Our Background
Arnie and Maggie Gundersen
Fairewinds Energy Education is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2008 by Maggie Gundersen, journalist, paralegal, and former atomic power industry spokesperson. Maggie is the president of Fairewinds Energy Education as well as a member of the Board of Directors. Her husband nuclear engineer and expert witness Arnie Gundersen is the chief engineer for Fairewinds Associates, Inc, paralegal services and expert testimony firm as well as a member of Fairewinds Energy Education’s Board of Directors. Other Fairewinds Energy Education Board members are: Chiho Kaneko, Robert Manning, and Thomas Pound.
We have designed our website to be a hub for fact-based, undistorted information about nuclear power in order to fulfill our mission to inform and educate people around the world, legislative officials, and members of the press concerning the scientific and economic issues relating to the production of electricity and the sources of energy used to create power. The Fairewinds website features podcasts, videos, and newsletters in which we collaborate with experts in wide ranging fields to discuss nuclear energy issues and the entire power production paradigm including the financial ramifications and political roadblocks.
You’ll also find blog posts on current events, expert witness reports on nuclear safety issues, frequently asked questions (FAQs) about nuclear power, a nuclear book list, archives of our presentations, media coverage, and much more. Thanks to our dedicated volunteer translators, much of our content is available in four languages.
All of our work is funded and supported by foundation grants and by many small individual donations from people around the world who believe in our work as much as we do.
To learn more about our Board of Directors and the Fairewinds Crew, follow the links below.
Collection of Public Statements About Fairewinds
"Arnie Gundersen is one of very few people in the state with on-the-ground, inside-out understanding about how a nuclear power plant runs. This knowledge comes from more than 20 years of working at a senior level in the industry, overseeing operations, engineering, and safety."
"I want to begin by thanking … people whose work is dramatically more important than anything I do…. There is the leadership team at Fairewinds energy education, Arnie and Maggie Gundersen. Arnie was an atomic energy commission fellow and a licensed reactor operator who, as a senior vice president, managed or coordinated projects at 70 nuclear power plants across America. Maggie worked in public information and executive recruitment in the nuclear power industry. Today, through Fairewinds, they strive to educate the public and legislative tors about the realities of nuclear power and the issues with aging plants around the world. They volunteered enormous amounts of their time to teach me about the dangers of nuclear power, how plant works, and what Emily’s father’s life might have been like. I am encourage you to visit the Fairewinds website, where you can learn more about nuclear power and finding extensive bibliography."
— Chris Bohjalian, best selling author of Close Your Eyes and Hold Hands
"I have been following the Fukushima story very closely since the earthquake and devastating tsunami. I have asked scientists I know, nuclear physicists and others about where they find real information. I have also watched as the news has virtually disappeared…The best site I have found for up-to-date information by nuclear industry experts is here [The Fairewinds Website]. Arnie Gundersen was a high-level executive for years and analyzes the information he has been receiving in a calm and scientific way…
— Vivian Norris, Ph.D. focusing on Globalization and Media Studies
"Everything Mr. Gundersen said was absolutely right; he performed quite a service....." [in reference to information provided to the NRC Inspector General by Arnie Gundersen concerning botched inspections and cozy personal relationships between NRC inspectors and licensees]
“For years there have been many lawmakers, lobbyists and state officials at the Statehouse who thought Arnie and Maggie Gundersen were alarmist and rabid anti-nuclear kooks. But it turns out that this husband-and-wife team from Burlington have been right about many things Vermont Yankee – including this latest scandal surrounding tritium leaks and plant owner Entergy giving false info to the state. Maggie Gundersen told the Senate Natural Resources Committee last week that, back in 2009, a lawmaker pulled her and Arnie aside and told them to lay off on Entergy, that they are ‘losing credibility’ when they question the company. ‘We stuck to our analysis,’ Maggie Gundersen said. Arnie Gundersen was a controversial choice as a member of the Vermont Yankee Public Oversight Panel and pro-nuclear groups quickly said he was biased and his participation would discredit the process. Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin stuck by his pick, saying Gundersen brought years of nuclear experience to the team. Gundersen seemed to be the only one asking Entergy and state officials about these underground radioactive pipes that may be now leaking tritium. When everyone told him they didn’t exist, he persisted and asked the question again and again. Same result. Turns out he was right the whole time…”
— Rutland Herald editorial titled “Batting 1,000 on Yankee,” February 14, 2010
“Ten years ago, Arnold Gundersen of Goshen was a senior vice president with Danbury-based Nuclear Energy Services, a card-carrying member of the nuclear industry. Since then, he has become a dedicated whistleblower, taking on the industry that once supplied him in his family with a comfortable lifestyle and a bright future. Mr. Gundersen made the transition between these two worlds after he uncovered what he felt were safety violations at NES and reported the problem to management. Soon after making this report he was dismissed from his job and began a five-year effort to prove his case.”
The Litchfield County Times, “The Whistleblower: Arnold Gundersen of Goshen,” December 10, 1999
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