Nuclear

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced on Dec. 23 that Stephen G. Burns will replace Allison Macfarlane as chairman, effective Jan. 1, 2015. Burns, a 33-year veteran of the agency—became a commissioner in November. He began his career at the NRC as an attorney in the Regional Operations and Enforcement division in 1978, later serving […]

Computer systems at Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP)—the operator of South Korea’s 23 commercial nuclear reactors—were hacked and information divulged via blog posts and posts on Twitter, according to the company. The first leaks on Dec. 15 were of personal information obtained from some of the 10,799 employees of the company, but later […]

In the third part of a long-awaited safety evaluation report (SER) for the stalled Yucca Mountain permanent nuclear waste repository released today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) says the Department of Energy (DOE) fails to meet necessary requirements relating to ownership of land and water rights.  Volume 4 (Administrative and Programmatic Requirements) of the five-part […]

PPL Corp. made the decision on Dec. 13 to take Unit 1 at its Susquehanna nuclear power plant offline due to a small water leak inside the plant’s reactor containment. The water leak is reported to be “well within” the plant’s limits for continued safe operation, but the company chose to shut down as a […]

The two nuclear reactors under construction at Plant Vogtle will be delayed beyond their forecast commercial operation dates of December 2017 and 2018, an oversight team told Georgia regulators in the project’s latest construction monitoring report.  The consortium building the project had originally projected the first of the two AP1000 reactors would be operational in […]


The Department of Energy (DOE) today opened a loan guarantee solicitation to make available as much as $12.5 billion to bolster the construction of new nuclear projects. Issued under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Advanced Nuclear Energy Projects Solicitation backs four key technology areas: advanced nuclear reactors, small modular reactors […]

Unit 1 of India’s long-delayed Kudankulam nuclear power plant, which reached commercial operations after 26 years of development this summer only to be shut down in September after a turbine accident, was brought back online on Dec. 8. The two-unit project in Tamil Nadu, a 2014 POWER Top Plant, began development in 1988 but spent […]

Although the official title of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Dec. 3 was “[Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s] Implementation of the Fukushima Near-T­erm Task Force Recommendations and other Actions to Enhance and Maintain Nuclear Safety,” much of the testimony focused on possible seismic problems in and around the Diablo Canyon nuclear power […]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed carbon rules for existing power plants amassed more than 1.6 million remarks before the public comment period ended on Monday. Here’s a snapshot of what states, regulators, industry groups, and environmental alliances told the agency about its Clean Power Plan.  States Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, […]

E.ON—a major investor-owned energy supplier that manages facilities across Europe, Russia, North America, Brazil, and Turkey—announced this week that it will embark on a new corporate strategy focused on renewables, distribution networks, and customer solutions, while combining its power generation, global energy trading, and exploration and production businesses into a new, independent company. “We are […]

William D. Magwood, IV, formerly head of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy and commissioner at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and current director-general of the Organisation

When Allison MacFarlane, the outgoing chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), abruptly announced her retirement in mid-October—leaving with almost four years left on her term—her stated

“Pivoting” is a popular business buzzword, particularly in the context of startups, which often quickly change strategic direction. The global nuclear industry isn’t exactly a startup, but it is at or

France, which counts on nuclear energy for roughly 75% of its power needs and is a leading nuclear technology exporter, has embarked on an energy transition to substantially diminish its reliance on nuclear

China on Wednesday issued a key energy strategy that sets obligatory 2020 targets for renewables and nuclear power use and urges increased natural gas consumption—but which also caps coal consumption.  The State Council’s Energy Development Strategy Action Plan covers the period between 2014 and 2020. It caps annual energy primary consumption at 4.8 billion metric […]

The U.S. Census Bureau released data on Nov. 18 showing that revenues for electric power generation industries that use renewable energy resources grew 49% from 2007 to 2012, while fossil fuel electric power generation industry revenues decreased 6.7% during the same time period. Fossil fuel revenues continued to dwarf renewable totals, bringing in $79.7 billion […]

Events over the past year—turmoil in the oil-rich Middle East and the Russian-Ukraine gas crisis—along with uncertainty for nuclear power and pervading energy poverty worldwide show that the energy system is “under stress,” the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in its freshly released World Energy Outlook 2014 (WEO-2014). Despite technology and efficiency improvements, without actions […]

Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s twin Sendai nuclear units in Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture on Nov. 7 got the government’s green light to restart. Once back online, likely in 2015, the units will be the first to restart of Japan’s 48 reactors that were shuttered for safety checks following the March 2011 Fukushima accident. Kagoshima Prefecture Governor Yuichiro […]

A couple of recently released reports offer some hope for the future of nuclear power plants operating on the fringe of profitability. Moody’s Investors Service suggests that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan “could increase the value of nuclear power as a non-carbon emitting generation source.” In its report, “Environmental Mandates and […]

On Nov. 5, The Babcock & Wilcox Co. (B&W) announced that its board of directors has unanimously approved a plan for the tax-free spin-off of the company’s power generation business to B&W’s shareholders, in the process forming two independently traded companies. In its third-quarter earnings call the following day, company executives emphasized that the two […]

With 40% of the world’s reactor’s under construction, China’s nuclear ambitions are vast and include a full-integrated domestic supply chain.  

The decision to eliminate coal-fired power plants and the implementation of an aggressive feed-in tariff program puts Ontario’s electricity system in the spotlight. Download a pdf of this sponsored report, written by Global Business Reports: GBR_ONTARIO_PWR_1114_sm

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s recent “waste confidence” ruling, which declares storage of spent fuel at reactor sites safe indefinitely, could fundamentally undercut the decades-long U.S. policy of seeking an off-site, permanent burial site for high-level nuclear waste. A five-decades-old goal of the U.S. nuclear power industry, its regulators, and the Department of Energy (DOE)—permanent, off-site […]

Think your nuclear plant faced delays and obstacles? India’s Kudankulam project, Unit 1 of which begins commercial operation this month, spent 26 years in development and construction and faced down obstacles that included a seven-month blockade by protesters to become the nation’s largest nuclear plant.  There are power plant projects that seem to drag on […]

While other countries move to reduce or eliminate nuclear generation, China has been rapidly expanding it. With 27 reactors under construction, its installed nuclear capacity is expected to more than double by 2020. The Hongyanhe facility is one example of nuclear’s growth in China and represents multiple firsts. China is powering up. The country’s generation […]

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has teamed with Purolite Corp. to begin the commercial manufacture of a new resin for removing radioactive elements from the internal water streams of nuclear power plants. The resin, called CoSeq, increases the amount and efficiency of cobalt (Co) removal compared to conventional resins. In-plant demonstrations have shown that […]

Sweden is reconsidering phasing out nuclear power in favor of a 100% renewables power mix. The country’s 10 operating nuclear power plants produce about 40% of the Scandinavian country’s power. The remainder mostly comes from hydropower, depending on the season. The fourth-largest country in the European Union, Sweden’s electricity consumption has been gradually rising. Sweden […]

Vietnam won’t begin work on its first of eight planned nuclear power plants until at least 2020 or 2022 to ensure safety, the country’s Trade Ministry announced in September. Russia’s state-owned nuclear company Rosatom was expected to begin construction of the first two-reactor plant in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan at the end of […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced five awards to a total of five companies that are designed to help advance key nuclear energy research and development projects supporting advanced reactor technologies. The awards were framed as being part of the administration’s Climate Action Plan and are part of a DOE program launched in […]

William D. Magwood, IV, formerly head of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy and commissioner at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and current director-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), spoke with POWER Editor Gail Reitenbach on October 16 at the World Nuclear Exhibition outside […]