The spectral emission of neutrinos from a plasma in nuclear statistical equilibrium (NSE) is investigated. Particular attention is paid to the possible emission of high energy (>10 MeV) neutrinos or antineutrinos. A newly developed numerical approach for describing the abundances of nuclei in NSE is presented. Neutrino emission spectra, resulting from general Fuller, Fowler, Newman (FFN) conditions, are analyzed. Regions of T-rho-Ye space favoring detectability are selected. The importance of

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... itical Y_e values with zero net rate of neutronization (Ye dot) is discussed. Results are provided for the processing of matter under conditions typical for thermonuclear and core-collapse supernovae, pre-supernova stars, and neutron star mergers.