NRC

The Biden administration is fully behind development of new nuclear power technology. It is encouraging the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to look at “new approaches to regulation” as advanced

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission  (NRC) in a dramatic reversal on Feb. 24 threw out a key environmental review that staff applied to subsequent license renewal (SLR) approvals for units at Turkey Point and Peach Bottom nuclear plants in 2019 and 2020, deeming their applications “incomplete.” In a series of orders, the federal regulatory agency’s three […]

The former heads of nuclear power regulation in the U.S., Germany, and France, along with the former secretary to the UK’s government radiation protection committee, have issued a joint statement that in part says, “Nuclear is just not part of any feasible strategy that could counter climate change.” COMMENTARY The statement issued Jan. 25 notes […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said it has dismissed a license application for one of the first advanced nuclear reactor designs to be considered by the agency. The NRC on Jan. 6 said it could not make a judgment on the merits of the design of Oklo Inc.’s 1.5-MW advanced fission power system, known […]

Improvements in nuclear power technology are being driven by research into safer reactor designs and new fuel types, including smaller reactors that offer flexible siting options with modular construction

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will build a GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at its Darlington Nuclear Station in Clarington, Ontario, marking a major triumph for the nuclear vendor in a stiff competition for the much-watched utility-scale project. OPG announced the selection of the GE Hitachi BWRX-300 SMR over competitors X-energy […]

Potentially jumpstarting long-paralyzed efforts to address the federal management of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Nov. 30 issued a request for information (RFI) that could determine where the agency will temporarily consolidate and store spent fuel from nuclear reactors across the nation. Under the RFI, the DOE is seeking […]

Terrestrial Energy has unveiled an upgraded 390-MWe design of its Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) power plant to meet utility requirements and boost its cost-competitiveness as part of an effort to ramp up its candidacy for deployment at Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG’s) Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. This week, the Canadian firm also announced a series […]

Holtec International’s ambitions to install its first set of SMR-160 small modular reactor nuclear plants in the U.S. by 2030 may be a “credible target,” the company’s advisory council comprising 20 utility and nuclear industry leaders has reportedly determined.  The Holtec Advisory Council, a body that provides Holtec with “input on the technical and commercial merits […]

Marking another milestone in an industry-led accelerated quest to commercialize accident tolerant fuels (ATF), nuclear fuel test rods containing Westinghouse’s EnCore technologies that completed their inaugural cycle at Exelon’s Byron nuclear plant have shipped to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). While initial visual inspections show “no signs of degradation,” the irradiated fuel will now be […]

Exelon Generation has filed plans to decommission its Dresden and Byron nuclear power plants in Illinois, citing a lack of action from state lawmakers on clean energy legislation that would help save the facilities. The nation’s largest operator of nuclear power plants on July 28 said it has submitted its plans to the Nuclear Regulatory […]

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has formally kicked off a pioneering project to partly re-power its 85-MW Abbott cogeneration plant with an Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. (USNC) Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) Energy System. UIUC on June 28 said it submitted a letter of intent to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to build […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has given its green light to a license amendment filed by Centrus Energy Corp., approving the nuclear fuel and services firm’s efforts to demonstrate High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) production at its enrichment facility in Piketon, Ohio.  The approval marks a “major milestone” in Centrus’s $115 million, cost-shared contract with the […]

As multiple advanced reactor vendors enter the licensing process to build first-of-a-kind demonstration projects, the Nuclear Innovation Alliance (NIA)—a nonprofit “think-and-do tank” that supports the nuclear power industry—has said issues with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) current user fee cost-recovery model could slow innovation. In a report released on May 19, the NIA identified how […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved 20-year subsequent renewed licenses (SRLs) for Dominion Energy Virginia’s Surry Power Station Units 1 and 2 near Newport News, Virginia, making them only the fifth and sixth reactors in the U.S. cleared to operate for 60 to 80 years. But the number of operating U.S. nuclear reactors fell […]

New Mexico has sued the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), challenging the legality of the agency’s proceedings involving separate proposals to build and operate two consolidated interim storage facilities (CISFs) for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in New Mexico and Texas.  In a complaint filed on March 29 against the NRC and the U.S. government, New Mexico […]

Koji Okamoto, director general of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s (JAEA’s) Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), can pinpoint the specific moment that cemented his

WASHINGTON, DC (February 10, 2021) — The non-profit organization Beyond Nuclear filed suit in federal court today to prevent the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) from licensing a massive “consolidated interim storage facility” (CISF) for highly radioactive waste in Andrews County, west Texas. In its Petition for Review filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals […]

Christopher Hanson, a nuclear energy government and industry veteran, has taken the helm of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The designation by President Joe Biden on Jan. 23 may provide a boost to the administration’s climate initiatives, experts told POWER.  Hanson, a Democrat, is expected to fill the role for remainder of his five-year term […]

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) has approved the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020 (ANIA), just two weeks after it was introduced. Among the bill’s major provisions are that it will seek to  strengthen the nuclear fuel supply chain, help incentivize commercial deployment of new reactor designs, and create a credit […]

Joe Biden on Nov. 7 clinched the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency, barring Donald Trump’s prospects for a second-term. Almost immediately, reactions from various parts of the power sector streamed in, highlighting possibilities and pitfalls of Biden’s wide-ranging energy and environment agenda.  Energy, and its implications on the environment, figured prominently as […]

At least eight cities have now dropped shares in the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP), a 720-MWe NuScale Power small modular reactor (SMR) project proposed by Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS). Despite the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oct.16–announced $1.4 billion, 10-year award to fund one-time costs for the first-of-a-kind project, four Utah cities withdrew […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Sept. 6 took the rare but drastic action of issuing an emergency order under the Federal Power Act (FPA) to authorize the maximum operation of three natural gas–fired facilities on the California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO’s) grid whose full capability had been stranded by federal air quality and […]

Industry experts agree that deep geological repositories are needed for long-term storage of spent reactor fuel. They’re also digging for alternative methods. The U.S. Department of Energy earlier this year

NuScale Power said the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has completed its Phase 6 review of the Design Certification Application (DCA) of the company’s small modular nuclear reactor (SMR), and said the company’s SMR is the first such reactor to receive NRC approval of its design. NuScale on August 28 announced that with the DCA […]

Nuclear power plants approaching license expiration are faced with three options: obtain initial license renewal to continue operations (nine U.S. units have not yet received an extension of their initial

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on June 23 accepted for formal review Centrus Energy Corp.’s application to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) at its Piketon, Ohio, facility. The move marks a third major regulatory milestone for advanced nuclear over the past month. The NRC’s acceptance of Centrus’ application follows a 4-0 vote by the commission on […]

President Trump in a new executive order (EO) has directed federal agencies to rescind, modify, waive, or provide exemptions from regulatory requirements that may inhibit economic recovery.  The Executive Order on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery, issued May 19, is sweeping and extends beyond the administration’s previous efforts to scale down regulatory mandates—including the […]

A first-of-its-kind nuclear reactor that will use a 3D-printed core, advanced materials, and integrated sensors and controls is on track for completion by 2023. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, work is ramping up to demonstrate the Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR), an innovative micro-reactor program spearheaded by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and project partners, to include […]

Propelled in part by the White House Nuclear Fuel Working Group’s (NFWG’s) recent roadmap to strengthen the U.S. nuclear fuel cycle, the nation’s nuclear industry this week blazed ahead on efforts to energize a U.S. commercial fuel supply that it says will be crucial for the widespread development and deployment of advanced nuclear reactors.  At […]