nuclear

The world’s nuclear sector saw a flurry of activity during April and May, though most of it wasn’t good news.  First Unit at Barakah Built, but Regulatory Delays Prevail. Initial construction activities

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s (MISO’s) geographic footprint extends down the middle of the U.S. Because of the structure of its market, MISO has artfully avoided some nasty policy and

A number of baseload generators across Europe have decried the fall in average European wholesale power prices, which some peg to additions of subsidized low-marginal-cost renewable generation to an already

Groups opposed to financial relief for Connecticut’s 2,111-MW Millstone Nuclear Power Station continue to press their case against subsidies for the plant as state lawmakers prepare for a special session to prepare a state budget for the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. The regular 2017 legislative session ended June 7. Dominion Energy in […]

Georgia Power officials say the utility continues to work with its partners in the troubled Vogtle nuclear plant to firm up construction timelines and determine the costs to complete two new units at the facility. At the same time, a group opposed to the project and two long-time project consultants say ballooning costs should put […]

Yesterday, Fennovoima’s project took a step forward as British Rolls-Royce and French Schneider Electric were chosen as preferred automation suppliers subject to the final contract negotiations. Rolls-Royce would be the main supplier and provide the protection automation. Schneider Electric would be the operational I&C systems supplier. The deal – worth hundreds of millions of euros […]

Exelon Corp. said it plans to retire the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear power plant around September 30, 2019, unless policy reforms are enacted in Pennsylvania. The company used a similar ploy in Illinois to pressure lawmakers into passing the state’s Future Energy Jobs bill, which provides subsidies for nuclear power plants. In that case, Exelon […]

China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) completed the dome lift at Fuqing Unit 5—the world’s first power plant being constructed utilizing the HPR 1000 (also known as the Hualong One) reactor design—15 days ahead of schedule on May 25. The feat was no small accomplishment. The dome weighs about 340 metric tons and has a diameter […]

CEO Tom Fanning told Southern Co.’s shareholders attending the company’s annual meeting on May 24 that a decision on how to proceed with the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion could take several more months. The Vogtle expansion—one of two new nuclear construction projects underway in the U.S. utilizing Westinghouse’s AP1000 technology—has been in limbo, albeit still in […]

Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) announced today that its newest fuel product, GNF3, has completed the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved process for new fuel product introductions. Based on evolutionary design changes and advanced technology developed by GNF, the GNF3 fuel assembly is designed to offer customers improved fuel cycle economics, increased performance and flexibility […]

Ohio-based FirstEnergy’s plan for a rescue of its two uncompetitive Ohio nuclear plants took a nosedive May 17, as the Ohio House Public Utilities Committee suspended action on the company’s proposal to charge its customers a fee to subsidize the plants. FirstEnergy’s plan mimics programs adopted in Illinois and New York to create “zero energy […]

India’s government has given the state-owned Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd. (NPCIL) the green light to develop 10 new domestically designed pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs). The approval means that NPCIL, the entity that owns and operates India’s 22 nuclear reactors—a total of 6.2 GW—can begin to site and build 10 more 700-MW PHWR […]

In 2016, nuclear power accounted for about 20% of U.S. power generation, but that share is expected to fall to just 11% in 2050, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) 2017 Annual Energy Outlook (AEO2017). According to the EIA, 25% of the nation’s nuclear capacity, excluding plants that have already announced retirement, is […]

Agreement Includes Services for Two Additional Pressurized Water Reactors  WILMINGTON, North Carolina—April 26, 2017—Exelon Generation, operator of the largest nuclear fleet in the U.S., has awarded an integrated outage contract to GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) for the utility’s entire fleet of boiling water reactor (BWR) nuclear energy facilities and three pressurized water reactor (PWR) […]

CHICAGO – PSEG Nuclear and Sargent & Lundy LLC recently announced they have entered into an alliance agreement for ongoing engineering services for the Salem and Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Stations in Lower Alloways Creek, New Jersey. The agreement calls for a majority of PSEG Nuclear’s modification design work as well other specialty support activities […]

Exelon Corp., the nation’s largest nuclear generator, reinvented itself amid recent power pricing swings, market inequities, and policy worries that are challenging its “very existence,” a high-ranking executive told attendees at the ELECTRIC POWER Conference and Exhibition in Chicago this week. Bryan Hanson, president and chief nuclear officer for Exelon Generation, who gave the annual […]

In a ruling that stunned the nation, a district court in Japan awarded damages to 62 plaintiffs who lived near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant before the 2011 disaster, finding that plant owner Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and the Japanese government were aware of risks to the plant and could have taken measures […]

An arbitration panel of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has awarded Southern California Edison (SCE) $125 million in its dispute with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) over the failed replacement of four steam generators at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), a fiasco that ultimately led to the plant’s premature retirement. Victory for MHI The […]

Six years after the Fukushima disaster prompted an electricity crisis in Japan and sent tremors throughout the world’s nuclear power sector, Japan is determined to continue its reliance on nuclear for nearly a fifth of its power needs in the long term. Nuclear will make up 20% to 22% of Japan’s power mix by 2030, […]

The epic recovery from the 2011 accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, already predicted to take decades and cost at least $35 billion, is encountering delays as a series of robot probes have failed due to encountering more difficult conditions than expected, plant owner Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said this month. TEPCO’s head of […]

A long-term energy strategy unveiled by leaders of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in early January suggests that the federation on the Arabian Peninsula will increasingly rely on renewables to power its soaring economic growth. The UAE’s energy strategy was unveiled by Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is prime minister of […]

Construction of four AP1000 units—the first new nuclear reactors in the U.S. in decades—is moving along at Vogtle 3 and 4 in Georgia and at the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant in South Carolina. In January, Westinghouse, which is spearheading construction of the units, marked a key milestone as it placed the first steam generator […]

Rolls-Royce SMR Design Gets Research Center’s Technology Support. Efforts to bring a proposed small modular reactor (SMR) developed by Rolls-Royce to the UK market will have the backing of the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Nuclear AMRC), a collaboration of academic and industrial partners underpinned by the University of Manchester, and other industry partners, including […]

Uranium oxide, the basic fuel for nuclear power plants, has recently sold at prices not seen in the past 13 years. In fact, the price is less than the cost of production in many cases. That could be a problem, because little is being done to increase the fuel supply, even though the world is […]

A crane boom collapsed under heavy winds at the Takahama nuclear power plant in Japan, landing on the Unit 2 reactor building and fuel handling building at around 9:50 p.m. local time on January 20. Plant operator, Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO), reported that no injuries and no adverse environmental effects resulted from the accident. […]

As France’s grid operator Réseau de Transport d’Électricité (RTE) warned the public that they need to start taking measures to conserve energy as temperatures plummet or face rolling blackouts, the nation’s nuclear watchdog, the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN), has given the go-ahead to restart all but three of the 12 nuclear reactors that have […]

China has officially begun construction of its first offshore nuclear power plant, a demonstration project that will employ the domestically developed ACPR50S small modular reactor (SMR). China General Nuclear Power Corp. (CGN) on November 4 told reporters at a press conference that the project (Figure 6) is a “top priority” that will further the country’s […]

As our January 2017 cover image of a dynamic Rubik’s Cube suggests, the power industry, especially in the U.S., is dealing with something akin to solving a 3-D puzzle whose pieces are being added and subtracted as the game is being played. Although shares of traditional, regulated electric utilities remain some of the most predictable […]

A tumultuous election year that was marked by market turmoil, the events of 2016 clearly showed that big change is afoot for the power sector. Many of POWER‘s bold predictions for 2016, such as that the near-simultaneous surge in U.S. natural gas production and recent enactment of environmental rules would reshape the U.S. power sector, […]