While there has been some good news recently regarding the historically troubled nuclear new-build project at the Vogtle site in Waynesboro, Ga. (see here and here), the latest news on the subject does not fall into that category.

Artist’s conception of Oklo’s Aurora. (Image: Gensler)

Oklo's 1.5-MWe fast spectrum design known as Aurora is the first advanced non–light-water reactor to be accepted for a licensing review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Both the reactor’s design and the anticipated licensing process mark a major departure from large light-water reactor design and licensing.

The United Kingdom’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) issued an improvement notice to EDF Energy Nuclear Generation Ltd. earlier this month for a problem involving the pressure systems safety regulations (PSSR) at the two-unit Heysham 1 nuclear power station. The notice was served following an inspection of the Unit 1 pressure vessel at the Lancashire site.

Citing reports that China has recently threatened to pull its support for new nuclear build in the United Kingdom, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on June 9 offered assistance from the United States and vehement criticism of Beijing.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has published its annual report to Congress on “abnormal occurrences” for the previous fiscal year, identifying a total of nine incidents in FY 2019.

An abnormal occurrence is defined by the NRC as an unscheduled incident or event that it determines to be significant from a public health or safety standpoint. The NRC uses specific criteria, updated in October 2017, for determining which events qualify.

Framatome’s digital instrumentation and control (I&C) systems at the Doel nuclear power plant in Belgium have passed the final site acceptance test, the company announced on June 11. The news marks the completion of the project to modernize the control and emergency systems of Units 1 and 2, both of which entered commercial operation in 1975.

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has initiated a 30-day public notice and comment period on a proposed change to the agency’s Environmental and Social Policy and Procedures that would allow it to consider support for nuclear power projects, according to a June 10 press release. Currently, DFC is specifically prohibited from offering support for such projects.

Newswire is presenting coverage of sessions throughout the American Nuclear Society’s 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting. Here are links to articles from the meeting:

• General Chair’s Special Session: Advanced reactors in uncertain times (June 10)

• ANS Virtual Annual Meeting: Wednesday recap (June 10)

• Annual Meeting: YMG hosts technical sessions (June 10)

• ANS Virtual Annual Meeting: Tuesday recap (June 9)

• President’s Session: U.S global leadership in nuclear energy and national security (June 9)

• ANS congratulates award recipients during President’s Special Session (June 9)

• Kray signs MOU on future collaboration with NAYGN, NEI, and WIN (June 9)

• ANS Virtual Annual Meeting: Opening day recap (June 8)

• ANS Virtual Annual Meeting: Hydrogen is on the table (June 8)

• ANS congratulates award recipients during 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting (June 8)

• Nine new ANS Fellows named (June 8)

Thursday, June 11, recap

Global First Power (GFP), Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC), and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) have announced the formation of a joint venture to construct, own, and operate USNC’s Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ Chalk River Laboratories site in Ontario. The venture, known as the Global First Power Limited Partnership, is owned equally by OPG and USNC-Power, the Canadian subsidiary of USNC.

Newswire is presenting coverage of sessions throughout the American Nuclear Society’s 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting. Here are links to articles from the annual meeting:

• General Chair’s Special Session: Advanced reactors in uncertain times (June 10)
• Annual Meeting: YMG hosts technical sessions (June 10)
• ANS Virtual Annual Meeting: Tuesday recap (June 9)
• President’s Session: U.S global leadership in nuclear energy and national security (June 9)
• ANS congratulates award recipients during President’s Special Session June 9)
• Kray signs MOU on future collaboration with NAYGN, NEI, and WIN (June 9)
• ANS Virtual Annual Meeting: Opening day recap (June 8)
• ANS Virtual Annual Meeting: Hydrogen is on the table (June 8)
• ANS congratulates award recipients during 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting (June 8)
• Nine new ANS Fellows named (June 8)

The American Nuclear Society's Young Members Group (YMG) has organized several technical sessions for the 2020 ANS Virtual Annual Meeting, including the following. Recordings of all technical sessions are available for meeting attendees to view through the Virtual Annual Meeting Portal.

The final plenary session of the American Nuclear Society's 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting was the General Chair’s Special Session, held on Wednesday, June 10. The session contained much information about the current and future role of advanced reactor technology. The session, with the subtitle “The Promise of Advanced Reactors during Uncertain Times: National Security, Jobs and Clean Energy,” featured two panels: the Lab Directors Roundtable and the Advanced Reactor Panel. The general chair is Mark Peters, Idaho National Laboratory director. The session was moderated by Corey McDaniel, of Idaho National Laboratory, and the assistant general chair of the Annual Meeting.

A few of the issues covered during the dual plenary session included challenges to advanced reactor deployment, public-private partnerships in research and development, nuclear non-proliferation and security, workforce issues, and market conditions and demand.

Eisenhower

Lyons

Susan Eisenhower has issued a letter congratulating Peter B. Lyons, the 2020 recipient of the ANS Eisenhower Medal. Lyons, ANS Fellow and member since 2003, was honored during the award ceremony segment of the opening plenary of the 2020 ANS Virtual Annual Meeting. Attendees can view the presentation via the ANS meeting portal.

Newswire will present coverage of sessions throughout the American Nuclear Society’s 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting. Here are notes on some of the sessions covered on June 9, the second day of the meeting. If you missed the opening day's coverage from June 8, check out the opening day’s recap and roundtable discussion on hydrogen production.

The President’s Special Session of the 2020 American Nuclear Society Virtual Annual Meeting, organized by ANS’s Young Members Group (YMG) and Student Sections Committee (SSC), featured an all-star group of nuclear policy luminaries opining on the current influence of nuclear technology on U.S. national security and where the nation stands with regard to leadership of the future global nuclear industry.

Hanson

The vacant seat on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was filled on June 8, when Christopher T. Hanson was sworn in as the agency’s fifth commissioner. The vacancy was created in April 2019 with the resignation of Stephen Burns. Hanson will serve the remainder of Burns’s term, which expires on June 30, 2024.

Producing hydrogen as well as electricity from the current fleet of nuclear reactors is garnering a lot of interest from stakeholders, according to representatives of four nuclear operating utilities that together operate about one-third of the U.S. nuclear fleet. That interest drew viewers to a Utility Roundtable on U.S. Leadership in Sustaining Clean, Competitive Power and Hydrogen during the June 8 opening plenary of the American Nuclear Society's 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for Westinghouse Electric Company’s application to renew the operating license of its Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF) in South Carolina, the agency announced in a June 5 press release. The plant produces fuel assemblies for use in commercial nuclear power reactors.

More than a thousand participants joined a Department of Energy webinar on May 29 for a discussion of the Trump administration’s strategy for restoring the United States to a globally predominant position in the field of nuclear energy. The strategy was laid out in the Nuclear Fuel Working Group’s recent report, Restoring America’s Competitive Nuclear Energy Advantage. (For details on the NRWG’s report, see our coverage here.)

Netflix recently launched History 101, a series of short documentaries that the popular streaming service calls “bite-size history lessons on scientific breakthroughs, social movements, and world-changing discoveries.” Included among episodes on topics such as fast food, plastics, and the growth of China’s global influence, is an episode on nuclear power.

From the series’ academic-sounding name, one would hope for a thoughtful, even-handed discussion of the history of nuclear technology, along with its pros and cons. Yet, with a title like “Nuclear Power: Playing with Fire,” it quickly becomes apparent that the episode provides more heat than light. As one online commenter said of the series, “This is not a history documentary; it’s a middle schooler’s slick history report.”