DOE releases blueprint for advancing U.S. nuclearNuclear NewsPower & OperationsJanuary 12, 2021, 7:00AM|Nuclear News StaffThe Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) last week released its Strategic Vision report, outlining its plan to support the current U.S. reactor fleet, demonstrate the latest innovations in nuclear energy technologies, and explore new market opportunities for nuclear energy.The 36-page document identifies five goals to address challenges in the nuclear energy sector, help realize the potential of advanced technology, and leverage the unique role of the federal government in sparking innovation. Each goal also includes supporting objectives to ensure progress.ExpandTags:accident tolerant fueladvanced nuclearhydrogen generationnuclear fuel cyclenuclear fuel supply chainoffice of nuclear energystrategic visionShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
U.S., Slovenia ink nuclear cooperation MOUNuclear NewsPower & OperationsDecember 10, 2020, 3:01PM|Nuclear News StaffAnže Logar, Slovenia’s foreign minister (left), talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on December 7 in Washington, D.C. Photo: State DepartmentIn the latest example of the Trump administration’s recent efforts to forge nuclear agreements with Central and Eastern European nations (for other examples, see here, here, and here), the United States earlier this week signed a memorandum of understanding concerning strategic civil nuclear cooperation (NCMOU) with Slovenia.The NCMOU was signed on December 8 during a visit to Washington, D.C., by a Slovenian delegation headed by Foreign Minister Anže Logar. Signing it were Christopher Ford, the administration’s assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, and Jernej Vrtovec, Slovenia’s minister of infrastructure.The previous day, Logar met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss, among other topics, “the importance of energy security and how civil nuclear cooperation can strengthen the strategic bilateral relationship,” according to a State Department readout.ExpandTags:advanced nucleargen energijakrškoncmoupompeosloveniawestinghouseShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Japan should revive its nuclear industry, says new reportANS Nuclear CafePower & OperationsDecember 8, 2020, 7:01AM|ANS Nuclear CafeThe Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center has issued a report, Japan’s Nuclear Reactor Fleet: The Geopolitical and Climate Implications of Accelerated Decommissioning, contending that Japan’s reaction to the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident has led to an increased dependence on carbon-emitting energy sources that ultimately undermine the country’s recently announced climate goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.Recommendations: Released just a few months prior to the 10-year anniversary of the accident on March 11, 2011, the report recommends that Japan:Use its existing nuclear fleet in the near and long term to 2050,remain involved in global civil nuclear trade,develop a role for advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors, which it should deploy as soon as feasible,rebuild its nuclear energy workforce and public trust in nuclear power, andregain its leadership position in the climate battle.ExpandTags:advanced nuclearatlantic councilfukushimaglobal energy centernet zerosmall modular reactorShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
GE Hitachi SMR reaches U.S. licensing milestoneNuclear NewsDecember 2, 2020, 12:00PM|Nuclear News StaffA cutaway view of the BWRX-300. Image: GE Hitachi NuclearThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a final safety evaluation report for the first of several licensing topical reports (LTR) submitted by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) for the BWRX-300 small modular reactor, the company announced on December 1.The initial LTR, titled “BWRX-300 Reactor Pressure Vessel Isolation and Overpressure Protection,” was submitted to the NRC in December 2019, officially beginning the U.S. licensing process. This LTR forms the basis for the “dramatic simplification” of the BWRX-300, according to GEH.In its announcement, GEH noted that two additional LTRs were submitted in early 2020 and that it anticipates reviews of those reports to be completed in the coming months. A fourth LTR was submitted in September 2020, the company added.ExpandTags:advanced nuclearbwrx-300cnscesbwrge hitachi nuclear energygeneration iii+massachusetts institute of technologyontario power generationShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Nuclear scores point in U.K. green planNuclear NewsPower & OperationsDecember 1, 2020, 12:03PM|Nuclear News StaffThe United Kingdom, the first of the world’s major economies to adopt a legally binding commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, has released a blueprint to help realize that goal—one that includes a substantial role for nuclear energyThe Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution will mobilize a total of £12 billion (about $16 billion) of government investment to create and support up to 250,000 highly skilled green jobs in the United Kingdom and spur over three times as much private sector investment by 2030, according to the UK government on November 18.In addition to nuclear, offshore wind, hydrogen production, carbon capture, and vehicle electrification are also earmarked for significant investment in the 38-page document.ExpandTags:advanced nuclearcadoux-hudsonhinkley pointhydrogen productionnet zerosizewellsmall modular reactorsShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Senate bill introduced to reestablish U.S. leadership in nuclear energyNuclear NewsPower & OperationsNovember 24, 2020, 9:29AM|Nuclear News StaffBarrassoWhitehouseThe American Nuclear Infrastructure Act (ANIA), S. 4897, released as draft legislation in July and supported by a panel of energy experts at a Senate hearing in August, has been introduced in the Senate.The bipartisan bill—sponsored by Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), and cosponsored by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.), Mike Crapo (R., Idaho), and Cory Booker (D., N.J.)—was introduced on November 16.ExpandTags:advanced nuclearamerican nuclear infrastructure actbarrassobookercapitocrapoenergy and natural resourcesenvironment and public worksmurkowskiuranium reservewhitehouseShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Nuclear champions make another push for NELANuclear NewsPower & OperationsOctober 22, 2020, 3:00PM|Nuclear News StaffMurkowskiLuriaSen. Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Rep. Elaine Luria (D., Va.), along with 29 of their colleagues, sent a letter last week to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, urging them to include the text of the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act (NELA) in the final fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).Murkowski joined Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) and 18 other lawmakers in a similar letter to the Senate Armed Service Committee earlier this year. Murkowski and Booker introduced NELA on September 6, 2018 (NN, Oct. 2018, p. 39).The House and Senate passed their respective versions of the NDAA in July, by votes of 295–125 and 86–14, respectively. (NELA provisions have been included in the Senate’s NDAA and in the House’s Clean Economy and Jobs Innovation Act.) Last month, speaking at the 2020 Defense News Conference, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R., Texas), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said that the final House and Senate conference report on the NDAA should be coming out soon after the November election.ExpandTags:advanced nuclearbookerenergy and natural resources committeehaleumurkowskindaanelaShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Nuclear plays key role in new jobs recovery planNuclear NewsPower & OperationsOctober 6, 2020, 2:59PM|Nuclear News StaffA recently published paper on clean energy policy for economic recovery calls for the preservation of the current U.S. nuclear reactor fleet and the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies.The paper, Energy Transitions: The Framework for Good Jobs in a Low-Carbon Future, was released last week by the Labor Energy Partnership (LEP), formed earlier this year by the Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) and the AFL-CIO. According to a joint press release from the two organizations, the LEP was established to “develop policy solutions for a 21st century energy system that creates and preserves quality jobs while tackling the climate crisis.”The LEP is jointly chaired by Ernest Moniz, founder and chief executive officer of EFI and former U.S. energy secretary, and Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO.ExpandTags:advanced nuclearmoniznet zeroShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Entergy takes net-zero pledge, teams with Mitsubishi to decarbonize with hydrogenNuclear NewsPower & OperationsOctober 2, 2020, 9:56AM|Nuclear News StaffPaul Browning, Mitsubishi Power, and Paul Hinnenkamp, Entergy, sign the joint agreement on September 23. Photo: EntergyNew Orleans–based Entergy Corporation last week announced a commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, joining a growing list of major energy companies to make that promise—including Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Southern Company, Xcel Energy, and Public Service Enterprise Group. And, like those companies, Entergy says that it sees nuclear playing an important role in the realization of that goal.ExpandTags:advanced nucleararkansas nuclear onedominiondukeelectrolysisenergy storageentergygrand gulfhydrogen productionindian point-3mitsubishi heavy industriesnet zeropalisadespsegriver bendsouthern companywaterfordxcelShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
New report explores value of flexible nuclear energy in clean energy systemsNuclear NewsPower & OperationsSeptember 17, 2020, 6:59AM|Nuclear News StaffA report just released from the Clean Energy Ministerial’s (CEM) Nuclear Innovation: Clean Energy (NICE) Future initiative examines the potential roles that flexible nuclear energy generation can play in both current and future clean energy systems.A product of the initiative’s Flexible Nuclear Campaign for Nuclear-Renewables Integration, the 154-page report, Flexible Nuclear Energy for Clean Energy Systems, includes the views of experts from government agencies, ministries, and industry organizations across the globe.The report uses the term “flexibility” to mean the ability of an energy source to economically provide services when and where they are needed by end users. Energy services can include both electric and nonelectric applications using both traditional and advanced nuclear power plants and integrated systems, according to the report.ExpandTags:advanced nuclearclean energy ministerialintegrated energy systemsnice future initiativeShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Duke companies include advanced nuclear in plans to speed carbon reductionNuclear NewsPower & OperationsSeptember 4, 2020, 9:38AM|Nuclear News StaffDuke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Carolinas have filed their 2020 Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) with state regulators, parent company Duke Energy announced September 1.The plans outline a range of options to achieve varying levels of carbon reduction, including, for the first time, potential pathways to achieve up to 70 percent carbon-emission reduction through policy and technology advancements.Aggressive carbon-reduction targets are attainable, the company said, with investments in solar, wind, and energy storage, as well as with advanced nuclear, offshore wind, and other technologies “as they become available.” (Last September, Duke Energy declared its intention to seek subsequent license renewal for the 11 reactors it operates in six nuclear plants in the Carolinas [NN, Oct. 2019, p. 9].)ExpandTags:advanced nuclearduke energyneinet zeroShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
ARPA-E Energy Briefs highlight innovations and programsNuclear NewsResearch & ApplicationsAugust 7, 2020, 7:28AM|Nuclear News StaffThe Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is at work developing and demonstrating novel energy technologies and connecting those technologies with private-sector investors. The researchers and innovators behind ARPA-E want to tell you all about it in a series of “Energy Briefs” available through the agency’s YouTube channel.ExpandTags:advanced nucleararpa-edoeenergy briefsonline resourcesShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Senate bill aims to recharge U.S. nuclear industryNuclear NewsPower & OperationsJuly 31, 2020, 10:31AM|Nuclear News StaffBarrassoSen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.) on July 29 released a draft bill to revitalize the United States’ nuclear sector—the same day that GOP colleagues in the House introduced similar legislation. According to the senator, the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020 (ANIA) would enable U.S. international leadership, preserve America’s uranium supply chain, reduce carbon emissions, and strengthen the nation’s economic, energy, and national security. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, of which Barrasso is chairman, is scheduled to hold a legislative hearing on the draft on August 5.ExpandTags:advanced nuclearbarrassocommittee on environment and public worksuranium reserveShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook