Archive: History

New Jersey. On March 6, three Democratic lawmakers in New Jersey introduced SB 3061 in the state Senate, a bill that directs the state's Board of Public Utilities to study ZECs of about $500 million per year for the state’s nuclear power plants, and requires the board to report back to the governor and legislature with its findings. In a comment on the New Jersey bill submitted on March 20, industry group EPSA commended the bill's sponsors for "not rushing to judgment as ZECs are highly controversial." Public Service Enterprise Group—the state's largest electricity provider—"only started claiming that its nuclear plants may not be recovering their cost of capital to justify future investments and could be cash flow negative by 2020," it noted. "This is apparently based on a comparison with illiquid forward power prices that may or may not accurately measure future revenues from these plants," it added (EPSA's emphasis). "For starters, if revenues below cost of capital and need to fund future investments are the standards to trigger consumer subsidies, many non-nuclear power plants (including those of EPSA members) would also qualify for out-of-market subsidies. Where would subsidies end?" The national trade association for independent power producers and marketers also pointedly noted that ZECs are being pushed by utility holding companies that "own both market-based generation and cost-based retail distribution utilities to finance new corporate strategies to boost earnings by exiting competitive generation to focus on more assured earnings from their retail rate-regulated utilities." The Oyster Creek unit is the oldest operating reactor in the U.S., having begun commercial operations Dec. 23, 1969. Exelon announced the retirement of the 625-MW plant on Dec. 8, 2010. The Ocean County, N.J.–facility is expected to be permanently closed in 2019. Courtesy: Exelon Nuclear

[VIDEO] An Iconic Nuclear Plant Shuts Down

09/20/2018 | Sonal Patel

The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey, the oldest operating nuclear plant in the U.S., was shut down on September 17, 2018. For more, see “Oldest U.S. Nuclear Plant Shuts Down.” Visit our video archive

A rock sample from Oklo in Gabon, the world's oldest and only natural reactor. Courtesy: IAEA Bulletin

‪The Curious Case of a Two-Billion-Year-Old Nuclear Reactor

09/07/2018 | Sonal Patel

  Scientists appear to have unraveled the mystery of uranium ore found at a mine in Oklo region of the Central African state of Gabon that exhibits a lower proportion of uranium-235 (U-235)—the fissile sort. According to an August 10 bulletin from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the first response that physicists had when […]

Test Your Knowledge

Test Your Knowledge Archive

08/01/2018 | POWER

Test Your Knowledge The quizzes provided here offer an easy way to test your knowledge of various power-related subjects. If you want to learn more about the quiz topics, follow links to articles from the POWER archive, which are provided on each individual quiz webpage. Scaffold Safety Quiz https://www.powermag.com/test-your-knowledge-scaffold-safety/ Monitoring and Treatment of Closed-Loop Cooling Water Systems Quiz https://www.powermag.com/test-your-knowledge-monitoring-and-treatment-of-closed-loop-cooling-water-systems/ […]

BP_Aug2018_Web

THE BIG PICTURE: A Gas Trade Transformation (Infographic)

08/01/2018 | Sonal Patel

According to the International Energy Agency, global natural gas trade has grown by more than 40% over the past 15 years. Over the next five years, current trade flows are expected to significantly diversify, boosted by development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure. LNG trade, which grew by 11% in 2017 to 391 billion cubic […]

Figure 1 - ITER

Fusion Power: Watching, Waiting, as Research Continues

08/01/2018 | Kennedy Maize

Cheap and abundant electric power from nuclear fusion—power “too cheap to meter”—has been a dream for more than a half-century. But as time passes, practical fusion appears to be moving further into

The engine room of the Falk Co. power plant in Milwaukee, Wis., included a 550-kW main generator and a 125-kW auxiliary generator, both driven by Allis-Chalmers horizontal cross-compound Corliss engines.

From the Pages of POWER Magazine: #TBT #ThrowbackThursdays

05/17/2018 | POWER

In early 1882, U.S. industry was still heavily dependent on the water wheel, and many housewives cooked on wood-burning stoves. Power was made where it was used because there was no effective means of transmitting energy long distances. But 1882 was a year of dramatic changes. The world was just beginning to grasp the implications of a new, incredibly versatile […]

Fig 4_CreusotForge_ASN

As Nuclear Giant AREVA Reforms, Framatome Is Resurrected

03/01/2018 | Sonal Patel

Reforging its core business to return to competitiveness after record losses of €4.83 billion in 2014, French nuclear firm AREVA has split its five operational business units and rebranded them—again. All

Fig 3_Tunnel Boring Machine Yucca

A Break in the Nuclear Waste Impasse?

03/01/2018 | Sonal Patel

Spent nuclear fuel has continued to accumulate at sites across the nation, paralyzed by a government deadlock on a nuclear waste management strategy formally established 35 years ago. Can recent developments

Owners’ decisions last year to abandon two under-construction reactor units isn’t unprecedented. Over the short course of nuclear power’s history in the U.S., more than 100 reactors (of about 230 projects scrutinized by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission [NRC] and its predecessor the Atomic Energy Commission) have been canceled—nearly half of which had already begun construction. Many had been faced with increasing uncertainties concerning low forecasted load; construction financing constraints and reversals; state certification hurdles; and challenges to nuclear profitability posed by the growing share of coal plants at the time. The graphic below offers a sampling of projects that have been abandoned. For more detail, see a supplement associated with this infographic at www.powermag.com. Note: All dollar figures are from the corresponding year. Source: NRC

THE BIG PICTURE: Abandoned Nuclear

02/01/2018 | Sonal Patel

This month’s THE BIG PICTURE infographic is accompanied by an interactive map. For more, visit: https://www.powermag.com/interactive-map-abandoned-nuclear-power-projects/

Owners’ decisions last year to abandon two under-construction reactor units isn’t unprecedented. Over the short course of nuclear power’s history in the U.S., more than 100 reactors (of about 230 projects scrutinized by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission [NRC] and its predecessor the Atomic Energy Commission) have been canceled—nearly half of which had already begun construction. Many had been faced with increasing uncertainties concerning low forecasted load; construction financing constraints and reversals; state certification hurdles; and challenges to nuclear profitability posed by the growing share of coal plants at the time. The graphic below offers a sampling of projects that have been abandoned. For more detail, see a supplement associated with this infographic at www.powermag.com. Note: All dollar figures are from the corresponding year. Source: NRC

THE BIG PICTURE: Abandoned Nuclear Power Projects (Interactive Map)

02/01/2018 | Sonal Patel

A supplement to POWER‘s February 2018 THE BIG PICTURE print infographic, this interactive map offers a sampling of nuclear plant projects that have been abandoned. Double click on the map to activate the zoom function. Click on “Map Overview” to zoom out. Scroll down for an overview. Note: All dollar figures are from the corresponding year. Source: NRC […]