Government regulators downplay safety concerns at a U.S. nuclear fuel facility; electric car news from GM and Daimler; and Panama picks CFLs over power plants.

Nuclear Shortcuts Exposed In U.S. Nuclear Fuel Facility: Government regulators allegedly disregarded expert advice in an attempt to fast track the completion of a nuclear fuel facility in South Carolina. The charge is leveled in the September issue of The Chemical Engineer magazine, which says Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials “hushed up” safety concerns raised by an independent engineering review. Dan Tedder, Emeritus Professor of Chemical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, criticized the plant’s licensing documentation, saying he’d never seen such a “crazy system.” He called for a closer review of the procedures. An NRC spokeperson dismisses Tedder’s concerns as baseless. (Science Daily)

GM Exec: Chevy Volt Battery’s Performance ‘Flawless’: General Motors Vice Chairman and chief Chevy Volt cheerleader Bob Lutz says that the Volt’s lithium ion battery powerpacks are “performing flawlessly.” Lutz points out that battery longevity still remains the big question, and revealed that GM is budgeting to replace each Volt’s system within the warranty period. The Volt is expected to be sold with a ten year powertrain warranty. While currently more expensive than the nickel-metal hydride batteries used in vehicles such as the Toyota Prius, lithium ion promises quicker charging and deeper duty cycles. Their price is expected to decline as the auto industry shift to lithium ion and nickel prices continue to climb. (Cars.com)

Panama Launches Operation Light Bulb, Gives Away $13 Million Worth of CFLs: Panama was facing the need to expand its power-generating capacity. Instead, they’ve decided to give away $13 million worth of energy-saving Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs). The purchase price of the bulbs was a fraction of that required to build-out 60 megawatts of additional generating capacity. Each Panamanian should receive two free bulbs. (Treehugger)

Daimler Releases More Photos of Electric Smarts but Withholds Plans for U.S. Market: The folks at Daimler certainly know how to tease. The German automaker’s publicity department has been sending around juicy photos of the company’s upcoming all-electric smart cars. Daimler has been field testing a hundred car fleet of Smart ED (Electric Drive) vehicles in England for several months, stirring high consumer interest on both sides of the Atlantic. So far, though, the company has been coy about when they might appear on American roads. It still seems likely the first models will turn up in U.S. showrooms by 2010. (Green Car Advisor)

Affordable, Powerful Electric Scooters Coming Soon: The success of the all-electric Vectrix scooter is already attracting competitors. Powergenix says they’ll bring an affordable plug-in scooter to market featuring a new nickel zinc (NiZn) battery pack. The new NiZn construction offers up to 35 percent better performance than nickel metal hydride cells — but at about half the price if lithium ion batteries. Powergenix’ scooters are slated to debut in Europe and the U.S. next year. (CleanTechnica)

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