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This week, Florida Power and Light completed a series of extended power uprates at its Turkey Point and St. Lucie reactors that will create additional electrical generation equivalent to that of a new power plant. In a release Thursday, FPL said the upgrades added 500 megawatts at the plants' four...

This year, Florida Power and Light will complete uprates that will add 500 megawatts of generating capacity to its nuclear fleet. The NextEra subsidiary recently produced this video touching on the plant improvements and the nuclear cost recovery funds used to finance them. It also shows work on steam...

The Nebraska Public Power District will pursue an extended power uprate at the Cooper nuclear plant and recently signed $44.7 million in contracts with GE-Hitachi to that end. On Friday the NPPD's board voted to seek NRC approval for a 146 megawatt, 18 percent uprate at the plant, mostly by making...

Minnesota power regulators have given Xcel Energy preliminary approval to abandon an uprate project at its Prairie Island nuclear plant. In its meeting Thursday, the state's Public Utilities Commission agreed with Xcel that finishing the $237 million project was no longer in customers' best interests...

The boiling water reactor at Entergy's Grand Gulf nuclear plant is set to become the most powerful commercial reactor in the country following an uprate approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC announced approval of the uprate Thursday. According to the agency, the unit will generate...

Communities around the St. Lucie nuclear plant are preparing for an influx of temporary workers as Florida Power and Light continues its reactor uprate program. With the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reporting it expects to approve 11.9 percent extended power uprates at unit 1 this month and at unit...

Xcel Energy is again seeking approval from Minnesota regulators for an uprate at its Prairie Island nuclear plant after scaling back the size of the project. In a filing Friday, the utility asked the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to reaffirm that the project is in customers’ best interests...

Entergy filed a motion Tuesday asking state power regulators to approve continued operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant following a recent court decision favorable to its relicensing. In a conference call on the company’s fourth quarter earnings, Entergy CEO J. Wayne Leonard said the state’s...

Exelon’s 2011 earnings met the company's expectations, executives said, thanks in part to strong performance from its fleet of 17 reactors. In a conference call Wednesday, chairman John W. Rowe said the firm’s nuclear operations achieved a capacity factor of 93.3 percent for the year...

Entergy is preparing for a 13 percent power uprate that will make Grand Gulf the most powerful single-reactor nuclear plant in the country. In the process, the $724 million project in Port Gibson, Miss., is expected to create 4,000 jobs. The Shaw Group will conduct the work, and the Natchez Democrat...

Citing diminished projections for power demand, Xcel Energy executives said Thursday they will postpone projects that include a power uprate at the Prairie Island nuclear plant in Minnesota. The NRC granted the plant’s reactors a 20 year license renewal in June, at which point the company said...

As promised, Florida Power & Light’s $766 million Turkey Point uprate project has provided a much-needed boost to the South Florida communities around it. In the last year, the work has already created 3,200 construction jobs in Miami-Dade County, where the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics pegged...

A rate increase by Florida Power and Light Co. for nuclear plant uprates and the licensing of two new reactors will go before state regulators Monday with the blessing of the Florida Public Service Commission staff. Earlier this week, the agency released its recommendation that FPL be allowed to raise...

Citing regulatory delays and equipment awaiting modification from a manufacturer, Xcel Energy is delaying a 12 percent power uprate at its Monticello nuclear plant near Minneapolis. Xcel filed its application for the uprate with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission three years ago and began modifications...

Two reactors at the Limerick nuclear plant near Philadelphia have been granted a small uprate by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. On Monday the agency announced that it has approved Exelon’s application to increase the generating capacity at each of the plant’s two units by 1.65 percent...

As part of a legal settlement, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a rule change that could force many nuclear plants to modify their cooling systems in an effort to protect fish. The proposed rule affects a broad swath of nuclear plants and other industrial facilities that rely on...

Florida Power and Light has cleared the first hurdle in its request for a 15 percent uprate of its reactors at the Turkey Point power plant. On Friday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced the company had provided enough information for agency personnel to begin a detailed technical review...

- Edited By Chris Reed - The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) announced that its subsidiary Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Energy, Inc. (B&W NE) has been awarded a $24 million contract from Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) in Omaha, Neb., for uprate modifications at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear...

- Source NRC - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a request by Exelon Generation Co. to increase the power generating capacity of LaSalle County Station Units 1 and 2 by 1.65 percent each. The NRC staff determined that Exelon could safely increase the reactors' power output primarily...

Grand Gulf provides approximately 700 jobs in the community, has a payroll of about $70 million and pays $29 million in taxes each year. Plans for an upgrade that will increase the plant’s production capacity will be completed by 2012 and make Grand Gulf Nuclear Station the largest single-unit...

Under the new contract, Shaw will provide engineering, procurement and construction services designed to add approximately 178 megawatts of power generation to Grand Gulf Nuclear Station - By Stephen Heiser - The Shaw Group has announced it has been awarded a contract with Entergy Operation, Inc...

“Nuclear plant uprates represent a significant and expanding business for Shaw and a cost-effective way for utilities to meet future electricity demands” - By Stephen Heiser - The Shaw Group Inc. has announced it has been awarded a contract for a feasibility study by American Electric...

Exelon and Entergy have announced plans to uprate some of their reactors. Shaw already provides fleet-wide maintenance services to these companies - By Linton Levy - During a presentation of Shaw financials, Shaw's chairman Jim Bernhard said that 37 reactors out of the USA's total of 104...

The NRC staff determined that VEPCO could safely increase the reactor’s output primarily through more accurate means of measuring feedwater flow - By April Murelio - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a request by Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO) to increase the generating...

Change represents a power increase of approximately 13.0 percent - By Abby Gessner - The NRC has released a finding of "No Significant Impact" in the case case of uprating the power at the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant (MNGP). Attached is a copy of the Draft Environmental Assessment...