nuclear

The world’s nuclear power plants generated a total of 2,653 TWh of energy in 2021, up 100 TWh from 2020. It was the third-highest total ever for global generation from nuclear, just 4 TWh short of the output in 2019 and 7 TWh less than the record set in 2006. The results were reported by […]

CHALK RIVER, Ontario, July 27, 2022 — Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology organization, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with ARC Clean Energy Canada (ARC Canada), a New Brunswick-based team working to develop and licence its sodium-cooled advanced small modular reactor (SMR) technology. Funded […]

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, based on research from Stanford University and the University of British Columbia, addressed the problem of nuclear waste from small modular reactors (SMRs). The study said that many designs for SMRs would increase the amount of nuclear waste in need of disposal, […]

The UK government has given the go-ahead for construction of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in southeast England, which officials have called an important project for the country to meet its net-zero climate goals. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on July 20 confirmed the government’s support, saying UK officials consider it a major infrastructure project […]

Kairos Power, an advanced nuclear reactor developer, has commissioned a molten salt purification plant (MSPP) that will produce “large quantities” of a high-purity coolant for reactors based on its fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) technology. The MSPP, one of the largest of its kind, is located at materials supplier Materion Corp.’s campus in Elmore, Ohio. […]

July 21, 2022, Buyukeceli, Mersin Province, Turkey – A ceremony dedicated to the start of the construction of the fourth unit at the first nuclear power plant in Turkey was held at the Akkuyu NPP site, signifying the beginning of the main construction phase. The event was held with the participation of Fatih Dönmez, Turkish […]

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has called for up to nine nuclear plants to be put into operation to mitigate tight supplies expected this winter. The country could meanwhile resume operation of more than 10 thermal power plants to ensure electricity security this summer, he said. Kishida’s comments at a press conference on July 14 […]

A new $1.1-billion natural gas-fired power plant, built by Kiewit and featuring equipment from General Electric (GE), has entered service in southwest Michigan. The Indeck Niles Energy Center in Niles, a community just north of South Bend, Indiana, will provide 1,100 MW of generation capacity. Indeck Niles LLC, a joint venture among Indeck Energy Services […]

The French government is prepared to take full control of EDF, one of the world’s largest producers of electricity, as the energy group struggles with increasing debt due to problems with its current and future nuclear power fleet. Élisabeth Borne, who took over as France’s prime minister in May, in her first state-of-the-nation speech to […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has revised eligibility criteria for the first-award cycle of its $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) program and extended its application period to Sept. 6, 2022. The action responds to a request for adjustments from the California governor’s office to better address Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E’s) 2,240-MW Diablo Canyon […]

War rages in Europe. Natural gas prices are through the roof. Drought threatens hydro production. Weather extremes are becoming commonplace. Supply chains are strained. Demand for electricity is headed

California’s State Legislature has passed a bill that could extend the operating lives of existing generating facilities slated for retirement, potentially providing a new lifeline for the 2,240-MW Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP), which has a premature closure date in 2025. Both houses on June 29 passed AB-205 Energy, an energy trailer bill that Gov. […]

SaskPower has chosen GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) technology for Saskatchewan’s first two nuclear units, which the provincial utility plans to deploy by the mid-2030s. The announcement on June 27 wraps up a four-year process to evaluate specific SMR designs and furthers planning for SaskPower, a Crown corporation, which has […]

BREA, CA­­ – June 28, 2022 – Curtiss-Wright’s Nuclear Division today announced that it has signed an exclusive teaming agreement with Thermal Energy International, Inc. (TEI) to bring GEM™ steam traps to the North American nuclear power market and Department of Energy. “This partnership will allow Curtiss-Wright to broaden our portfolio of obsolescence solutions for […]

Three teams comprising some of the most prominent engineering and technology firms in the U.S. will provide initial designs for a fission surface power (FSP) system as part of a federal project to demonstrate a 40-kW nuclear reactor for power applications on the moon. NASA and Battelle Energy Alliance—the contracted entity that manages and operates […]

The third unit of the Barakah nuclear power plant (NPP), the first such facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Arab world, is ready to begin fuel loading, according to a statement issued by the country’s nuclear regulatory agency on June 19. The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) on Sunday said it […]

Commercial operation of Olkiluoto 3 (OL3), a nuclear power plant (NPP) unit that has been under construction in Finland for nearly 17 years, will be delayed for another three months due to foreign material issues observed in the turbine’s steam reheater, plant owner Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) reported on June 15. The setback is just […]

Västerås, Sweden – June 13, 2022 – Westinghouse installed its StrongHold® AM 3D-printed nuclear fuel debris filters in two Nordic Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) units – Olkiluoto 2 in Finland, and Oskarshamn 3 in Sweden – to further improve the plants’ operational reliability. Westinghouse created the StrongHold AM filter in close cooperation with plant operators […]

The first of what could be as many as four APR-1400 nuclear reactors at the Shin Hanul site in South Korea is now supplying electricity to the country’s power grid. Unit 1 at Shin Hanul is a 1,400-MW reactor. It was connected to the grid on June 9, just more than two weeks after the […]

The Department of Defense (DOD) has picked BWX Technologies’ (BWXT’s) microreactor design for its “Project Pele” full-scale transportable prototype. The selection closes out a much-watched contest with X-energy for the contract from the DOD’s Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) to build and operate what could be the nation’s first advanced microreactor.  Lynchburg, Virginia-based BWXT will now […]

The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) on June 8 shared an interview with Dr. Kathryn Huff, the DOE’s new assistant secretary for nuclear energy. Huff was confirmed by the Senate earlier this month and takes over a $1.7 billion research and development portfolio for the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE). Prior to her confirmation, she served […]

The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), the Czech State Office for Nuclear Safety (SUJB), and Finland’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) have picked France’s NUWARD small modular reactor (SMR) design as a test case for an early joint regulatory review for SMRs. The development marks a notable step by European regulators to align practices in a […]

Commercial and industrial (C&I) entities want to ensure they have electricity when they need it. Businesses also are looking at sustainability, decarbonization, and control of their energy costs as factors

At least 42 nationally determined contributions (NDCs) submitted under the Paris Agreement as of December 2021 indicate governments plan to utilize carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen and ammonia, and

As coal plants are retired, power companies must decide what to do with sites. Some old plants have been added to the National Register of Historic Places and repurposed as commercial or office space, while

The winner of the Philippines’ presidential election earlier this month has made another move in support of reviving nuclear power in that country, holding talks with South Korea about enlisting help to restart a nuclear power plant project that was abandoned nearly 40 years ago. President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with Kim Inchul, South Korea’s […]

MONTREAL: May 19, 2022 – Candu Energy Inc., a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group (TSX: SNC), has been chosen by Nuclearelectrica S.A. (SNN), operator of the Cernavoda Nuclear Generating Station in Romania, to conduct optimization work on the Unit 1 CANDU® reactor at the facility. SNC-Lavalin will perform axial channel shifting for several fuel channels in […]

Rosatom announced that it has started the fourth irradiation cycle of fuel assemblies with VVER-type fuel rods in the MIR research reactor (Figure 1) at the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors in Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk Region. The reactor tests have been ongoing since early 2019. The rods have four combinations of cladding and fuel matrix materials. […]

Framework to tackle environmental challenges at world’s most complex decommissioning site DALLAS – Jacobs (NYSE:J) was selected by Tokyo Electric Power Company Inc. (TEPCO) to support decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Under a five-year framework agreement, Jacobs will draw on deep domain knowledge and decades of experience on major U.S. […]

An updated financial report from one of the owners of the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia shows the cost to build two new reactors has now topped $30 billion, more than double the original price tag expected for the project. The Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG), one of four groups with an ownership […]