nuclear

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 […]

Every month, POWER magazine publishes several articles in its Global Monitor section covering topics important to the electric power generation industry. The articles typically feature interesting updates on progress made at notable projects around the world, big policy changes, or promising research and development (R&D) news. Short notes about major contracts are also touched on […]

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) has submitted a Generic Design Assessment (GDA) entry application for its BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) to UK authorities, kicking off a key regulatory process that could give the advanced nuclear technology a competitive edge as the country races to potentially triple its nuclear capacity to up to 24 GW by […]

Major French utility Electricite de France SA (EDF) said it will again extend maintenance outages at some of its nuclear reactors by several months, meaning France will continue to import power and putting more strain on the country’s supply of electricity. EDF has returned some nuclear units to service in the past several weeks, but […]

The first nuclear fusion reaction to result in a net energy gain has been successfully completed by scientists at a laboratory in California, a milestone in the decades-long pursuit of a way to produce unlimited energy with no carbon emissions or nuclear waste. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm made the official announcement Dec. 13 during […]

U.S. scientists reportedly have carried out the first nuclear fusion experiment to achieve a net energy gain. The Department of Energy (DOE) is expected to announce the breakthrough on Dec. 13, according to news reports late Sunday. The nuclear power industry has pursued fusion technology for decades, with a renewed emphasis for those efforts in […]

Deep technical knowledge underpins country’s energy security and net-zero carbon ambitions DALLAS – Jacobs (NYSE:J) was selected to provide the U.K.’s nuclear regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), with specialist engineering and technical support services. The four-year framework covers the ONR’s activities in new build, power generation, decommissioning and defense. Jacobs has supported the […]

Many experts believe small modular reactors (SMRs), which are generally classified as nuclear power reactors with an electrical output of 300 MW or less, offer great promise for supplying the world with carbon-free energy. Several SMR designs are under development by companies around the world including NuScale Power, GE-Hitachi, Terrestrial Energy, TerraPower, Toshiba, X-energy, and […]

December 7, 2022 – Framatome signed two contracts with NRG to supply enriched uranium targets and fuel elements for the High Flux Reactor (HFR) in the Netherlands. The HFR research reactor produces more than 60% of Europe’s medical isotopes, primarily for the use in diagnostic nuclear imaging scans. “We are pleased to continue our long […]

Two countries seeking to expand development of their nuclear power programs have announced new projects. Iranian officials on Dec. 3 said construction of what would be that country’s second nuclear power plant has begun. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s government on Dec. 4 said it is looking for investors to support development of what would be the country’s […]

Contracts include important design and future fabrication activities, critical to NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) technology delivery PORTLAND, Ore. – NuScale Power, LLC (NuScale) announced today it has awarded two new contracts to Framatome to design fuel handling equipment and fuel storage racks for NuScale’s VOYGR™ SMR power plant. This marks a critical supply chain […]

It’s always difficult to select winners from the field of nominations submitted to POWER for its annual awards, and this year was no exception. The Wudongde Hydropower Station was the big winner, while

Qatar Inaugurates the Country’s First Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant. With Essa bin Hilal Al-Kuwari, president of Qatar General Electricity & Water Corp. (Kahramaa); Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi

Advanced nuclear energy can, and should, play a major role in meeting the societal goal of 100% clean energy by mid-century. Advanced nuclear energy would complement other energy sources like wind and solar

The UK government will bolster a proposal to build Sizewell C with a £679 million ($815 million) investment, giving the twin EPR nuclear power plant project—a combined 3.2 GW—new flexibility to proceed. The UK Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on Nov. 29 said that with the final investment decision, it intends to […]

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) first round of funding from its $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program is poised to go to Diablo Canyon Power Plant, California’s only operational nuclear plant. Pacific Gas & Electric  (PG&E), Diablo Canyon’s owner, could receive up to $1.1 billion in credits to extend the 2.2-GW plant’s operation for […]

TOKYO, Nov 22, 2022 – (JCN Newswire) – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has delivered the first pump set of total 34 units consisting of five models for Units 1 and 2 at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in the United Kingdom to Trillium Flow Technologies (Trillium). The pump sets are important rotary […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has accepted Abilene Christian University’s (ACU’s) construction permit application for a 1-MWth nuclear non-power Molten Salt Research Reactor (MSRR) facility planned for the university’s campus in Abilene, north-central Texas. The acceptance—which essentially marks the NRC “docketing” of the application—formally kicks off the regulatory agency’s review of ACU’s proposed Nuclear Energy […]

Officials from Russia and Egypt marked another milestone in construction of the latter’s first nuclear power plant, with a ceremony Nov. 19 to announce pouring of the “first concrete” for Unit 2 of the El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). Saturday’s event came three weeks after a construction permit was issued for that unit by the Egyptian […]