nuclear

Challenges abound for nuclear power plants in today’s world, with increased competition from other fuels, stricter safety regulations, divided public opinion, and low electricity prices providing an

The PJM Interconnection, the largest regional transmission operator in the U.S., faces many problems: adapting to state policies designed to skew power markets in the face of natural gas and renewable

The once seemingly insurmountable technical challenges of dismantling a commercial nuclear plant have been largely eliminated through experience. Decommissioning processes have been standardized and optimized

Florida Power & Light (FPL), which recently sustained a blow to its nuclear expansion plans, on October 19 said it’s about halfway through an ambitious plan to add eight new solar plants in the state by early 2018, as it continues to increase its photovoltaic (PV) generation capacity as part of a larger strategy to […]

Construction of two nuclear plants in South Korea, halted this July by President Moon Jae-in’s announced policy to phase out nuclear power, will continue after a citizens’ jury voted to resume the projects. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) was building Shin Kori 5 and 6, two AP1400 units, but the company decided to suspend […]

Criticism for Secretary of Energy Rick Perry’s recent notification of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) directing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to show favor to coal and nuclear plants was in no short supply during an October 12 hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy. The hearing, which focused on the Department of Energy’s (DOE) missions and […]

Continued problems with construction of the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant in Finland have pushed the facility’s expected start date into 2019, meaning operations will not begin until at least 10 years after the original proposed start of commercial service. Project owner Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) on October 9 announced further delays. TVO project director […]

Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a statement that the “future of nuclear energy in the United States is bright” as his agency on September 29 announced another $3.7 billion in loan guarantees for continued construction of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia. The Department of Energy (DOE) has guaranteed another $1.67 […]

General construction work has begun at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant site in Turkey1. It is a positive sign that reactor construction will indeed commence in 2018 – putting Turkey on track to be the next new country to introduce nuclear energy into its mix after the UAE and Belarus. The most recent country to […]

State regulators in Georgia could decide the future of the troubled Vogtle nuclear expansion project in February 2018, and have scheduled a series of hearings in December of this year to discuss spending for continued construction of two new units at the plant near Waynesboro, Georgia. The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) on September 19 […]

Today, Clean Jobs for Pennsylvania (CJFP), a coalition dedicated to advocating for the continued operation of Three Mile Island Generating Station (TMI) and nuclear power plants across Pennsylvania, announced that 16 local communities have passed resolutions in support of nuclear energy. They include: Dauphin County Lancaster County York City Conoy Township Londonderry Township Lower Swatara […]

ENEC Executives amongst 600 nuclear energy professionals participating in World Nuclear Association (WNA) Symposium, London, UK. ENEC CEO, Eng. Mohamed Al Hammadi, updates industry leaders on evolution of ENEC and the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program Abu Dhabi, UAE – 14 September 2017: A senior delegation from the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), led by […]

Japan’s nuclear watchdog agency has given Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) conditional approval to restart two reactors at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. The units were taken offline after the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown in March 2011. The country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) on September 13 said TEPCO could restart the units after it provides a detailed plan […]

An official with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on September 12 said as many as 15 million people in Florida lost power during Hurricane Irma, and said damage from the storm means “this will be a situation about rebuilding” power infrastructure, rather than repair.” Christopher Krebs, assistant secretary for Infrastructure Protection with DHS, said at […]

Florida Power & Light (FPL), the largest utility in Florida, said September 7 it would shut down its Turkey Point and St. Lucie nuclear power plants in the hopes of limiting potential damage from Hurricane Irma. The facilities are the only operating nuclear plants in the state. FPL did not give specific timing for the […]

Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp. has dropped the price of several assets as it continues to work toward closing a deal to sell five of the company’s natural gas-fired power plants, along with a hydroelectric facility, to an equity group that specializes in energy investments. FirstEnergy this week said it had cut the price of the facilities […]

NuScale Power, LLC announced today that the company has successfully submitted Part II of its Title XVII loan guarantee application to the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) under the Department’s Advanced Nuclear Energy Project Solicitation. Under this solicitation, USDOE seeks applications for loan guarantees to finance projects located in the United States that employ innovative […]

Lightbridge Corporation (NASDAQ:LTBR) and AREVA NP in North America (AREVA Inc.), signed a binding Heads of Terms Agreement for a joint venture (JV) that summarizes all material terms and conditions to develop, manufacture and commercialize Lightbridge’s advanced metallic fuel technology. Lightbridge is a U.S. nuclear fuel development company and AREVA NP is a leader in […]

Canadian Solar Expands Solar Power in Japan. Canadian Solar in July started commercial operation of its latest group of photovoltaic solar power plants in Japan as it continues to build its solar presence in

Georgia Power’s plan to continue construction of its Vogtle nuclear expansion project comes with changes among the contractors, with Bechtel taking over the lead and Fluor Corp., which has long served as a subcontractor, on its way out. Both companies bid to take over construction after Westinghouse Electric, the designer and principal contractor for the […]

A partnership of companies seeking to build twin AP1000 reactors as part of the Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia will seek to complete the project, even as costs could surge well beyond $20 billion. Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power on August 31 said the Vogtle project owners—Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia […]

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and Advanced Reactor Concepts LLC (ARC Nuclear) today announced steps to advance their collaboration to develop and license the ARC-100 advanced small modular reactor (aSMR). Through a newly-signed Development Agreement, GEH intends to license intellectual property associated with its PRISM advanced reactor design to ARC Nuclear. GEH has also agreed […]

A lawsuit filed in South Carolina wants state-owned utility Santee Cooper to sell the parts from a coal-fired power plant project it suspended in 2009, saying customers should receive the proceeds as payback for Santee Cooper raising residential and commercial rates after the project was stopped. Conway, S.C., attorney George Hearn Jr. filed the lawsuit […]

SCHOTT, an expert provider of glass-to-metal electrical penetration assemblies to the nuclear power industry, has welcomed a report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) highlighting the potentially severe issues that can occur as a result of complete failure of electrical and instrumentation and control (I&C) equipment under severe accident conditions. The report, the […]

DTE Energy has filed plans with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to build a 1,100-MW natural gas-fired power plant on about 100 acres east of the existing Belle River Power Plant, northeast of Detroit near the Canadian border. The August 1 filing confirms the proposal that DTE discussed with local officials last fall for […]

Cheap natural gas, stagnant power demand, and power prices that have fallen significantly since 2008 have jeopardized the economics of about two-thirds of the nation’s 100-GW nuclear capacity, according to a working paper from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research. About 21 GW in merchant deregulated markets are […]

If you’ve been paying attention to the power markets in recent years, you know that merchant coal and nuclear power plants are struggling to compete against natural gas-fired generation and renewable

Rosatom Gets Approval to Proceed with Turkish Reactors. Turkey’s energy watchdog EPDK in mid-June gave Russia’s state-owned nuclear entity Rosatom the green light to proceed with construction of the $20

During his electoral campaign, South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed to end the country’s reliance on coal and also said the nation would move away from nuclear energy. He took a major step in that

It’s no secret that high-radiation areas are scattered throughout nuclear power plant facilities. The challenge is getting work done in those areas while keeping exposure to workers as low as possible. On