May, 2012

We don’t see a lot of polls on nuclear energy taken in individual states. Support nationally is usually above 50 and sometimes 60 percent in most big polls taken about it ( this Gallup poll from March has it at 57 percent). But the states? Well, The Pennsylvania Energy Alliance has tried a poll and found...

The French arm of Greenpeace is probably searching for a few new recruits after two of its activists were arrested today by French authorities for paragliding onto the grounds of the Bugey nuclear energy facility and dropping a smoke bomb. The stunt is nothing more than a political ploy by the organization...

Continuous learning is a hallmark of the nuclear energy industry. To that end, every operator of a U.S. nuclear power plant is dedicated to applying lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan to enhance safety at each of America’s 104 nuclear reactors. “We’re adamant that...

NEI will be hosting its annual nuclear industry conference and supplier expo, Nuclear Energy Assembly (NEA), May 21-23 in Charlotte, N.C. This year the conference focuses on “Setting the Agenda” and boasts an interesting lineup of speakers who will be discussing topics from workforce development to new...

A posting on the Nevada Wilderness Project blog about the Silver State North Solar Project: In the case of Silver State North, we dubbed this 600-acre project 40 miles southwest of Las Vegas “smart” because the developer was willing to gather environmental input early on to avoid complications during...

A little irony – and a touch of tunnel vision: With audacious hypocrisy, American pro-nuclear pundits have been indulging in the familiar sport of losers – the relentless bashing of the more successful. This should pique our interest. Bashing the more successful is a regular sport over here. With nuclear...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. Radiation released during the accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi facility was much lower than previously believed, according to a recently released World Health Organization report. The report gathers together more data about...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. A panel at Nuclear Energy Assembly on implementing lessons learned from the Fukushima accident agreed that the industry’s response to regulatory changes should be approached holistically. Charles “Chip” Pardee, Exelon Generation...

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Duke Energy Corp. employees at the Oconee Nuclear Station in South Carolina have been honored with the B. Ralph Sylvia “Best of the Best” Award for completing the first digital upgrades to commercial reactor protection systems in the United States. The conversion from the analog instrumentation...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. NEI urged the NRC to focus on high-priority “Tier 1” recommendations from the agency’s Fukushima task force report at a meeting at NRC headquarters last week attended by NEI’s Fukushima Steering Committee and agency staff. “The...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The nuclear energy industry’s priority is to make post-Fukushima enhancements “that will provide the greatest safety benefits in the shortest amount of time with the least distraction to our commitment to safe operations,” NEI...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. NEI has submitted for NRC review a guidance document on the industry’s FLEX strategy. The 99-page document presents the industry’s strategy to enhance nuclear reactor operators’ ability to cope with severe natural events by deploying...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The NRC is developing preliminary work plans on the longer-term recommendations of the agency’s post-Fukushima task force, starting with a series of public meetings to obtain input from stakeholders. The discussions follow close...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The NRC has endorsed the industry guidance on emergency response staffing and communications developed in response to recommendations from the Fukushima task force. In a May 15 letter, the NRC said that the guidance is an “acceptable...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The industry has urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to separate the issue of reliable hardened vents—required for some reactors under a post-Fukushima order issued in March—from the question of whether such vents should be...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The United States and Japan are forming a bilateral commission to foster “comprehensive strategic dialogue and joint activities” on nuclear safety and cleanup as a follow-up to last year’s nuclear accident in at Fukushima Daiichi...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The tsunami that brought about the nuclear accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi facility was not adequately accounted for in the facility’s design basis, said a co-author of a report for the American Nuclear Society. Michael Corradini...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The nuclear energy industry continues to make progress on developing guidance for implementing the highest-priority recommendations from the NRC’s Fukushima task force. The NRC meanwhile is preparing to send approved guidance back...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. A peer review by European nuclear regulators of the “stress tests” performed on 147 nuclear energy facilities in the European Union has found that most countries’ operators have identified and taken “significant steps” to improve...