nuclear

Regulated utility PacifiCorp has launched a joint study with nuclear technology firm TerraPower to evaluate the feasibility of deploying up to five additional Natrium pool-type sodium fast reactors (SFRs) and integrated energy storage systems at retired coal plant sites in the utility’s service territory by 2035. The joint study “will evaluate, among other things, the […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has ramped up efforts to explore recycling spent nuclear fuel (SNF), or used nuclear fuel (UNF), from the nation’s fleet of light water reactors (LWRs), doling out $38 million in federal awards to a dozen projects on Oct. 21. Teams will receive funding under the DOE’s March 2022–launched “Converting UNF […]

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Czech Republic-based ČEZ are collaborating to advance deployment of nuclear technology, including small modular reactors (SMRs). The companies said they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Oct. 11, with an aim to “reduce financial, technical and schedule risk to both parties on their respective future projects.” OPG is Ontario’s […]

China’s State Council has approved two AP1000 nuclear reactor units for State Power Investment Corp.’s (SPIC’s) Lianjiang Nuclear Power Plant in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, reactor technology supplier Westinghouse said on Oct. 12. If built, the units will become ninth and tenth reactors based on Westinghouse’s Generation III+ advanced reactor technology in China. Four AP1000 units are […]

A consortium comprised of Brookfield Renewable Partners, together with its institutional partners, and Cameco Corp. announced on Oct. 11 an agreement to acquire Westinghouse Electric Co. from Brookfield Business Partners (BBU). The deal has a total enterprise value of about $8 billion, including proceeds from the disposition of a non-core asset expected to be received […]

The UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA’s) ground-breaking STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) prototype fusion energy plant will be built at the site of the West Burton power station, a 1-GW coal-fired plant owned by EDF in North Nottinghamshire, in the East Midlands region of England, the UK government announced on Oct. 6. UKAEA, which carries out […]

There have been historic initiatives within the U.S. to create a sustainable energy economy and to address major environmental concerns created by fossil fuels. The Inflation Reduction Act contains $369 billion in climate and energy provisions, which will have a meaningful impact on climate change. Meanwhile, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law seeks to remedy environmental issues […]

Westinghouse and Ansaldo Energia’s Switzerland-based nuclear arm, Ansaldo Nucleare, will cooperate in developing a nuclear power plant based on lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) technology. The two companies, which have separately spearheaded the development of fast-reactor designs, said they will advance a common design “to maximize synergies, combine experience in design, testing and licensing, and align […]

The nation’s coal power plant sites that helped build the U.S. economy during the country’s electrification could play a huge role once again in helping the nation transition to clean energy. A new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) study finds that hundreds of coal power plant sites across the country could be converted to nuclear power plant […]

NuScale has signed a first task order and a statement of commencement with Polish mining and processing firm KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., kicking off early work for a VOYGR nuclear power plant of up to 924 MWe that the partners could deploy as early as 2029 to support KGHM’s copper and silver production in Poland. […]

Germany plans to keep two of its three last nuclear power plants on standby until mid-2023—beyond their year-end closure deadline—to bolster its energy security through the winter. However, the declaration has prompted confusion within Germany’s nuclear industry, which says nuclear plants aren’t suited to perform as operating reserve. Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action […]

The Biden administration has laid out a comprehensive roadmap to help five energy-intensive manufacturing sectors reduce their fuel- and power-related carbon emissions and achieve net-zero by 2050. The pathways proposed for the iron and steel, cement and concrete, food and beverage, chemical manufacturing, and petroleum refining sectors may have substantial implications for future power demand. […]

California’s lawmakers have passed Senate Bill 846, effectively offering Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) a pathway to keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open until at least 2030. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham, a Republican from San Luis Obispo, and Democratic state Sen. Bill Dodd of Napa, passed the California Assembly by 69–3 […]

In another high-profile leadership shuffle at a major U.S. power generating company, PSEG’s longtime president and CEO Ralph Izzo on Sept. 1 passed leadership of the regulated infrastructure company to Ralph LaRossa, who was previously PSEG’s chief operating officer (COO). Izzo, who will continue to serve as executive chair of the PSEG board until December […]

Nuclear power plant outages are filled with intense work and tight schedules. A feedwater heater replacement project at Duke Energy’s Oconee station in South Carolina shows how teamwork coupled with

Hungary’s nuclear energy agency has issued a license for construction of two reactors for Paks II, a power generation project first launched in early 2014 as part of an inter-governmental agreement between Hungary and Russia. Officials said Paks II would be the first nuclear plant in the European Union to use Rosatom’s Generation III+ VVER-1200 […]

Germany’s government is weighing how the closure of the country’s last three nuclear power plants in December 2022 will affect its grid this upcoming winter as the country scrambles to secure sufficient energy supplies amid a decline in Russian gas deliveries. A formal decision on whether or not to keep  Isar 2, Emsland, and Neckarwestheim […]

President Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) should provide further impetus for growth of U.S. renewable energy, coming on the heels of a report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that installations of solar and wind power accounted for more than two-thirds of new domestic utility-scale generation in the first six months […]

The U.S. House on Aug. 12 passed a bill with major implications for the power generation industry, joining the U.S. Senate in supporting the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The bill, which now heads to President Joe Biden for his signature, includes major provisions to combat climate change, including support for a variety of clean energy […]

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a plan that would keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open into 2035, a decade beyond the facility’s current closure date. The proposal, which in part includes giving plant owner Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) a forgivable $1.4-billion loan, was included in a draft legislative package sent to […]

A Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) survey suggests U.S. utility members expect to add up to 90 GW of new nuclear generation by the 2050s, including more than 300 new small modular reactors (SMRs) in the U.S. over the next 25 years. The nuclear industry group’s survey, unveiled on July 29, sought to gather input from […]

August 9, 2022 – Framatome announced it has been selected by a U.S. utility to provide a wide range neutron flux monitoring system at a South Carolina nuclear plant. The company will provide the system to all three units of the plant along with a spare system. The project will help enable owners of the […]

(Updated): The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is growing increasingly alarmed by military action at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant, warning that artillery shelling at the plant site on Aug. 5 underlines a “very real risk of a nuclear disaster.” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in a statement on Aug. 6 said new information about […]

Atlanta-based energy giant Southern Co. has rapidly evolved to keep in step with the evolution of power. As part of its corporate growth, the company has notably pioneered technologies that have reshaped

California in the not-so-distant past was a consistent top 10 state for nuclear power in terms of net generation. It was even known as “a pioneer in harnessing nuclear energy.” Today, though, the state has

The 2018 agreement to close the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant by 2025 is being undermined by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and the pro-nuclear community. They falsely claim the energy

Emerson Involved in Coal-to-Biomass Switch. Albioma, a French independent energy provider, is working with Emerson, a global technology and software company, on the transition of the Bois Rouge 108-MW

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has indicated it will certify NuScale’s 50-MWe (160 MWth) small modular reactor (SMR) design, marking another definitive milestone for the reactor vendor and its technology prospects. The NRC on July 29 said it directed staff to issue a final rule that certifies the standard SMR design, for which NuScale submitted […]

Southern Co. on July 28 increased its cost estimate for Georgia Power’s share of the two-unit expansion of the Vogtle nuclear plant. Southern, during an investor presentation of the company’s second-quarter financial results, said Georgia Power’s share of capital costs for the project has risen by $52 million, to about $10.5 billion in total. Georgia […]

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and ARC Clean Energy Canada have agreed to collaborate on a two-year joint project to “deliver a technology demonstration for the fuel fabrication process” customized for ARC Canada’s ARC-100, a 100-MWe/286-MWth, sodium-cooled “advanced small modular reactor” (aSMR), the parties announced on July 26. The development marks a pivotal boost for ARC […]