nuclear

Already remarkable for being the world’s second Westinghouse AP1000 reactor to be brought online, Shandong Nuclear Power Co.’s Haiyang nuclear power plant is pioneering two significant aspects of nuclear

China has its sights set on being the world leader when it comes to nuclear power technology. The country has brought its first Hualong One—a third-generation pressurized water reactor—online at the Fuqing

Coal-fired See our August 2021 issue for stories covering these plants: Grant Town Power Project, West Virginia Engro Powergen Thar Ltd. (EPTL) power station, Pakistan Taean Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) Power Plant, South Korea Renewables See our September 2021 issue for stories covering these plants: Florida Power & Light (FPL) Solar Program, Florida High […]

Companies to Focus on Decarbonization to Support Clean Energy Transition IRVING, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) announced today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD for the consideration of new nuclear units in Bulgaria. Bulgarian Energy Holding is comprised of a group of companies engaged in the electricity generation, […]

Georgia Power has again pushed back the in-service dates for two new reactors at the Vogtle nuclear power plant, with Units 3 and 4 now projected to come online in the third quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2023, respectively. Georgia Power in an Oct. 21 news release said its needs more time […]

Palo Verde Generating Station, a 4-GW nuclear power plant in Arizona, is gearing up to produce hydrogen from a low-temperature electrolysis (LTE) system, and that hydrogen will then be used to fuel a natural gas–fired power plant owned by Arizona Public Service (APS). The innovative power-to-power demonstration led by PNW Hydrogen is set to receive […]

POWER magazine is again hosting its Experience POWER event, with the 2021 edition taking place Oct. 18–21 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. Experience POWER is the only live

The first Russian-made nuclear reactor fuel bundles with experimental ATF (Advanced Technology Fuel) rods have been loaded into Unit 2 at the Rostov nuclear power plant (NPP) in southwest Russia. The reactor resumed operations earlier this month after a scheduled maintenance and refueling outage. The Rostov site is home to four VVER-1000 reactor units (Figure […]

CHALK RIVER, Ontario (Sept. 23, 2021) — Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology organization, is pleased to announce that it has safely completed a project to refuel the Royal Military College of Canada’s (RMC) SLOWPOKE-2 nuclear reactor. As a low-power, self-regulating reactor, the SLOWPOKE-2 is used by RMC to produce neutrons […]

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 […]

Federal regulators have approved a private company’s plan to store nuclear waste in the oil fields of West Texas, the latest move in the continuing saga of where to store spent fuel from U.S. nuclear power plants. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Sept. 13 issued a license to Interim Storage Partners LLC (ISP), […]

The Illinois Senate has approved an overhaul of the state’s energy policy with an eye toward a carbon-free future, with a key part of the package keeping the Byron nuclear power plant operating just hours before Exelon, the parent of Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), said it would begin shutting down the facility. Senators voted 37-17 on […]

More than 35 years have passed since a steam explosion and fires at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant caused massive amounts of radioactive material to be released into the environment. Time seems to have

Continuing issues with the two-unit expansion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia have led federal regulators to say they are considering increasing oversight of the project. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Aug. 26, in a letter to Southern Nuclear, which is leading the project along with its sister company Georgia Power, […]

An experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) National Ignition Facility (NIF) appears to have approached fusion ignition as it recreated the extreme temperatures and pressures at the heart of the sun for a tiny fraction of a second. The momentous step has fueled new optimism for fusion energy. The experiment on Aug. 8 “was […]

Former Westinghouse Electric Co. Senior Vice President Jeffrey A. Benjamin was charged with 16 felony counts, including conspiracy, wire fraud, securities fraud, and causing a publicly traded company to keep a false record, for his part in failing to truthfully report information regarding construction of new nuclear units at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant in […]

NuScale Power and Xcel Energy agree to examine future partnerships PORTLAND, Ore. — NuScale Power, LLC (NuScale) is pleased to announce it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Xcel Energy Inc. (Xcel Energy), a leading energy utility provider, to explore the feasibility of Xcel Energy serving as a plant operator at NuScale Plants. […]

A new combined heat and power gas-fired plant, designed to support increased power generation as part of Taiwan’s developing energy policy, has entered commercial operation. General Electric (GE) on Aug. 10 said the 535-MW Chia Hui facility, using GE’s advanced HA technology, is located in Minxiong Township in Chiayi County, the sixth-largest county in Taiwan. […]

Marking a notable milestone for nuclear component additive manufacturing, four 3D-printed fuel assembly channel fasteners have been installed and are now operational at Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 2 in Athens, Alabama. Channel fasteners are a type of bracket that attaches to the top of the nuclear fuel assembly to hold […]

The international business arm of Russia’s state-owned nuclear power company has received a license that will allow construction of small modular reactors (SMRs), based on the design used in the country’s icebreaker shipping fleet, at ground-based nuclear power plants. Rusatom Overseas JSC (RAOS JSC), the company representing parent company Rosatom’s international interests, on Aug. 9 […]

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 […]

August 3, 2021 — Framatome today announced its acquisition of the nuclear power systems division of RCM Technologies Canada Corp. This acquisition expands Framatome’s CANDU design expertise and its presence in Canada. “We welcome our new colleagues to Framatome’s worldwide team of engineers and experts,” said Bernard Fontana, CEO of Framatome. “Framatome has been in […]

South Africa’s longstanding ambitions to expand its nuclear power capacity gained some ground this July, after the nation’s nuclear regulator announced it would convene a public hearing relating to a

Bangladesh Scraps 8 GW of Coal-Fired Projects. Bangladesh’s government on June 26 approved the Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Ministry’s proposal to scrap 10 coal-fired power plants, given their lack

Tom Fanning, CEO of Southern Company, reported during the company’s earnings call on July 29 that hot functional testing (HFT) had been completed on Vogtle Unit 3, and that the “next and final major milestone” is fuel load. “We project fuel load to occur sometime near year-end 2021 or early in 2022,” he said. The […]

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 […]

WILMINGTON, NC—July 28, 2021—The Leibstadt Nuclear Power Plant (KKL) has awarded a long-term contract extension to GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) to provide outage services for the plant in Leibstadt, Switzerland. “We have supported KKL with outage and inspection services since it went into operation in 1984 and we are proud to continue this strong […]

Facing a federal charge for honest services wire fraud in a corruption case related to the billion-dollar nuclear plant bailout in Ohio, FirstEnergy Corp. has agreed to abide by the terms of a three-year deferred prosecution settlement to get the charge dismissed. In court filings on July 22, the Akron, Ohio-based public utility holding company […]

Leaders in Tennessee and officials from Kairos Power announced last week that a privately funded project to establish a low-power demonstration reactor at the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge is moving forward. Alameda, California-based Kairos Power plans to invest $100 million and create 55 jobs to deploy its demonstration reactor, called Hermes. The […]

Construction of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant is moving forward, and a government official said the country plans to build “several” more reactors “in various regions” to help support economic development and increasing demand for power. Hesham Hegazy, who leads the nuclear fuel sector for Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA), made the comments during […]