February, 2011

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s ambitious efforts to broaden its use of nuclear energy recently have drawn attention from the industry’s supporters and detractors alike. On Sunday, a detailed feature in the Tennessean newspaper outlined the agency’s plans to complete the country’s first new reactor in 17 years, use mixed-oxide fuel (MOX) from re-purposed weapons and study...

Two bills in the Iowa General Assembly would promote the development of nuclear plants in the state and allow utilities to charge ratepayers for their construction before project completion. As the legislative process begins to wind down for the session, Iowapolitics.com indicates HSB 124 is likely to be among the bills up for final consideration before the legislature. A similar bill, SSB1144...

On Friday, Canadian regulators began soliciting public comment on a Cameco Corp. plan to expand operations at its Key Lake facility in northern Saskatchewan. The proposal would expand storage at the Dielmann Tailings Management Facility and also increase the site’s throughput, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Association stated in a release.

The NRC recently notified licensees that chlorides – usually from the air at nuclear plants near the ocean, worker sweat or adhesives – have caused cracking on stainless steel piping in pressurized-water reactors. Last week’s notice doesn’t require action on the part of plant operators, but it suggests they watch for similar problems. According to the notice, workers...

On Thursday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission renewed the operating license for Dominion Resources’ Kewaunee nuclear plant near Green Bay, Wis. The renewal extends its license until 2033. First licensed in 1973, the plant on the shore of Lake Michigan generates 556 megawatts from a Westinghouse two loop pressurized water reactor, according to the NRC website. A release from the agency...

Japan’s Chubu Electric Power Co. announced Thursday that it plans to build a new 3,000-to-4,000-megawatt nuclear plant by 2030. The announcement dovetails with the Japanese government’s plans for the country to generate 70 percent of its power from zero-emissions sources by 2030. That ratio stands at 34 percent today. At a news conference Chubu representatives said the company...

A friendly takeover of Australian mining firm White Canyon by Canada’s Denison mines would transfer ownership of five uranium projects in Utah, according to a Denison release. The deal would include the Daneros-Lark Royal mine – the first of its kind in 30 years to be granted a permit by the Bureau of Land Management – as well as the Geitus, Blue Jay, Marcy-Look and Thompson...

Two American companies announced contracts to provide parts for new nuclear plants in China on Thursday. Invensys Operations Management will install safety and distributed controls at units 3 and 4 of the Fujian Fuqing Nuclear Power Plant in the southeast of the country. It is the third contract the company has reached with China Nuclear Power and Engineering Co. since 2008. Previous work includes...

The following is an exclusive Nuclear Street interview with Norwegian physical geographer Dr. Ole Humlum, who currently teaches at the University of Oslo. He is the creator of the singular climate science website www.climate4you.com and the author of a book on climate. While requesting his monthly newsletter, I asked if he’d provide me with a copy of his book for review. Since his book is in...

A recent Nuclear Energy Institute-sponsored poll of 1,000 American adults indicates wide support for nuclear power as the nation looks for non-carbon energy sources. When asked how important they think nuclear power will be to meet future energy needs, 84 percent of respondents said “important,” compared to 11 percent who said “not important.” Asked if they agreed “we...

Winning a recommendation from the local zoning board, a Colorado developer has taken the first steps toward developing Colorado’s first nuclear power plant. At a meeting Tuesday night, the Pueblo County Planning Commission voted 5-3 to recommend a zoning change at a 24,000-acre property between Avondale and Fowler along Highway 50. If the county commission adopts the planners’ recommendation...

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted GE-Hitachi’s application to extend the design certification of the companies’ Advanced Boiling Water Reactor. Its current certification ends next year, and a renewal would extend it for 15 years. “We are committed to ensure our ABWR design remains certified for immediate commercial deployment as utilities evaluate their energy...

The federal government will pay $45.5 million to settle a decade-long lawsuit filed by Wisconsin Electric Power over the Department of Energy’s failure to dispose of high-level radioactive waste from the Point Beach nuclear plant. Like many utilities, Wisconsin Electric has paid to store high-level waste for years after a federal repository was supposed to be completed. No waste has been...

Last week Areva and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries submitted their new ATMEA1 reactor design to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for a pre-project design review. According to a company release issued Tuesday, the ATMEA1 is being considered for a project near the Point Lepreau nuclear plant in New Brunswick. Areva, New Brunswick Power and the province of New Brunswick signed a letter of intent...

As USEC Inc. reported its latest earnings Tuesday, the company also issued an update on efforts to acquire loan guarantees for its American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon Ohio. A company earnings release was blunt about the plant’s prospects without Department of Energy support: “We expect to evaluate our spending plan on the American Centrifuge project regularly in 2011 and we will...

Nuclear security and IT managers take note: The University of Maryland has announced experts from academia, industry and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will lead a workshop on nuclear plant cybersecurity this spring. The workshop May 4th and 5th in College Park, Md., will focus on initiatives to protect commercial nuclear power plants from cyber-based threats. It will address regulatory...

Areva Group will spin off its uranium mining unit in a deal between Areva and Electricite de France (EDF) brokered by France’s nuclear policy council. The French government owns 80 percent of EDF and about 90 percent of Areva. In an effort to smooth over disputes between the two companies, the council also announced on Monday they will work together with GDF Suez to develop a new reactor.

Southern California’s San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station completed the replacement of two steam generators in its Unit 3 reactor and resumed operation Friday. Repairs began in early October, according to CNBC. They follow similar steam generator replacement at San Onofre Unit 2 last year that took nearly seven months. A Southern California Edison spokesman quoted in the San Diego Union...

After contractors proposed that the Department of Energy alone oversee construction of reactors at a federal site, a DOE official on Monday sought to clarify that the agency does not plan an end run around regulatory bodies in developing small modular reactors In a speech at the Platts Nuclear Energy Conference Friday, DOE deputy assistant secretary for nuclear reactor technologies John Kelly said...

Uranium oxide concentrate prices dropped 6 percent last week to $68.50 per pound. News agencies Monday quoted TradeTech in indicating a “non-traditional seller” trying to unload 800,000 pounds of the material drove down the price. “A lack of clarity and speculation about the true motivation for the sale provided momentum to the price decline,” the Denver-based pricing...

French energy group Areva has entered tentative talks with the Tennessee Valley Authority that could pave the way for TVA’s nuclear plants to use fuel made from retired weapons. On Friday, the company announced it signed a letter of intent with TVA to initiate discussions on the use of fuel from the Department of Energy’s Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility. While it would not...

A special supplement to Friday’s USA Today newspaper offered a range of information on the nuclear industry, including pro-nuclear editorials and resources for job seekers. Among its highlights, the supplement from Mediaplanet included articles on employment prospects in the resurgent U.S. nuclear industry, higher education opportunities, features on myths versus facts about the nuclear...

The Department of Energy on Friday issued a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on low-level radioactive waste disposal, with public meetings set for April and May in cities near potential waste sites in Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Nevada, New Mexico and South Carolina. The EIS addresses greater-than-class-C (GTCC) low-level-radioactive waste (LLRW) as DOE considers new and existing storage...

Progress Energy CEO William Johnson recently said his company’s proposed nuclear reactors in Florida and North Carolina will be finished later than planned. At the Platts Energy Conference Friday, Johnson indicated project completions are now expected for 2020 or later. Starting in 2005, Progress began informing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of its plans to build up to four new reactors...

Westinghouse unveiled a new small modular reactor design Thursday, introducing the latest addition the the company's lineup the same week the Obama administration proposed $67 million be spent on licensing and technical support for SMRs. With their potential to reduce construction costs and built times, SMRs lately have attracted the attention of lawmakers and utilities alike. All primary...