POWERnews

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) last week released a report that deemed the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel facility at the Savannah River site near Aiken, S.C., safe. The 568-page document essentially allows licensing to proceed for the plant to make nuclear reactor fuel from plutonium waste.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday upheld the Energy Facilities Siting Board’s authority to overrule community opposition and allow permits for the controversial Cape Wind offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound. The case is being viewed as the last major legal hurdle facing the 130-turbine project.

Weeks after the city of Mattoon, Ill., withdrew from it, the FutureGen Alliance on Tuesday said it would support the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) plans for the revamped FutureGen project—but only if the alliance and the agency could reach agreement on terms and conditions by this fall.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) unanimously approved construction of the 250-MW Beacon Solar Energy Project last week. The project, proposed for construction in Kern County by a NextEra Energy subsidiary, is the first solar thermal plant permitted by the state in 20 years.

India’s parliament on Monday approved a long-delayed civil nuclear agreement, crucial legislation that could allow U.S. firms to proceed with deals to build nuclear power plants in that country. Firms had been reluctant to build nuclear facilities without a law that would limit their liability in the event of an accident.

Florida Power & Light this weekend demolished the most visible structures at its 42-acre Cape Canaveral Power Plant. A video shows the implosion of the 45-year-old plant’s red-and-white stacks. The company said it is preparing to build the Cape Canaveral Next Generation Clean Energy Center—a natural gas plant—which will open in 2013.

Oregon and Washington failed to pass bills before the end of their legislative sessions that would implement the Western Climate Initiative (WCI). That leaves only two U.S. states and three Canadian provinces to participate in the regional greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and-trade program when it begins in 2012.

Turkey will reportedly start privatizing power generation plants by the end of this month or in early September. Some of the first few plants up for sale include the Hamitabat power station, a 1,120-MW thermal plant that produces 7% of the country’s total electricity output.

The Department of Energy, the state of Illinois, and parties affiliated with FutureGen 2.0 on Thursday outlined plans for the revamped Illinois carbon capture and storage project.

Federal public utility Tennessee Valley Authority on Tuesday said it would idle nine coal-fired power units totaling nearly 1 GW at three power plants starting in 2011. Utility officials said the plans were part of a strategy to replace older and less-efficient coal-fired units with “low-carbon” and “carbon-free” generation.