Daniel B. Poneman
Daniel B. Poneman, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, has been picked to be president and chief executive officer of Centrus Energy Corporation.
Centrus was formerly known as USEC Incorporated, and it has operations in Oak Ridge.
The selection of Poneman by the Centrus Board of Directors was announced Thursday. Poneman will join Centrus immediately and become the chief executive later this month. He will also be a member of the board. [Read more…]
John Ragan
He’s running for his third term in the Tennessee House, touting his record on state energy policy and trimming government. His challenger questions his record on representing the children and residents of the district, rather than special interests.
The two Republican candidates for the House seat in District 33, which includes most of Anderson County, are the incumbent, Representative John Ragan, and his GOP challenger, Caitlin Nolan. They will face off in the state Republican primary on Thursday.
It’s not clear who the winner will face in November. Misty Neergaard, the only candidate listed on the ballot in the state Democratic primary, has dropped out of the race, although she withdrew too late for her name to be taken off the ballot. There is a write-in candidate on the Democratic ticket, Leslie Agron of Oak Ridge.
During an interview last week, Ragan said legislators have eliminated 14 government organizations in the past two years, and a dozen legislative committees have been cut.
He said he’s helped to make state energy policy a top priority.
Asked about the challenge posed by Nolan, Ragan said: “It’s a race. My opponent is making me work hard, which is good for the voters even if it’s a strain on the candidates.†[Read more…]
Michael L. Corradini
The 16th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series continues on Tuesday, Aug. 13, featuring Professor Michael L. Corradini, director of the Wisconsin Energy Institute and past president of the American Nuclear Society. He will discuss “The Need for Nuclear Power in the U.S.”
The event is sponsored by Friends of ORNL (Oak Ridge National Laboratory). It’s free of charge and will be held at the American Museum of Science and Energy at 300 S. Tulane Ave. in Oak Ridge. A reception for the speaker starts at 5:30 p.m. (snacks will be served) in the museum lobby, and his lecture starts at 6:30 p.m. This talk should be of interest to the general public. [Read more…]
Lamar Alexander
It’s been five years since U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander called for a new Manhattan Project for energy independence, and during a Wednesday update, the senator said four “grand principles” should guide America’s energy policy.
The senator said his principles—which include research and development, free market forces, and cheaper, clean energy—would “end an obsession with taxpayer subsidies and strategies for expensive energy.” They would instead focus on “doubling research and allowing marketplace solutions to create an abundance of clean, cheap, reliable energy,” Alexander said during a Wednesday afternoon speech at the Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit in Oak Ridge.
The senator called for doubling research funding and ending long-term subsidies for “big oil” and “big wind.” [Read more…]
