October, 2009

Significantly cooler than average weather for the period and the weak economy continued to have a negative impact on earnings in the third quarter - By Stephen Heiser - Southern Company has reported third quarter earnings of $790.0 million, or 99 cents a share, compared with $780.4 million, or $1.01 a share, in the same period a year ago. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Southern Company's...

Originally published in The Hawaii Reporter - By Michael R. Fox Ph.D. - It is extremely cruel to mislead the American public into believing that wind and solar energy are viable energy alternatives to coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydro, and oil. It is one thing to have a solar powered calculator. It’s a much larger engineering problem to have solar powered cities, steel mills, hospitals...

NRG Energy’s CEO, David Crane, Testifies Before Senate Committee on Climate Change Legislation: Emphasizes Importance of New Nuclear and Electric Vehicles - By Stephen Heiser - David Crane, CEO of NRG Energy, Inc., testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., about the need for strong and comprehensive climate change legislation...

“It’s always an honor to have that expertise showcased at the White House, and I am proud of all our dedicated professionals who are leaders in their fields working to promote science and innovation and build a strong American economy.” - By April Murelio - The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) participated in a Clean Energy Economy Forum at the White House where...

Sabisch joined the NRC in 2003 as a project engineer in the NRC’s Region II office in Atlanta and then was assigned as a resident inspector at Duke Energy’s Catawba plant - By April Murelio - Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials have selected Andrew T. Sabisch as the new senior resident inspector at Duke Energy’s Oconee nuclear power plant, located near Seneca, S.C., about...

AREVA T&D Renews Power Transformer Key Supplier Agreement with Northeast Utilities in the USA - By Linton Levy - AREVA’s Transmission and Distribution division (T&D) in the United States has signed an agreement to be the key supplier of single-phase autotransformers to Northeast Utilities (NU) through 2014. This contract amendment is part of an on-going framework agreement originally...

Walsh assumes leadership of all nuclear fuel cycle activities for GEH and GNF, which includes boiling water reactor fuel fabrication, mixed oxide (MOX) fuel design and component supply, fuel engineering services, advanced reactor and fuel recycling technologies, uranium enrichment and isotopes - By Stephen Heiser - GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) announced the appointment of Kevin Walsh as senior...

Combining expert judgment with cold hard facts, Brodman succinctly details the difficulties and drivers confronting new reactor builds. Though silent on the future prospects of the new small modular nuclear reactors, he convincingly argues that new builds of the 1 GWe variety hinge on - By Randy Brich - “The Outlook for Nuclear Energy in the United States: Dark Ages, Renaissance or Age...

For the three months ended September 30, 2009, SCANA’s reported earnings were $103 million or 84 cents per share, compared to $94 million, or 80 cents per share for the same period in 2008 - By Linton Levy - SCANA Corporation has announced financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2009 and updated guidance for 2009 earnings to $2.80 to $2.95 per share, the upper...

Remarks by Commissioner Dale E. Klein, PhD U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission/For the Forum on “Meeting the Challenges of Returning to Nuclear Energy: Italian and U.S. Perspectives,” Rome, Italy - Edited by Stephen Heiser - Good morning, everyone. I am delighted to be here in Italy once again for this special conference on the future of nuclear power. I must confess that this is the...

More than 37,000 jobs; more than $2 billion in payroll - By April Murelio - The Carolinas’ nuclear energy generating facilities provide a significant economic impact to North Carolina and South Carolina according to a new study. The Carolinas Nuclear Cluster, businesses directly connected with the nuclear industry, commissioned the research to obtain a clear measure of the economic effects...

Training courses are conducted around the world by NNSA’s Office of Emergency Operation's Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) - By Christopher Smith - The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), in cooperation Kuwait’s Ministry of Health’s (MOH) Medical Emergency Department, this week held a three-day workshop on radiological contamination...

Bechtel Power Corporation to Provide Steam Generator Replacement Services for FirstEnergy at Davis-Besse Nuclear Facilities - By Stephen Heiser - Bechtel Power Corporation has been awarded a contract to provide engineering, procurement and construction services for replacing the two once-through steam generators and the reactor vessel closure head at Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor...

Thorium Power’s Seed-Blanket Thorium Reactor - By Duncan Williams - The ever increasing global demand for energy is driving new research into alternate fuel sources for nuclear reactors. Most nuclear reactors in operation today use uranium dioxide (UO2) as a fuel source, which includes a large initial amount of enriched uranium-235. During reactor operations, the uranium-235 is converted...

Originally published in the Hawaii Reporter - By Michael R. Fox Ph.D., - The global warming lobby keeps shooting itself in the foot. ( http://tinyurl.com/yzsnhna ). This is not limited to the scientific frauds of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), but extends into other significant agencies. One of the major areas of climate misrepresentation is that involving global sea levels...

FPL Group’s adjusted earnings exclude the cumulative effect of adopting new accounting standards, the unrealized mark-to-market effect of non-qualifying hedges and net other than temporary impairment losses on securities held in NextEra Energy Resources’ nuclear decommissioning funds - By Stephen Heiser - FPL Group, Inc. has reported 2009 third quarter net income on a GAAP basis of...

These substations will be provided at various locations across the State of Maharashtra (West of India). - By Stepen Heiser - AREVA T&D India has signed an EPC* alliance agreement worth approximately 130 million euros with Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Co. Ltd (MSETCL), for the turnkey design and construction of 36 substations of 220 kV and 132 kV. These substations will be...

The meetings have brought together safeguards and nonproliferation experts from 19 countries - By Linton Levy - The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has launched its second travel blog, allowing online visitors to follow NNSA Administrator Thomas D’Agostino and receive updates from the second international meeting on Next Generation Safeguards in Tokai-mura, Ibaraki Japan...

The $360 million facility will manufacture heavy components, such as reactor vessels, pressurizers and steam generators - By Stephen Heiser - AREVA and CH2M HILL have announced a new contract in which CH2M HILL will provide engineering, procurement and construction management services for the AREVA Newport News heavy component manufacturing facility in Newport News, Virginia. The $360 million...

According to APS, the company provides electrical services to 1.1 million customers and expects that number to rise to 1.7 million by 2025 - Edited by April Murelio - According to a report in the YumaSun, Arizona Public Service (APS) is considering how to provide enough electricity to meet public growth for the next 15 years, and met recently with public officials to discuss some of its ideas...

Prepared Remarks for The Honorable Gregory B. Jaczko Chairman U.S. Regulatory Commission at the Workshop on Small- and Medium-Sized Nuclear Reactors - Edited by Liinton Levy - Good morning. I am pleased to have this opportunity to talk with the small- and medium-sized reactor community - the SMR community. Open workshops such as this are a wonderful opportunity for the NRC staff to sit down with...

Already has a joint venture with Areva for nuclear forgings, for which it has shortlisted two locations - Edited by Christopher Smith - Acccording to a report by livemint.com, France’s Areva SA, the world’s largest supplier of nuclear reactors, is in joint venture talks with Bharat Forge Ltd, the largest global maker of automotive forgings, to manufacture pressurized heavy water reactors...

The objective of the event being hosted in Hudson, Wis., is to draw attention to the need for Wisconsin to lift its 30-year moratorium on the construction of nuclear power plants - Edited by Mark McFadden - According to a report in the Badger Herald, Two grassroots pro-nuclear power groups from Wisconsin and Minnesota plan to hold a conference that will feature a discussion on the future of nuclear...

Nuclear energy is uniquely positioned to address some major concerns of climate change - Edited by Stephen Heiser - If we are serious about reducing our fossil fuel emissions as a hedge against the negative effects of climate change while meeting our growing energy demands, we must search for practical answers. Any one energy source alone will not solve our challenges. A diverse portfolio of...

The decision to renew the license comes after thorough safety and environmental reviews of the application submitted Jan. 8, 2008 - By Stephen Heiser - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating license for the Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (TMI-1), in Middletown, Pa., for an additional 20 years. The new license will expire on April 19, 2034. The decision to renew...