March, 2012

The Nuclear Regular Commission has approved the combined operating license authorizing construction of two new AP1000 reactors for Virgil C. Summer nuclear plant. The decision is the second issued license in the U.S. since 1974, following the COL issued to Southern Nuclear's Vogtle nuclear plant on February 9th. The $10 billion Scana project – like Georgia's Vogtle Plant – began...

Indian engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has announced it will begin supplying nuclear components and sub-assemblies to companies in the US and Europe. The company is now in the process of delivering $40 million worth of equipment used in nuclear reactors to the US, according to M.V. Kotwal, President, Heavy Engineering of L&T.

An endoscope has revealed low water and extremely high radiation inside unit 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan. Among the news over the last week from the nuclear plant blacked out following last year’s earthquake and tsunami ...

While still below the projection approved by state regulators, the companies building two new reactors at South Carolina’s V.C. Summer nuclear plant announced Thursday they had agreed to revise the project’s cost. SCANA, whose South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. operates the plant, reported it agreed to pay an additional $138 million for costs related to licensing delays, rock conditions...

RWE and E.ON announced today that they will be abandoning their plan to build nuclear reactors in the UK, citing financial difficulties. The two were planning to invest in new plants in Anglesey and Oldbury under a 50:50 joint venture created in 2009 called Horizon Nuclear Power created specifically for the UK project.

Among the emergent companies exploring the potential for small modular reactors and nuclear plants that use different fuel technology than conventional light water reactors, two PhD candidates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are making the case for a liquid salt reactor that derives its energy from the unburned uranium in spent LWR fuel.

For the last year, researchers at the Sandia National Laboratories have used an ion beam in tandem with an electron microscope to recreate the long-term effects of conditions inside a reactor – creating data that would take years to produce using conventional tests.

Bulgaria has abandoned plans to build its 2,000 megawatt Belene plant on the Danube River and will construct a new gas power plant instead, deputy finance minister Vladislav Goranov told reporters Wednesday. Goranov said that one of the two 1,000 MW already assembled by Atomstroyexport will now be placed in Bulgaria's operational Kozloduy nuclear plant, boosting its capacity to 3,000 MW.

L-3 MAPPS announced today that it has won a contract from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to upgrade the Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) Operator Training Simulator (OTS). Work is underway now, with project completion expected by the fourth quarter of 2013.

The NRC has issued a Confirmatory Action Letter (attached below) documenting actions that Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) officials have agreed to take related to unusual wear on steam generator tubes prior to restarting both units of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). “This Confirmatory Action Letter formalizes commitments that Southern California Edison has made to ensure...

The owner of Finland’s Olkiluoto nuclear plant has announced the bidding and engineering phase of a project to construct a fourth reactor at the site. Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) announced in a release that it expects bids by early 2013 from Areva, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Toshiba.

Areva will provide fuel for Ohio’s Davis-Besse nuclear plant through 2026 under a modified contract announced Tuesday. Under an amended 2006 agreement, FirstEnergy will buy Areva fuel for six refuelings.

While Japan's nuclear future is still unclear, leading uranium mining company Cameco believes that it's only a matter of time before the country begins to restart their nuclear reactors. Speaking at Reuters Mining and Steel Summit from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CEO Tim Gitzel said that Japanese utilities have been turning down Cameco's offers to purchase excess material, a sign that the...

According to a news release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics , at least 3.1 million Americans are employed in green jobs, a sector that now accounts for 2.4 percent of the nation's total employment. The report also listed nuclear power as the industry with the most Green Goods and Services employment in the private electric power generation, with 35,800 jobs in 2010.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a vote Friday widely expected to approve licenses for two new reactors at South Carolina’s Virgil C. Summer nuclear plant. Scana subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas applied for a combined license to build two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at the plant in 2008.

Westinghouse announced it will reorganize the business segment responsible for its third-generation AP1000 reactor. In a release Monday, the Toshiba subsidiary said it would split the part of the company responsible for new nuclear power plants into two organizations – one focused on project delivery and another focused on business development.

As it continues to reshuffle its executive leadership in preparation for the retirement of its CEO, Westinghouse announced Joe Zwetolitz will take over as the company’s president of the Americas region. Starting next month he will assume the title from Jim Ferland, who will replace Aris Candris as CEO. Candris had held the top position since 2008 and will continue to serve as a senior adviser...

More than 50 leaders from nuclear organizations and governments around the world will convene at the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit today and begin deliberating efforts to help keep nuclear materials safe. The event builds on a similar summit in 2010 in Washington, D.C., where member countries agreed to work further on securing vulnerable nuclear material, maintaining security at their nuclear...

More than 130 protesters were arrested today for unlawful trespass at the corporate headquarters of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. In a coordinated action in New Orleans, seven activists were arrested at the headquarters of Vermont Yankee's parent company, Entergy Nuclear, police said. The Journal News reported that five others also were arrested at Entergy offices in White Plains,...

The outage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) looks as though it will continue into the summer, affecting the electricity outlook for local areas in Southern California, according to recent reports. Investigators are still trying to determine why tubes carrying hot, pressurized, radioactive water inside the relatively new steam generators are deteriorating at a dangerous and unusual...

The last week at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan saw a small fire on the grounds and encouraging news at unit 4, where Tokyo Electric Power Co. hopes to eventually remove fuel from its spent fuel pool. Recent developments at the nuclear plant blacked out by last year’s earthquake and tsunami include ...

The Department of Energy announced the availability of $452 million in federal funding for small modular reactor research Thursday, and Westinghouse was quick to jump on the chance to further development of its SMR design. The Toshiba subsidiary announced the same day that it would apply for money from the funds – appropriated by Congress to encourage the commercial deployment of SMRs by 2022...

The NEI is beefing up their advertising budget as they get set to launch a new campaign to educate the public about the value of atomic power one year after the tragedy at Fukushima Dai-Ichi. The campaign began yesterday with a 60-second slot on the popular Comedy Central program "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." The NEI hopes the ad will be able “to reach some of the younger audience...

The U.K. is considering a plan that uses General Electric's PRISM fast reactors to deal with 100 metric tons of plutonium waste, according to an article by Scientific American . The fast reactors would transmute the plutonium and make it unusable for nuclear weapons purposes.

Areva’s CEO formally announced the company will bid on a three-unit nuclear plant construction project in Poland. Speaking before a legislative hearing, Luc Oursel said the company would make a joint bid with EDF, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.