The great advantage of nuclear fusion is that a great amount of energy can be generated from just a few grams of fuel. One gram of fuel in a fusion reactor has the potential to generate the equivalent of eight tons of oil.
     Something similar happens with nuclear fission. This is the process that produces energy in operating commercial nuclear power plants. The amount of fuel (uranium or plutonium) is very small when compared to the fuel required by thermal power plants that burn coal, gas, or oil. No matter how great the use of fusion energy in the future, its use will never be so great as to alter the composition of our atmosphere.
     The use of hydrogen isotopes will be required in order for fusion reactors to become widespread. Isotopes are atoms of the same element but with different numbers of neutrons. This feature means the different isotopes of an element have the same chemical properties, but they have different physical properties.
     The fusion reactions that take place at the lowest temperatures are those produced between deuterium and tritium. Deuterium is very abundant in both seawater and fresh water. It can be extracted by hydrolysis. Tritium is rare in nature but can be produced by the fusion reaction itself. Neutron from the fusion reaction impact a regenerating mantle composed of lithium, among other elements. A neutron and a lithium atom produce tritium as a byproduct that will be reused as fuel in plasma. Plasma is an ionized gas with a temperature higher than eleven thousand degrees Fahrenheit.
     Nuclear reactions occur in fusion as well as fission. However, they are different from the processes we know from burning fuel. Burning fossil fuels is a chemical reaction. In order to initiate fusion, nuclei must be brought closer together so than the nuclear forces come into play and attract each other strongly. When these nuclei fuse, the form a new element that weighs less than the sum of the masses of the initial nuclei. This difference in mass can be transformed into energy by Einstein’ equation E=mc2. The fusion process for commercial fusion reactors involves very light elements. Hydrogen isotopes generate the most energy when fused. By joining two hydrogen nuclei through a nuclear fusion reaction, the result is a helium nuclei and a highly energetic neutron.
     In order to understand the amount of fusion fuel needed for a fusion reactor, the density of plasma in a fusion reactor has a density of one million times smaller than the density of air at sea level. The density of plasma is so low, than no matter how many reaction occur with the release of helium, it will never be able to alter the composition of the atmosphere no matter the consumption of hydrogen nor the emissions produced by fusion.
     This fact alone means that converting to fusion fueled reactors will help reduce climate change that is being caused by the burning of fossil fuels today. In addition, the reduction of waste produced by fossil fuels and nuclear fusion power is a very attractive feature of fusion power.

     An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission has concluded that reports compiled by the Jordanian Atomic Energy Commission will provide a good basis for a feasibility study into Jordan’s use of small modular reactors (SMRs) for generating electricity generation and desalinizing seawater.
     Jordan is considering the use of an SMR to provide the necessary electricity to operate a reverse osmosis desalination plant. The SMR will also pump an estimated four hundred million cubic yards of drinking water each year from the Red Sea coast to the capital Amman which is about two hundred and fifty miles away and two thousand three hundred feet above sea level.
     The IAEA expert review mission was held at its Vienna headquarters in August of 2023. The review team consisted of eighteen IAEA staff and three external experts. It evaluated whether reports submitted by the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) included all the required information to support decision making for deploying an SMR for power generation and desalination. Areas covered by the IAEA review included nuclear power technology and safety, siting and licensing, nuclear desalination, nuclear law and stakeholder engagement, among others.
     The IAEA mission found that Jordan’s reports provide a good basis for a feasibility study. The mission also suggested areas where work could be expanded or improved. These included conducting a study on the selection of the nuclear unit size while taking into account the need to strengthen electric connections to the nodal points of the grid and neighboring countries. Exploration of potential alternative fuel suppliers was also suggested.
     Khalid Khasawneh is the Commissioner for Nuclear Power Reactors at JAEC. He said, “This endeavor exemplified an agency-wide collaborative effort that addressed all aspects of the feasibility study, providing essential guidance on IAEA services that Jordan could benefit from in enhancing the assessment and progress of our SMR project.”
     The IAEA said that Jordan was one of a growing number of countries that have expressed interest in deploying SMRs. To better assist such countries, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi established the SMR Platform in 2021 to provide coordinated, agency-wide support on all aspects of SMR development, deployment and oversight.
     The mission followed an IAEA workshop last year in Amman which explored the technologies and requirements for the development of nuclear desalinization.

     The Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan could become the first nuclear power plant that was successfully started in the U.S. Holtec International submitted a filing with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to formally start the process of seeking reauthorization of power plant operations at the plant which was shut down in May 2022. Holtec said that the filing followed a series of public meetings with Palisades within the NRC’s existing regulatory framework.
     Jean Fleming is the Holtec International Vice President of Licensing, Regulatory Affairs and Probabilistic Safety Analysis. She said, “Our licensing submittal is a significant step in exploring the potential for Palisades to continue contributing to the region’s energy and economic needs, while adhering to the highest safety and regulatory standards. We understand the importance of nuclear power in our nation’s energy mix and the critical role it plays in providing safe, reliable, carbon-free electricity here in Michigan. Palisades’ safety and operational performance met the industry’s highest standards when it was taken offline last year. Its systems and equipment remain well maintained and in excellent material condition. This licensing submittal is the first of a series of submittals intended to return Palisades to full operation.”
     Palisades is a single unit nuclear power plant which started commercial operations in 1971. Entergy announced in 2016 that it planned to close the plant. The NRC approved the license from Entergy to Holtec for the purpose of decommissioning the plant in 2021. The eight hundred- and five-megawatt pressurized water reactor was removed from service by Entergy on the 20th of May 2022 and defueled by the 10th of June.
     The sale to Holtec was completed later that same month. Holtec announced a few days later that it was applying for federal funding to allow it to restart the plant. It was unsuccessful in the first round of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DoE’s) Civil Nuclear Credit program. However, Holtec announced in December that it was reapplying. Holtec said that it was “working cooperatively with the DOE to move the loan application process forward”.
     On the 31st of July, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into law the State of Michigan’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget. The budget provides one hundred and fifty million dollars in funding for the restart of the plant.
     Last month, Holtec announced that it had signed a long-term power purchase agreement with the non-profit Wolverine Power Cooperative. Under the multi-decade agreement, Wolverine commits to purchasing two-thirds of the power generated from a restarted Palisades plant. Wolverine’s partner Hoosier Energy is purchasing the balance.
     Holtec noted that “will greatly enhance Michigan’s carbon-free energy generation, the region’s grid reliability and decrease the region’s reliance on (expensive) energy imports”.
     Kelly Trice is the President of Holtec Nuclear Generation and Decommissioning. He said that “Holtec plans to build up the Palisades site into a mega-clean energy provider to the region with the restarted Palisades power plant as its centerpiece.”
     This is an interesting development for the U.S. nuclear industry. It is the first time that a shuttered nuclear power plant due to be decommissioned was authorized to be restarted instead.

Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     Visual evidence of testing preparations includes both before and after satellite images of the test site. Imagery taken on the morning of September 20th shows many vehicles present on a launch pad at the base. One of the trucks had a trailer that appears to correspond to the dimensions of the missile. A weather shelter that typically covers the specific launch site had been shifted about fifty feet. By the afternoon after the test, the trailer was gone, and the shelter had been moved back to its original position.
     Additional satellite imagery that was captured on September 28th shows the launch pad active again. There was a similar trailer at the site and the weather shelter had again been shifted.
    On August 31st, Russian authorities issued an aviation notice for a “temporary danger area”. The notice advised piloted to avoid part of the Barents Sea off the coast and twelve miles from the launch site, Known as Pankovo. The notice has since been extended several times. It was scheduled to be in force through October 6th. Russia had issued a similar notice before a Burevestnik test in 2019.
     Two Russian aircraft specifically utilized for collecting data from missile launches were parked about one hundred miles south of the launch site in early August. The aircraft were at the Rogachevo air base, according to analysis of satellite images by Bellona, a Norwegian environmental organization. The aircraft are owned by Rosatom which is the Russian atomic energy company. They stayed at that air base at least through September 26th, according to satellite imagery. During the Burevestnik tests held in 2018, the same type of aircraft were also in the vicinity.
     A U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft called a RC-135W Rivet Joint flew at least two missions off the coast of the Arctic island where the launch site is located on September 19th and September 26th according to the tracking platform known as Flightradar24. These two missions represent a slight increase from usual known activity.
     The highly secretive nature of the Burevestnik missile initiative and the remote launch location make it hard to determine if a test is coming soon or if the missile may have already been recently retested. Launch tests of the Burevestnik have been conducted at the Arctic base in the past. Russia could also have tested just the missile’s rocket motor or a component of the missile itself.
     The U.S. government declined to comment on the report of Burevestnik testing.
     Experts said that the Burevestnik is dangerous not only because of its ability to carry a powerful nuclear warhead but in its potential to release harmful radioactive emissions if the missile were to explode or malfunction during a test.
     If it were actually deployed, the Burevestnik would be considered part of Russia’s nuclear arsenal. This would make it subject to a nuclear arms reduction treaty signed in 2011. That treaty limits the total number of nuclear warheads and delivery vehicles that Russia is allowed to deploy.
     The treaty is known as New START. It is set to expire in February of 2026. The Burevestnik could contribute to “the leading edge of an uncontrolled arms race” if no new agreement were to replace the expiring treaty, according to Kimball. Ultimately, he stated, a test of the missile would be “sign that Russia is moving in the wrong direction.”