Dr. Jessica R. Lovering Profile Banner
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering Profile
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering

@J_Lovering

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Co-founder @GoodEnergyColl : progressive nuclear policy. Fellow @EnergyForGrowth . Senior Visiting Fellow @FastPathToZero . Follow: @lovering @greennuclear .online

Santa Barbara, CA
Joined March 2012
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
@Steve_Sailer I know *a ton* of people excited about both. You forget that lots of smart women are nuclear engineers. I was hoping for a double-feature!
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
As Germany closed its last three nuclear reactors this weekend, Finland's brand-new 1.6GW reactor has entered full commercial operation, generating 30% of the country's electricity demand, and has reduced its dependence on imports from Sweden
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
While all eyes were on Germany, Belgium is just quietly closing 1,000MW of fossil-free power in the middle of an energy crisis
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
Big news: I have passed my doctoral defense and will now insist (just for a few weeks) that all refer to me as Dr. Lovering.
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
3 years
Personal news: I will be on parental leave through December taking care of this tiny human. If you see me tweeting, please shame me.
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
Did a blackout write this?
@washingtonpost
The Washington Post
2 years
A recent study shows that electricity blackouts can be avoided across the nation — perhaps even during intense weather events — by switching to 100 percent clean and renewable energy, such as solar, wind and water energy.
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
🧵 Okay, a deeper dive on global uranium supply: yes, you’re right! Russia does not produce that much uranium, just 6% of global production in 2020. Top producers in order were: Kazakhstan (41%), Australia (13%), Namibia (11%), Canada (7%)...everyone else (22%)
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
@lexfridman I notice a certain gender underrepresented on this list, but that’s probably intentional…
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
Renewables: We're not going to be able to scale up fast enough if it takes decades to get permits and fight lawsuits from the local communities. Nuclear:
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
I am beyond thrilled to be sharing our paper in @PLOSONE "Land-use intensity of electricity production and tomorrow’s energy landscape" w/ co-authors @linusblomqvist , @MarianSwain , @TheHernandezLab
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
Just a little context for all the bros telling me Germany got off Russian gas easy-peasy. They did this by shifting to LNG imports from the US, not by ramping up renewables. They also increased coal consumption by 5%
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
11 months
The Vogtle nuclear plant is set to become the largest single power source in the US – and it's opening at the perfect time (Quotes me)
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
Good news: I successfully proposed my thesis yesterday, now I’m ABD! Sadly, the only picture I have is me anxiously waiting for my committee to join the Zoom call
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
@TomFitton @elonmusk @lexfridman Most of these were on the reading list in my high school in the 90s 😂 One reason I was mocking the list
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
Really great Opinion here: "Nuclear Power Is More Important Than Ever. Retiring nuclear plants early was a bad idea. Failing to invest in new ones would be disastrous."
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
You can see the impact here, Germany has some of the worst emissions intensity (gCO₂eq/kWh) across Europe, even worse than Russia!
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
Maybe let’s not call it a “nuclear winter”? Why don’t you call it what it is: a climate crisis
@nytimes
The New York Times
4 years
Some called it a nuclear winter. Cars kept their headlights on. This is what skies looked like this morning in Northern California, where wildfires are spreading at an astonishing rate.
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
The nuclear industry could never get away with spinning an explosion as a success.
@SpaceX
SpaceX
1 year
As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
I‘m not here to harp on renewables, BUT this does highlight the importance of thinking through lifecycle of all energy sources, not just the “bad” ones. Can solar panels be recycled? Where do they go now?
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
10 months
Yikes, that's some willful ignorance on the part of @Greenpeace . How out of touch do you have to be to see EU countries reconsidering nuclear and jump to a conspiracy about lobbying, rather than the super obvious Russian invasion of Ukraine, cut-off of gas supply, rising prices+
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
9 months
Really thought-provoking analysis of storage requirements in high-renewables energy systems. Answers a question I get *all the time* of why we need nuclear if renewables are so dang cheap.
@QvistStaffan
Staffan Qvist
3 years
[1] What determines storage requirements in a 100% RE (mainly PV + wind) system, and how much is really needed? @OliverRuhnau and I tried to figure this out in a new study using 35 years of hourly weather (re-analysis) data for Germany: THREAD...
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
@amyklobuchar Of course the ladies have to explain parental leave, loved @KamalaHarris ’ reasoning that women are having children later and are also more likely to bear the burden of caring for aging parents, need 6months leave. Resonates with me for sure.
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
Cites our new report --> WV lawmakers eye advanced nuclear technology, lifting state's restrictions on building reactors via @wvgazettemail
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
We talk about the potential for coal-to-nuclear repowering a lot, but don't ignore the even more important "nuclear-to-nuclear", i.e. building new nuclear at retiring nuclear power sites:
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
Exciting news!! @SuzyHobbsBaker and I are launching a new organization next month called Good Energy Collective @GoodEnergyColl . Sign up for news, and be the first to hear about our launch event:
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
5 years
As I say in the article, it’s not really surprising that France is pushing for a big nuclear scale-up again, even with a large, costly design. Thinking long-term, economy-wide. “Why France is eyeing nuclear power again“ -James Temple
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
5 years
A very important conversation to have, should we stop letting biomass qualify as low-carbon? Europe’s renewable energy policy is built on burning American trees via @voxdotcom
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
At a women's hiking meetup, had a great time, then right at the end the organizer I asked what I did... Her: Like, you work at a power plant. Me: No, more on the policy side. Her: Oh good! I hate those people that claim nuclear is clean energy! Me: Well, sorry to disappoint...
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
3 years
In the past few weeks, I've given several talks on #advancednuclear with folks who are not very familiar with the technology. It's been great to hear questions from new audiences who are open to nuclear, but also have valid concerns. These resources address those concerns...
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
France is pushing for more nuclear while Germany is closing nuclear plants. Helpful context to look at their current carbon intensity from Germany's carbon intensity is over 5x higher than France today (6x higher than Sweden)
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
It's so so cool to see @AOC covering her trip to Fukushima (and nuclear more broadly) in her Instagram story highlights. BUT super frustrating to see this image of an oil refinery fire still being used as a stock photo for the nuclear disaster after all these years
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
6 years
It's been a long workday, for a few seconds I read this and thought, "Why would National Public Radio *need* nuclear weapons?"
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
Whoa, a big shift, and good news for the climate: California promised to close its last nuclear plant. Now @GavinNewsom is reconsidering
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 month
Nervous about this debate, but also excited for the opportunity!
@carriesheffield
Carrie Sheffield
1 month
Should the U.S. embrace more Nuclear Energy? I’ll be moderating esteemed debaters on this topic @ColoradoMesaU April 10th, 5:30 PM MT! Don't miss out on this @Steamboat_Inst Debate and reserve your spot here or register to livestream from home: …
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
Was such a pleasure to sit down with @mattyglesias and talk about the future of nuclear power: An expert’s case for nuclear power
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
Wowzer, that’s bad. Oil almost generating more than nuclear in New England today. That’s like 1960s power grid, also renewables mostly garbage (literally!)
@JasonBordoff
Jason Bordoff
2 years
When it gets very cold in New England, they need to turn to oil to help run the grid. This morning, nearly one-quarter of power is coming from oil. With very high power prices, & nat gas prices at European levels (~6x the US benchmark Henry Hub price).
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
While I don't like nuclear being lumped with gas, by any metric nuclear is just as green as renewable energy. Also, the EU desperately needs more investment in nuclear to get off of fossils fuels ASAP and Russian gas even sooner #NuclearBelongsIn
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
3 years
For what do I owe this honor?
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
Oh look, I’m doing a thing! Thank you @CMU_EPP for everything
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
I’m in Wyoming today and overheard a state policymaker say to a colleague: “Nuclear is bringing more to the state than coal or oil ever did.”
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
Look, I'm really happy that the renewables trend looks like this, but don't forget that the trend is not intrinsic to the tech but the result of policy and demand incentives. Nuclear's trend looked the same in the 1970s
@LionHirth
Lion Hirth
1 year
23 years of global power generation from nuclear, wind and solar power
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
@thiasi Germany is relying heavily on their domestic coal. If you don't care about GHG emissions or local air pollution, this is fine, but... The reason Europe became dependent on Russia for Uranium is entirely about cost, not limits on supply. Plenty of Uranium in Canada & Australia
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
3 years
Alright, I'll bite. (& I won't make you read my dissertation) Factory-fabrication of modular technologies reduces costs over successive build for all kinds of big complex technologies, from Boeing 787s to gas turbines. No reason to think SMRs would be different
@drvolts
David Roberts
3 years
An extremely skeptical & bearish take on small modular nuclear reactors & their role in the future energy system. Any SMR fans want to rebut?
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
I’m in Japan all week if you have any questions about nuclear energy here. I’ll be touring the Rokkasho Reprocesing Plant and Fukushima Daichi
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
Wow, this is big, but also the most reasonable and pragmatic decision. “Germany to Keep Last Three Nuclear-Power Plants Running in Policy U-Turn.”
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
Back to Russia, while they only produce ~6% of global uranium, that uranium has to be enriched before it can fuel nuclear power plants, & Russia had ~43% of global enrichment capacity in 2020. And then fuel fabrication is a whole separate issue...
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
I'm just going to ignore the news today and share this article about China becoming a leader on nuclear energy (quotes me!)
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
@TerraPower About 5-10 years ago, there were tons of papers ringing alarm bells about the dominance of Russia (and increasingly China) in the global export market for commercial nuclear. What can we do about it? I looked into for my dissertation:
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
9 months
I had never seen the Ivanpah Concentrating Solar Power plant in the wild. It’s crazy! Looks super futuristic. Photo taken from our car while driving by
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
Renewable energy topped coal in US for 40 days straight <- This is great news, but now the challenge is natural gas.
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
I made a gif! What is the lowest cost source of *new* electricity generation by county (maps from @EnergyUT ). The CO2 price grows from $0/ton to $75/ton. Orange=NG, Blue=nuclear, green=wind, purple=solar (utility-scale PV) Tool here:
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
3 years
Interesting to see @UCSUSA 's own analysts argue that closing nuclear in California will very likely raise emissions, but not arguing that the plant should continue running, that's not even considered
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
5 years
Very excited to announce that I’m now a Fellow with Energy for Growth Hub @energyforgrowth ! Looking forward to writing more about African ambitions for nuclear energy and the role that advanced reactors can play in accelerating development. #Atoms4Africa
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
3 years
Very exciting news! Siting advanced nuclear in a new place (Wyoming) at a retiring coal plant, preserving jobs and diversifying the local economy, while reducing air pollution and complimenting the boom in wind energy
@TerraPower
TerraPower
3 years
🚨NEWS🚨 TerraPower, @GovernorGordon and @PacifiCorp today announced efforts to advance a Natrium™ reactor demonstration project at a retiring coal plant in Wyoming. Learn more:
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
5 years
Alright, even I didn’t know that nuclear provides 25% of electricity across Europe. That’s 50% of low-carbon electricity #Atoms4Climate
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
7 months
Great study: most solar is on undeveloped land. When I talk about the footprint of renewables, I often hear “But solar can go on rooftops!” Yes, it *can*, but it doesn’t.
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
@nuclearkatie Relatedly, a lot of the stock photos that media uses for nuclear power are coal power plants 😒
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
Such a pleasure to talk with @drvox about our new org @GoodEnergyColl . We really are trying to do things differently!
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
Whoa, first @GavinNewsom , now @SenFeinstein : "Why I changed my mind about California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear plant." Reality is starting to sink in for California policy-makers concerned about climate change
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
5 years
Huh, that’s surprising: US nuclear plants produced record amount of electricity in 2018, beating out previous 2010 record (even though 5 GW of plants have retired since then)
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
@AlecStapp The thing about wind is...
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
6 months
Big news! The US will lead a push at the COP28 climate summit to triple the amount of installed nuclear power capacity globally by 2050 via @climate
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
6 years
First @grist , now @YaleE360 has a big piece this week on the future of nuclear. The tides are turning in media coverage of nuclear energy
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
To summarize some complicated energy policies: - Germany said get those MF nuclear plants shut down - Japan saying get those MF nuclear plants restarted
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
Oh! I just might crack 5,000 followers today! Help a girl out? I write about all things climate and energy...but mostly focused on nuclear
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
Look! It can be done!
@CarlBerglof
Carl Berglöf
2 years
Breaking news! The Swedish Government approves the application to build a final repository for #nuclear fuel.
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
Why yes, I did just waste one minute of my day to respond to a troll's email claiming no climate scientists can explain to him what caused the ice ages. I sent him a lesson plan designed for 4th graders
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 months
Why it mattered so much that Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant was allowed to operate another few years, and why California should drop their ban on new nuclear
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
5 years
Taking a break from my Scotland vacation to share this awesome thing I saw: a uranium glass model of Dounreay
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
3 years
Whoa. A coal miners union indicates it will accept a switch to renewable energy in exchange for jobs.
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
@thiasi And yet it's still affordable electricity! The spent fuel can and should be recycled to get more energy out and reduce the waste (and reduce the need for fresh mining)
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
Happy this was written about...but I think the "bros" get off a little light. I've heard from many climate folks that they are open to nuclear, BUT really turned off by the toxic traits of nuclear bros (abusive DMs, gatekeeping, mockery, etc.)
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
6 years
I was very honored to be part of the study team for MIT’s “The Future of Nuclear in a Carbon Constrained World”, released today! I hope you find in challenging, inspiring, and useful!
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
Long-delayed but worth coming back to Pittsburgh. A huge thank you to Prof. Granger Morgan, who always had my back
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
6 years
to;dr (yeah, it’s 273 pages) Main opportunity: decarbonization of power sector Main challenge: cost of new designs Main insight: there are many pathways to reduce costs Main rec: gov support through smart policies can accel. innovation of adv. nuclear
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
Went down a bit of a rabbit hole yesterday looking at global capacity of clean energy (nuclear+hydro+renewables). First up, I realized it's easy to calculate global capacity factors (what percentage of the year a power plant is running). In 2020, nuclear was 78%, geothermal 74%
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
7 years
Hey @Stanford @StanfordEnergy , any comment on Jacobson's lawsuit against PNAS? Will you stand idly by while your faculty harass journals and scientists, and undermine the peer-review process? You should take a stand to defend academic integrity. Or is bullying in your brand?
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
7 months
Of all the terrible things @elonmusk has done to Twitter, getting rid of link headlines is the most disruptive to my experience so far. I'm just constantly confused why someone has a random picture in their tweets
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
Why not nuclear?
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
Hot off the presses! New article by me and @jamesonmcb in @theNAEng ’s The Bridge: “Chasing Cheap Nuclear: Economic Trade-Offs for Small Modular Reactors”
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
1 year
Whoa, we take Veterans Day off and miss this announcement from @WhiteHouse , new initiative to: “move Europe from coal-fired plants to SMRs while retaining and retraining local jobs through U.S. support for coal-to-SMR feasibility studies and supporting activities.” #COP27
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
5 years
Lots of news coming out of PA on bill to support nuclear power plants at risk of closing. Reminder that the aim is to treat them just like renewable, giving them credit for their clean air benefits
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
@mattyglesias You can tell the people in charge come from a world where someone else has always taken care of their kids. Highlights why diversity (of all kinds) matters in policy making
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
3/4 This goes through 2030; that’s soon! Very few countries have policies supporting nuclear the way they do for renewables right now. That’s what this chart reflects, not any *intrinsic* limit to nuclear technologies.
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
3 years
In energy and climate discussion there's been a lot more focus recently on Environmental Justice, which is great and long overdue. We all know fossil plants tend to be located in marginalized communities, and I've had many people ask me lately if the same is true for nuclear...
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
5 years
Can’t believe there’s only one nuclear-powered cargo ship in the world, seems like a great way to decarbonize shipping industry
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
2 years
But what about Kazakhstan? Largest producer of Uranium, yes, but also: about half of their uranium moves *through Russia* to get to market (the rest goes to China). They are an ally of Russia which raises concerns...
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
5 years
Why is Denmark approving a Russian gas pipeline to bring a lot more natural gas into Germany? Article cites nuclear closures in Germany, but high renewables penetration in Denmark could also be motivator. They need backup.
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
9 months
Give me a fucking break. You don't have to be an anti-nuclear activist to think mining for uranium in the Grand Canyon is a bad idea. You can be pro-nuclear and support tribal nations. The uranium in the US isn't even that good via @IERenergy
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
3 years
It's that time of year: BP Statistical Review of World Energy has released their data for 2020. Some big take-aways... Global CO2 emissions fell *a lot*, 6.3%! This is the largest single year drop in their data (back to 1965), and they say the largest drop since WWII
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@J_Lovering
Dr. Jessica R. Lovering
4 years
@CandiceMajewski I look at small-small nukes that make heat and light, not bombs. Folks need heat and light, but don’t want the bad gas that comes with it when we use coal. I find how much these small-small nukes cost and if folks will want them in their towns.
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