nuclear

The first Hualong One unit, a 1,180-MWe nuclear reactor designed by China General Nuclear (CGN), is now operational at the company’s Guangxi Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Station in western China’s Guangxi Autonomous Region. Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant is 39% owned by Guangxi Investment Group and 61% by CGN. The plant plans to house six 1,000-MWe reactors, […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Ontario Power Generation (OPG), and Synthos Green Energy (SGE) will collaborate to shape a standard design for GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) to speed up the technology’s regulatory acceptance and spur future deployments. The three companies, which have separately begun a regulatory process for potential BWRX-300 […]

Last Energy, a U.S.-based micro modular nuclear technology firm and project developer, has secured power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 34 PWR-20 small modular reactor (SMR) units with four industrial partners in the UK and Poland. The deals, which represent a combined $18.9 in power sales, mark “the largest pipeline of new nuclear power plants under […]

Georgia Power announced that hot functional testing for Unit 4 at the Vogtle nuclear power plant has begun, as the utility moves closer to bringing both reactors of the two-unit expansion at the facility online. Hot functional testing marks the last series of major tests for Unit 4 prior to the initial loading of fuel […]

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) BWRX-300 design has cleared the first two phases of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC) Vendor Design Review (VDR) process, marking a first for a small modular reactor (SMR). The Canadian nuclear regulator’s VDR process is an optional pre-licensing mechanism that allows CNSC staff to give applicants feedback early in the […]

WILMINGTON, North Carolina—March 15, 2023—GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) today announced that its BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) has achieved a significant pre-licensing milestone in Canada with the completion of phases one and two of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC) Vendor Design Review (VDR) process. “The BWRX-300 is the first SMR technology to have […]

MONTREAL, March 7, 2023 /CNW/ – Candu Energy Inc., a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group (TSX: SNC), has been selected by Nuclearelectrica S.A. (SNN), operator of the Cernavoda Nuclear Generating Station in Romania, to conduct further pre-project work for Cernavoda’s Unit 1 CANDU® reactor, ahead of its life-extension to support European energy security and Romania’s Net Zero goals. The win builds on […]

Vogtle 3, one of two 1,117-MW Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors Southern Nuclear Operating Co. is building in Georgia, has reached initial criticality. The event marks a pivotal milestone for the Generation III+ pressurized water reactor (PWR)—the first of its kind built in the U.S. “Initial criticality is a key step during the startup testing sequence […]

Texas-based energy company Vistra Corp. is adding to its nuclear power generation capacity. The group on March 6 announced it would buy Ohio-based Energy Harbor Corp. in a $3.4 billion deal that includes ownership of three nuclear power stations. The transaction includes $3 billion in cash, with Energy Harbor shareholders receiving a 15% stake in […]

The Biden administration has pledged another $1.2 billion to help extend the operating life of older or distressed nuclear power plants, with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm saying nuclear power is needed to support the nation’s clean energy goals. The funding, announced by the Dept. of Energy (DOE) on March 2, is the second tranche of […]

The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California can continue operating while Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) seeks a license renewal for the 2,250-MW facility that would extend its lifecycle. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on March 2 approved PG&E’s request for an exemption to keep Diablo Canyon open past 2025. Thursday’s move is a […]

Despite a steep hike in the project cost estimate for the proposed 462-MWe Carbon-Free Power Project (CFPP), 26 of 27 public power entities have voted to continue development of the first-of-its-kind six-module NuScale Power VOYGR-6 small modular nuclear (SMR) plant. The 26 project participants—subscribers who could eventually offtake portions of the project’s power—lodged financial commitments […]

Government officials in Sri Lanka said they will work with Russia to bring nuclear power to the country as part of its effort to increase the supply of electricity for the island nation. Professor S.R.D. Rosa, chairman of the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board, told local media the country is looking at offshore and onshore […]

It’s not uncommon for nuclear power plants to be sited relatively close to large metropolitan areas (within 50 miles, for example), after all, that is where the biggest loads are, but reactors are rarely placed near the center of large cities. This is mainly due to the risks associated with a meltdown, or even a […]

X-energy will demonstrate its four-unit 320-MWe Xe-100 advanced nuclear reactor facility under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) at a Dow site in the U.S. Gulf Coast region by the end of the decade—not in Washington State as originally planned. The shakeup stems from a joint development agreement (JDA) the nuclear […]

Nuclear energy is making a comeback—at home in America and worldwide. The 118th Congress presents new opportunities to make sure America leads the world on this crucial clean energy technology. The drumbeat

A California-based group said it has completed the first-ever hydrogen-boron fusion experiments to produce a sustainable fuel for utility-scale fusion power. TAE Technologies on Feb. 28, in a peer-reviewed paper published by the scientific journal Nature Communications, said its research supports the path to providing electricity from nuclear reactors fueled with hydrogen-boron, also known as […]

Indonesia’s efforts to decarbonize the country’s power generation sector took a major step on Feb. 22 as the government launched the first phase of mandatory carbon trading for coal-fired power plants. Officials in the capital of Jakarta have said they want to increase electricity production from renewable energy resources and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by […]

Southern Company said in its annual report filing issued on Feb. 16 that remediating certain equipment and component issues will force the projected in-service date for Plant Vogtle Unit 3 to be pushed out to May or June 2023. “The projected schedule for Unit 3 primarily depends on the progression of final component and pre-operational […]

Brussels, 14 February 2023: Nucleareurope has this week outlined its priorities for how to best review the existing European electricity market.  These include adopting a technology neutral approach, valuing long-term security of supply and support for a range of market instruments.    “Europe needs an electricity market which is designed to ensure security of supply and […]

Fermi Energia, a privately held company formed to develop a small modular reactor (SMR) in Estonia, announced that it has selected GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) BWRX-300 design for deployment. Kalev Kallemets, CEO of Fermi Energia, said in September last year that the company’s nuclear technology selection process had begun in 2019, with a mapping […]

Rising concerns over climate change have caused a major shift in the energy ecosystem, away from fossil fuels and toward renewable, clean, and sustainable energy. Currently, the earth is about 1.1C warmer than in the late 1800s. As outlined in the Paris Agreement, the goal is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, limit global warming […]

Spun out of Exelon Corp. a year ago, Constellation Energy’s competitive generation and customer-facing energy businesses represent a new power company paradigm that conforms to decarbonization. But the company that today holds the largest nuclear fleet in the U.S. will still face a unique array of challenges.

Oklo has kicked off regulatory activities for a first-of-its-kind nuclear fuel recycling facility that could produce commercial material from used light water reactor (LWR) fuel before the decade’s end. The advanced nuclear technology firm in December submitted a licensing project plan (LPP) to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its Fuel Recycling Technologies facility. The […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has denied a request from California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to renew a review of an operating license application for the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. The move at least temporarily puts on hold plans to extend the operation of two reactors at Diablo Canyon, the last operating […]

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his country’s push to be carbon-neutral by 2050 must include construction of more nuclear power generation, in a reversal of his predecessor’s call to move away from the technology. Yoon, speaking Jan. 16 at an event in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said his country would renew its […]

Project in Lithuania could offer important lessons for U.K. power station cleanup DALLAS – A consortium comprising Westinghouse Electric Spain, Jacobs (NYSE:J) and the Lithuanian Energy Institute was selected to plan dismantling and waste management at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) in Lithuania. Soviet-designed Ignalina could be the first graphite-moderated reactor plant to be […]

While 2021 provided its own share of extraordinary energy debacles, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 cascaded into full-blown energy turmoil. This year will begin with the world “in the midst of

Nuclear energy—not just nuclear power—is seeing a burst of innovation unlike anything seen since the 1950s. While the strong momentum for the dispatchable zero-carbon energy source is promising, prominent pitfalls threaten necessary progress.

In January 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) published a list of five nuclear energy stories to watch in 2022. Here’s an update on the items the NE felt were important for industry insiders to keep an eye on. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law The DOE noted in the January […]