Power & Operations

The U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee spent more than an hour questioning Matthew Marzano on Wednesday as part of his nomination process to become a commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation announced today a milestone for the United Arab Emirates with the fourth unit of the Barakah nuclear power plant entering commercial operation.

In response to a petition filed by environmental groups earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will reinvestigate earthquake fault lines and the potential for seismic activity and ensuing damage at California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.

Dominion Energy’s North Anna nuclear power plant received its second operating license renewal earlier this week, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced.

North Anna Units 1 and 2 are twin 973-MWe three-loop Westinghouse pressurized water reactors located about 40 miles northwest of Richmond, Va. Unit 1’s operating license will now expire April 1, 2058, and Unit 2’s will expire August 21, 2060.

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s board of directors approved $150 million in additional funding to continue design work and TVA’s plans for small modular reactors at its Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tenn. With that decision late last week and an initial $200 million investment announced in early 2022, TVA has put a total of $350 million toward the development of SMRs at the site.

We all know that nuclear energy is the best energy source available—the safest and most reliable with the lowest life-cycle carbon footprint and the lowest environmental impact of any source, according to the latest UN report (unece.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/LCA_final.pdf).

The World Nuclear Association's annual World Nuclear Performance Report provides up-to-date details about the nuclear power sector for both existing nuclear electricity generators and reactors under construction.

Average capacity factor of nuclear reactors increased by 1 percent—reaching 81.5 percent—last year. The report, published on August 20, shows that nuclear generation increased by 58 terawatt-hours in 2023, providing 2,602 TWh, or 9 percent, of the world’s electricity production.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) is forming an ad hoc committee to hold a two-day workshop titled “Pathways for New Nuclear Development” and is open to recommendations from the public through August 30. NASEM is seeking five or six volunteer experts to discuss the “real and perceived risks of new nuclear projects and their projected timelines” as committee members and is also looking for potential speakers, participants, and peer reviewers for any publications that could be produced following the workshop.

The California legislature has signaled its intent to cancel a $400 million loan payment intended to help finance a longer lifespan for the state’s last nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon.

Federal regulators began an investigation this week at the Donald C. Cook nuclear plant around the circumstances of multiple diesel generator failures. The facility continues to operate safely.

Today’s nuclear power plants are the nation’s largest source of carbon-free energy, but they come with high operating and maintenance costs.

Competition from other sources, especially natural gas, coupled with low electricity prices, has resulted in the closure of some plants in the last decade due to economic reasons.

One way to alleviate these economic pressures is to reduce the cost of operating nuclear power plants, including the costs associated with physical security.

Craig Harrington and Scott Palmtag are the newest members of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards.

They were appointed yesterday by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to the independent advisory body tasked with reviewing safety studies and facility license applications. In addition, Walter Kirchner and Matthew Sunseri were reappointed.

The State of Ohio and FirstEnergy reached a settlement this week to avoid prosecution in an ongoing corruption investigation involving the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear plants.

In 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio charged the energy company with conspiring “with public officials and other individuals and entities to pay millions of dollars to public officials in exchange for specific official action for FirstEnergy Corp.’s benefit.”

FirstEnergy will pay $19.5 million to the attorney general’s office within five business days and will pay $500,000 for an independent consultant to review and confirm unspecified “changes and remediation efforts” within the company. The company will also cooperate with investigators for two years or until the investigation, litigation, or prosecution is complete.

As Bruce Power continues predevelopment work, public input is being sought on the potential Bruce C nuclear power expansion project in Ontario.

Bruce Power recently submitted its initial project description to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada for an expansion that would add up to 4,800 MWe. Earlier this year, the Canadian government announced up to C$50 million ($36.8 million) in funding for the Bruce C project, which would be Canada’s first major expansion of a large nuclear plant in decades.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently made new appointments—including American Nuclear Society members Raymond Cao of Ohio State University and Alicia Walls of BWX Technologies—to the Ohio Nuclear Development Authority.

The nine-member governor-appointed board was created in June 2023 by state lawmakers aimed at boosting research and development of advanced nuclear reactors, commercial isotope production, and nuclear waste reduction and storage technology. The group has initial funding of $750,000.

Thick, black smoke pouring from one of the cooling towers at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant over the weekend raised alarm about safety at the facility as the military conflict with Russia continues.

On-site staff from the International Atomic Energy Agency witnessed the smoke and reported hearing multiple explosions at Zaporizhzhia, which is the largest nuclear plant in Europe and one of the largest worldwide.

Bruce Power has announced the completion of its Unit 3 reactor removal—a milestone on its Major Component Replacement (MCR) project aimed at extending the Bruce plant’s operational life through 2064.

The Department of Energy has signed off on a $1.5 billion loan guarantee to Holtec Palisades LLC to support initial work needed to restart the Michigan nuclear plant.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is hosting several public meetings this month to discuss the Dresden nuclear power plant and its request for subsequent license renewal.

Électricité de France reduced power production by 1 gigawatt on Friday at its Golfech nuclear plant, citing high water temperatures on the Garonne River.