nuclear

Responding to rapid changes in the power industry, Exelon Corp. plans to cleave its business into two publicly traded companies: one comprising its six regulated electric and gas utilities, and the other, which it plans to spin off, comprising its 31-GW competitive generation fleet and customer-facing businesses.  The separation—which the company’s Board of Directors approved […]

It will be some time before we know every detail that aligned to cause the tremendous number of sustained power outages in Texas, or the spiking power prices across all markets in the central states. Some things we do know. Some natural gas supply was frozen in. Some wind turbines froze up, and ice damaged some […]

WASHINGTON, DC (February 10, 2021) — The non-profit organization Beyond Nuclear filed suit in federal court today to prevent the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) from licensing a massive “consolidated interim storage facility” (CISF) for highly radioactive waste in Andrews County, west Texas. In its Petition for Review filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals […]

A consortium led by ARC – the Edinburgh-based risk and safety solutions consultancy – has been selected by Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA) to support its activities related to nuclear safety and security over the next 2-4 four years. This appointment is further international recognition of ARC’s reputation as one of the leading […]

February 4, 2021 – Framatome recently signed a contract to upgrade a component of the instrumentation and control (I&C) system for the two units at Exelon’s Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in North America. The new component, Framatome’s latest digital control element drive control system (DCEDCS), provides simplified maintenance, streamlined system configuration and overall operational […]

The first of two new reactors at a nuclear power plant in China has entered commercial operation, becoming that country’s 50th operating reactor, according to the China Nuclear Energy Association (CNEA). Hualong One is a third-generation pressurized water reactor, developed by China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) and China General Nuclear Power. It is the fifth […]

The developer of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant project said impacts from the coronavirus pandemic may delay construction of the new reactors by six months, and raise the project’s costs by nearly £500 million ($700 million). EDF Energy in a Jan. 27 update on the plant’s progress said the total cost for the […]

BREA, CA – Curtiss-Wright’s Nuclear Division announced today the launch of their In-Processing and Access Authorization (IPAA) Mobile App for iPad OS. The app is designed to streamline the plant check-in process during outage season in a safe and socially distanced manner. Built on Curtiss-Wright’s In-Processing and Access Authorization (IPAA) Suite, which consists of the […]

The goal of economic power generation from fusion has been elusive, but that hasn’t deterred researchers from exploring ways to develop the technology in a way that would support commercial electricity production. POWER magazine has covered the evolution of fusion research and development for many years, and nuclear experts now think we could be just […]

A British company announced it is joining with U.S.-based NuScale Power to develop a hybrid project using wind energy and small modular reactor (SMR) technology to produce power and green hydrogen. Shearwater Energy, a global energy services company, on Jan. 15 said it and NuScale have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on […]

January 14, 2021 – Framatome and Rusatom Automated Control Systems JSC (RASU JSC), a subsidiary of Rosatom State Corporation, signed a contract to provide technical support in design and integration of the instrumentation and control (I&C) system for the Hanhikivi-1 Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Finland. Under the terms of the contract, Framatome will provide […]

Georgia Power is adjusting the work schedule for the expansion of the Vogtle nuclear plant, with the company saying hot functional testing and fuel loading of the new Unit 3 will be delayed due to “a significant increase in COVID-19 cases” at the worksite near Waynesboro, Georgia. The utility, part of Southern Company, on Jan. […]

Turkey’s first nuclear power plant reached a milestone with delivery of the first steam turbine module for the project, four months ahead of schedule. GE Steam Power, which is supplying all the major equipment for the plant’s four turbine islands, on Jan. 12 announced it had delivered the module to Atomenergomash, an engineering company and […]

Roiled over 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic, two much-watched international power market outlooks surveying short-term and long-term implications caution the road ahead will be ridden by complexity. The

Advancements in small modular reactor (SMR) technology are being supported by government investment within several countries, including the U.S. and the UK, as SMRs are increasingly seen as a way to take

With COVID-19 filling the news throughout 2020, it’s very likely you missed some of the most important developments that occurred in the power sector this year. Here’s a look at some of the highlights and big stories covered by the POWER staff this year. MOX Nuclear Fuel Loaded In January, Russian engineers announced the loading […]

Russia’s state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom has signed an agreement confirming its participation in construction of a small modular nuclear reactor project in the Russian Republic of Sakha. Officials from Sakha—an area also known as Yakutia—on Dec. 23 signed a deal with Rosatom outlining the formation of “electric power tariff principles” for an SMR power […]

Although provisions in the $900 billion stimulus package agreed to by Congress on Dec. 21 that will extend the solar investment tax credit (ITC) and the wind production tax credit (PTC) received the greatest publicity, lawmakers also authorized about $35 billion for clean energy research and development (R&D) programs focused on solar technology, advanced nuclear […]

Helsinki, Finland (Dec. 21, 2020) – RAOS Project Oy (part of Rosatom Corporation), the plant supplier of Hanhikivi-1 NPP, has submitted the Basic Design Stage 1 documentation package containing technical solutions description to Fennovoima Oy, the NPP Customer. The package has been reviewed by Fennovoima’s specialists and conditionally accepted for further work. The Basic Design […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has chosen five assorted advanced nuclear reactor concepts under the second Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) risk reduction pathway. TerraPower and X-energy, which the DOE chose to support under the first ARDP pathway, are looking at siting their advanced nuclear demonstrations in Washington State, the DOE said.  The ARDP program, which […]

DECEMBER 14, 2020 — After the recent refueling at power unit 3 of the Hungarian Paks NPP, its VVER-440 reactor has been loaded with a batch of fresh fuel including 18 fuel bundles of the new modification. The new fuel will be introduced at all four operating power units of the Paks NPP, and the […]

December 7, 2020 – Framatome signed a sale purchase agreement with Rolls-Royce to acquire its Civil Nuclear Instrumentation and Control (I&C) business, which has operations principally in France, and to a lesser extent China. The transaction is expected to close at the beginning of the second half of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions including […]

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) has approved the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020 (ANIA), just two weeks after it was introduced. Among the bill’s major provisions are that it will seek to  strengthen the nuclear fuel supply chain, help incentivize commercial deployment of new reactor designs, and create a credit […]

Another small modular reactor (SMR) design is moving closer to commercial operation after achieving a licensing milestone. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), which is designing the BWRX-300 SMR, on Dec. 1 said the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a final safety evaluation report for the first of several licensing topical reports (LTRs) submitted […]

South Korea, Japan, and China, countries that rely heavily on coal power generation to fuel their economies, separately announced ambitious goals to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the

Although there is only one nuclear power plant construction project in progress today in the U.S., that doesn’t mean the nuclear industry has gone dormant. A lot of research and development are ongoing, and the federal government is putting millions of dollars behind some of the efforts. The Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program “The Department of […]

An assortment of entities have sought to intervene in a complaint alleging that the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and California state agencies violated bulk power system reliability standards when they approved retirement of the 2,240-MW Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) by 2025.  Before the comment deadline on Nov. 16, at least 15 entities sought intervention […]

November 16, 2020 – Framatome recently announced that it ramped up production of replacement component parts at its manufacturing plant located at Le Creusot, France. On October 28, forging operations began on the first shell that will be used for the fabrication of replacement steam generators for the French nuclear fleet. Before beginning production, Framatome […]

In a breakthrough that could improve the economics of NuScale Power’s small modular reactor (SMR) technology—and reshape a project under development by its first potential customer, the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS)—the Portland, Oregon-based company on Nov. 10 said it has determined its NuScale Power Module (NPM) can generate 25% more power per module.  […]

The first reactor of the first nuclear power plant in Belarus was connected to the grid on Nov. 3. The Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, also known as the Astravets plant, will have two operating reactors with a total 2.4 GW of generation capacity when completed in 2022, according to its current timeline. The plant has […]