses mirrors and lenses to concentrate the sun rays to power turbines, and utilities have been turning to it in droves as of late.
And from the San Jose MercuryNews.com:
“This is an exciting part of our overall strategy,” said Anil Srivastava, CEO of Areva’s renewables business unit, who met with Ausra’s employees Monday afternoon. “Ausra offers the most competitive technology in the solar thermal space, and they make the mosthe U.S. market, but also for the worldwide market, particularly the Middle East.”
…”Our employees are very excited about this,” said Robert Fishman, Ausra’s CEO. “The resources that Areva are going to commit to the business will help us accelerate the development of our technology. This gives us the horsepower to bring the technology where we want to go.”
And from the LA Times Blog:
“Good technology was not enough to give what customers needed,” said Robert Fishman, Ausra’s chief executive, who will stay on to run Areva’s global solar division out of Ausra’s Mountain View, Calif., offices. “We needed the financial strength to guarantee that our technology had a global footprint. By joining forces with Areva, we’ve solved that problem.”
While Areva is new to the solar market, the company’s $18 billion in annual revenues should help reassure bankers who tend to shy away from financing multibillion-dollar solar power plants using new technologies.
Areva will also continue to sell Ausra’s solar thermal equipment, which uses rows of long flat mirrors to focus the sun on water-filled tubes suspended over the arrays. The superheated water creates steam for industrial uses or to drive an electricity-generating turbine.
Srivastava said Areva would target the desert Southwest in the United States as well as markets in Europe, the Middle East, Australia and South Africa.
AREVA announced today that it has agreed to acquire U.S. solar company Ausra. Ausra is a California-based provider of large-scale concentrated solar power solutions for electricity generation and industrial steam production.
Utilizing Ausra’s management team and proven technology, this acquisition launches AREVA’s new solar energy business on a global scale.
Liddell Solar/Coal-Fired Power
By combining Ausra’s proven technology with AREVA’s years of project experience and world class Engineering, Procurement, and Construction skills, AREVA commits to building the most cost-effective concentrated solar power for energy customers around the world.
read more…
By Jarret Adams
Right now, nuclear energy is expanding around the world. According to the World Nuclear Association, there are 50 reactors under construction across the globe and another 130 (and counting) scheduled to come online over the next decade.
The nuclear renaissance is happening.
Today the world demands clean, low-carbon energy sources to prevent further increases in carbon-dioxide emissions. That is why we are seeing increasing interest in nuclear energy as well as renewable technologies such as wind and solar.
In the United States, nuclear energy is by far the largest source of electricity that does not produce greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, 72 percent of the nation’s emissions-free electricity comes from nuclear power.
At AREVA, we believe nuclear energy must be part of any solution to reduce harmful emissions and provide affordable, clean electricity to the country. Nuclear energy is just one part of the equation, a range of clean energy sources, including renewables, are needed. But in realistic terms, the United States would be hard pressed to meet its energy and climate goals without nuclear energy.
From California to New York, companies like AREVA are planning a new generation of nuclear energy plants. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received 17 applications to license 25 new reactors and is working hard to review them. Included among these are four AREVA U.S. EPR™ reactors. These four domestic reactors are in addition to the four EPR™ reactors AREVA has under construction worldwide.
These new nuclear facilities will do more than produce clean, reliable electricity. These projects will inject billions of dollars of investment into local communities and create thousands of high-paying jobs.
We must tackle the challenges of reducing emissions and creating a clean-energy economy. Nuclear energy is a reliable, clean-energy source, capable of generating jobs where they are needed most. New nuclear plants should be part of the nation’s energy solution.
Jarret Adams is director of media relations at AREVA Inc. in Bethesda, Md.
By Katherine Berezowskyj
There was a very big announcement for renewable energy today out of Washington State. ADAGE LLC, a biopower joint venture between AREVA and Duke Energy, and John Deere announced the formation as part of the biomass power process. This alliance will bring innovative technology and sustainable methods to enhance fuel supply for the renewable woody biomass power projects.
John Deere Bundler
Jacques Besnainou AREVA Inc. CEO
In the January edition of Electroindustry—a publication from the National Electrical Manufacturers Association—AREVA Inc. CEO Jacques Besnainou discusses how changes in renewable energy and grid standards are an essential part of transforming the U.S. energy sector.
“But, while everyone agrees the outcome from Copenhagen may take a few years to be ratified and implemented, it is encouraging that many countries, including the U.S., Canada, EU, and China, are moving forward with their own actions to lower their carbon footprints and transition to low-carbon economies.”
Besnainou points out that in addition to federal actions, some states have adopted Renewable Portfolio Standards (PRS), “which together constitute another key driver of renewable energy.”
“Many states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions have expressed interest in offshore wind. We have seen similar interest in coastal provinces of Eastern Canada. AREVA, as part of a strong commitment to supplying the world with clean, CO2-free energy, is making significant investments in offshore wind in the U.S. and Canada. We believe that standards will make offshore wind a sustainable market and we are encouraged by the projections from the American and Canadian Wind Associations.”
Equally important in the development of renewable energy is the need for “interconnection standards that eliminate barriers to connecting offshore and onshore wind plants to transmission systems. The existing grid interconnection standards must continue to evolve and be flexible as the technology advances.”
Read the rest of the piece “Standards Increase Renewable Energy, Facilitate Grid Interconnection,” on page 3 here.
For more information about what AREVA is doing in renewable energy and offshore wind can also be found here.
