February, 2012

Utah state engineer Kent Jones announced Tuesday that he is sticking by his original decision to grant developers a water right for what would be Utah's first nuclear power plant. Jones had reconsidered his decision after environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah and Moab-based Uranium Watch appealed the grant, questioning the developer's ability...

After 44 years of service, the world's oldest operating nuclear power plant - the UK's Oldbury - has been shut down. Back in 2008, the plant - which is operated by Magnox Ltd, which is owned by EnergySolutions - had its life extended to the end of 2012, but its managers have opted to switch it off early.

Trade groups representing the mining and nuclear power industries filed a lawsuit Monday that challenged a 20-year ban on new uranium mining claims for roughly 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon. The Interior Department put the federal land off limits to new hard rock claims in a January decision that the Nuclear Energy Institute and the National Mining Association argue exceeded the department’s...

In a report submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Tuesday, First Energy Nuclear Operating Co. pinned the root cause of shield building cracks at its Davis-Besse nuclear plant on a lack of weatherproofing. The structural integrity of the Ohio reactor’s shield building, which is not part of its primary containment system, remains intact, according to the root cause evaluation now under...

WMG announced today at the Waste Management 2012 Conference that it will license and build a new Type B Shipping cask. With delivery anticipated for late 2013, the WMG-150B responds directly to a critical industry need. WMG began designing the new line of Type B Casks in early 2010.

Entergy is appealing a federal court ruling preventing state shutdown of its Vernon-based Vermont Yankee after the Vermont Public Service Board said in a memo that the state can still deny a license based on the amount of spent nuclear fuel stored in the reactor. Entergy is now looking to get the original decision amended, which did not previously include the stored nuclear fuel factor, to again prevent...

In a press release Tuesday, Aveva announced the opening of a new office in Charlotte, NC to support the growing global nuclear energy market. The company also recently opened a new office in Seoul, Korea.

Ever wondered how much power nuclear plants could generate if one were built at every suitable location in the country? According to a project researched by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the answer turns out to be about 515 gigawatts. To help power providers evaluate potential sites for new reactors, advanced coal plants and concentrated solar facilities, the lab created the Oak Ridge Siting Analysis...

Department of Energy cleanup efforts at the Savannah River site compensated temporary contractor employees more than was required, the agency’s inspector general found in a recent report. As part of the economic stimulus bill passed in 2009, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management received $6 billion to hire temporary workers and accelerate cleanup projects. Federal rules require the agency...

Energy Solutions, an international nuclear services company, has been awarded a four-year contract to design and supply waste management systems for the UAE nuclear energy program. The company will supply liquid waste processing equipment, including ion exchange and reverse osmosis systems, which will reduce levels of contamination and waste, according to a recent press release. It is the UAE’s...

Nearly a year after a tsunami and station blackout devastated four reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, public support for nuclear power in the U.S. remains strong, with two thirds of respondents in a recent poll voicing their support for nuclear power. The Nuclear Energy Institute commissioned a survey of 1,000 adults Feb. 17-19. The poll, conducted by Bisconti Research and GfK...

Soon after it granted a combined license for Southern Co. to build two new reactors at Georgia’s Plant Vogtle, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission also dismissed a petition by environmental groups aimed at stopping the project . They then turned to federal court, and on Friday the Augusta Chronicle reported Southern has petitioned to have the case thrown out.

Energy consulting company Enercon has received patents for a filter medium for strainers used in nuclear reactor emergency core cooling systems. According to the company's press release, the product was developed in response to one of the current major safety issues in the U.S. nuclear power industry, the NRC's Generic Safety Issue, GSI-191, "Assessment of Debris Accumulation on PWR Sump...

Energy Minister Alexander Ozerets reports that plans for the nuclear power plant in Belarus are moving ahead, with parties expected to sign the general contract in June 2012 and the the contract for the implementation of priority activities of the preparatory period reportedly in its final stage, the Telegraf informs. Launch of the first plant is anticipated in 2017.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. will try to stabilize contaminated soil in the Fukushima Daiichi’s manmade harbor, while in the U.S. the staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made its first recommendations for new plant safety rules following the accident. Recent developments related to the reactors severely damaged in a tsunami and plant blackout last March include ...

Korea Electric Power Co. has hooked two new reactors up to the grid. World Nuclear News reported Thursday that Shin Kori 2 and Shin Wolsong 1 were connected to the grid last month and will enter into commercial service by the middle of the year.

During a conference in London Tuesday, UK energy minister Charles Hendry hinted that several of the county's reactors could have their lives extended into the mid-2020's. The ageing plants had been scheduled to be shut down during the course of the next ten years - with only the Sizewell B reactor in Suffolk scheduled to continue operating and plans for 16GW of new plants at eight sites in...

Lightbridge Corportion, developer of next generation nuclear fuel technologies and provider of nuclear consulting services, has announced its fourth-quarter results.

The Florida Public Service Commission signed off on a rate settlement between Progress Energy and a group of consumer advocates Wednesday. Among its provisions, the settlement provides a refund for replacement power costs associated with the Crystal River 3 nuclear plant outage, according to a Progress release. From 2013 to 2017, it also freezes a fee that goes toward licensing two...

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. announced Wednesday that it has hired Edward Halpin -- chief nuclear officer and CEO since late 2009 at the South Texas Project -- to head California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. He will assume the title of senior vice president and chief nuclear officer at PG&E. As such, he will oversee the company’s sole nuclear plant, which operates...

In a statement on its website, China's Energy Administration announced the initiation of 13 research and development projects focused on improving the safety and emergency response systems of its nuclear power plants.

In post-Fukashima America, a group of nuclear entrepreneurs, scientists and advocates believe it's the perfect time for the U.S. to consider pursuing thorium as a safer alternative to uranium.

A group representing the nuclear power industry announced its members unanimously agreed to purchase a list of portable equipment to improve preparedness for extreme events following last year’s Fukushima Daiichi crisis in Japan. The Nuclear Energy Institute said in a release Tuesday that utilities have already purchased 300 pieces of major equipment, with every plant committing to order all...

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has put a number of nuclear plants on notice after a report from Westinghouse suggesting older fuel may heat up in extreme accident scenarios more than originally thought. Fuel can become damaged above 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Westinghouse notified the NRC in December that thermal conductivity degradation in some older fuel could cause it to heat up 100 degrees more...

In a statement Saturday, the state attorney general announced he has appealed a recent court decision that supports relicensing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. On Jan. 19, a federal district court judge ruled in favor of plant owner Entergy, which argued Vermont lacked the authority to force the plant’s decommissioning.