Nuclear

A business group geared toward sustainable energy says renewable sources of energy for the first time are generating nearly as much power as the entire fleet of U.S. nuclear reactors. The Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE), along with Bloomberg New Energy Finance, on February 15 released the sixth edition of its Sustainable Energy in […]

February 14, 2018—GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF), Holtec International and SMR Inventec, LLC (SMR, LLC), today announced a collaboration to advance the SMR‐160, a single loop, 160 MWe pressurized light water reactor based on existing light water technologies. In a Memorandum of Understanding, the companies have agreed to enter into a […]

Commentary The clean energy industry was hit hard by two decisions coming out of the Trump administration these past few weeks. First, a 30% tariff was imposed on imported solar panels. Then earlier this week, the Trump administration proposed plans to cut the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office budgets by 65%, all while […]

The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2019 budget request released February 12 asks for more money to support fossil fuel-based power systems, but seeks funding below current levels for other energy initiatives, including renewable energy and energy efficiency. The energy funding is part of a $4.4 trillion budget that features large increases in military spending, along […]

The budget bill passed by Congress and signed by President Trump in the early hours of February 9 extends a host of tax credits for energy technologies, including provisions to help the Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia as well as U.S. carbon-capture projects. The legislation also provides support for renewable energy, including for small wind […]

WILMINGTON, North Carolina—February 8, 2018—Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) today announced that it has manufactured and shipped lead test assemblies of its IronClad and ARMOR accident tolerant fuel solutions to Southern Nuclear Operating Company for plant installation in early 2018. GNF is working with both Southern Nuclear and Exelon Generation to insert lead test assemblies utilizing […]

After decades of lethargic power demand—and negative growth in 2017—U.S. electricity use is expected to grow steadily through 2050, driven by a healthy economy and increasing efficiency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects in its Annual Electricity Outlook 2018 (AEO2018). However, during that period, direct-use generation will outpace growth in retail sales as more […]

Virginia lawmakers are weighing legislation that would give the state more control over utilities, with some of the measures developed in concert with power companies. State legislators are discussing the proposals, some of which are designed to lift a freeze on utility rates, which could bring refunds for ratepayers—although others warn it could cause rates […]

Exelon Generation will shutter its Oyster Creek Generating Station in October 2018—more than a year before it is required to close the single-unit reactor as part of an agreement with the state of New Jersey. Exelon agreed in 2010 to close the unit by December 2019—10 years before its license to operate expires—after it decided […]

Two more U.S. nuclear power plants are facing early retirement, joining a string of generators whose fate was determined by market conditions, political pressure, or financial stresses assailing the sector. Several others may be poised to join them. The 647-MW Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Palo, Iowa, will likely close in 2025 after a current […]

China’s State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission reorganized and transferred China Nuclear Engineering & Construction Corp. (CNEC) to China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) on January 31, forming a new giant in the nuclear power industry. The combined company is estimated to have nearly $100 billion in combined assets and almost 150,000 employees, according to data […]

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/

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 beset the nuclear industry in the early 1970s. The nuclear suffered a renewed economic meltdown and fierce public pushback in the aftermath of the Three Mile Island accident […]

Russia’s nuclear engineering and construction firm Rosatom in December brought the fourth unit at its Rostov nuclear power plant (NPP) near Volgodonsk in southern Russia to first criticality. Later that

Polish Energy Company Puts Large Coal-Fired Unit Online. Enea , the Polish state-owned energy company, in December inaugurated what it calls the largest coal-fired power generation unit in Europe. The company

The news has been filled with high-profile sexual harassment cases recently. Although more women seem to be coming forward lately to tell their stories and bring misconduct to light, it’s far from a new

“The Trump administration is listening to the people of Wyoming,” remarked Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. His comment referenced a

Multiple disparate trends could forcefully reshape power systems around the world. As electricity markets transform, technologies advance, industries converge, consumption patterns change, environmental

Schedule delays and cost overruns can pose problems for complex power plant construction and retrofit projects. Sound planning, accurate modeling, and good communication can lead to successful projects for all

One of the most important items on President Trump’s first-year agenda was the implementation of tax reform in the U.S. Republican lawmakers worked tirelessly as the calendar year drew to an end to get a new

Georgia wasn’t looking for an award or recognition when we set out to build new nuclear reactors in our state. Yet, we now find ourselves as the last team on the field as our commissioners unanimously voted

Documents obtained by The Washington Post show the Trump administration is prepared to ask Congress to cut the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) renewable energy and energy efficiency programs by as much as 72% in fiscal year 2019. The newspaper in a January 31 report says Congress likely would not support many of the cuts, but […]

The future of advanced reactors in the U.S. will remain murky unless the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) takes four key steps to support innovation and commercialization of new technology, three key industry groups have warned. U.S. leadership of nuclear technology is “at risk,” and if changes aren’t made it will lose its standing as a […]

The nuclear power industry is struggling in the U.S. Several reactors are at risk of early closure due to difficulty competing in the wholesale power markets. New units being built in South Carolina have been abandoned, while the only other nuclear construction project in the U.S.—the Plant Vogtle expansion in Georgia—is behind schedule and over […]

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) President and CEO Ralph Izzo gave NRG Energy a tongue-lashing for its pointed opposition of subsidies for PSEG’s two New Jersey nuclear power plants. The tense moment at a January 25 legislative hearing that sought to revive the measure is illustrative of a growing chasm within the power sector about the […]

On January 25, 2018, Framatome received the green light from the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) and EDF to resume manufacture of forgings for the French nuclear fleet at its Le Creusot site. This decision allows the plant to continue ramping up its production with a target of 80 ingots per year. The authorization is […]

Cybersecurity is a topic covered frequently in the pages of POWER magazine, and one that all power plants need to take seriously. A recent simulation proved that the consequences of a hack can be grave. The drill took place in Sweden, but could have been conducted anywhere in the world. The attack used plant control […]

A lawsuit challenging subsidies for New York’s nuclear plants will head to trial after the state’s  Supreme Court rejected motions to dismiss it. The measure deals a small setback for Exelon Corp., whose subsidiaries own the R.E Ginna and Nine Mile Point nuclear plants in upstate New York. Defendants in the lawsuit also include Entergy […]

Several possible suitors for SCANA Corp. emerged last fall when it became evident the South Carolina utility needed a lifeline, after SCANA subsidiary South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. (SCE&G) and state-owned Santee Cooper pulled the plug on the V.C. Summer nuclear project (Figure 1). Now the question is whether those who lost out to […]

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (January 18, 2018) — Framatome today announced an agreement with Schneider Electric to acquire Schneider’s nuclear automation business. The two companies recently signed an asset purchase agreement that outlines the terms of the sale, which is expected to close before the end of the first quarter of 2018. The acquisition expands Framatome’s […]