IAEA organizes and cohosts first World Fusion Energy Group meetingLast week's inaugural ministerial meeting of the IAEA World Fusion Energy Group (WFEG), in Rome, Italy, drew government ministers and senior officials who represented “dozens of countries” interested in fusion energy technology.Go to Article
U.S. unveils road map to triple nuclear capacity by 2050As the United Nations’ COP29 climate summit kicked off this week, President Biden’s administration laid out plans to add 200 GW of nuclear power in the next 25 years through a combination of new reactor deployment, plant restarts, and upgrades at existing sites.The added nuclear would triple the nation’s current capacity, which stands at around 100 GW.The new U.S. road map—Safely and Responsibly Expanding U.S. Nuclear Energy: Deployment Targets and a Framework for Action—calls the deployment goals “ambitious but achievable,” including a short-term plan to jumpstart the domestic industry, adding 35 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2035.Go to Article
My Spaceship Earth: A structural engineer’s path to nuclearChristine RoyWhile flipping through the course catalog at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst, I read that civil engineers can design amusement park rides. I was instantly inspired and chose my major because I wanted to design something for Walt Disney World. After college, I started my dream job at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, which is famous for designing Spaceship Earth at Epcot Center, a celebration of human innovation, communication, and the progress of civilization. This was a win.My introduction to nuclearDuring my first two years at SGH, I experienced all aspects of working in the Engineering Mechanics & Infrastructure group, from analyzing structural failures to studying pipelines and modeling antennas. In 2006, I worked on my first nuclear facility. It consisted of structural analysis and design of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at Idaho National Laboratory.Go to Article
Supplier Showcase focus: Radiation protectionThe American Nuclear Society is hosting a Supplier Showcase webinar, “Dose-Free, Radiation Visualization, and Mitigation,” tomorrow, November 13, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EST) on the capabilities of radiation visualization using the RadVision3D product.The webinar, sponsored by Transco Products Inc., is free for all viewers. Registration is required.Go to Article
Finance-focused COP29 meeting begins, push for nuclear continuesAs COP29 kicked off November 11, industry advocates worldwide are hoping to draw attention and increase buy-in to the need for more nuclear capacity.Go to Article
History in the making: D&D begins on Three Mile Island-2Constellation Energy has announced that it will seek to restart Unit 1 of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania as part of an agreement with Microsoft to power that company’s data centers. Given the growing interest by tech companies in using clean, reliable nuclear power to meet their growing energy demands, the September 20 announcement to reopen TMI-1, which was shut down and defueled in 2019, was not a huge surprise.Go to Article
UMich leads Space Force institute on hybrid nuclear power and propulsion conceptSeeking spacecraft that can “maneuver without regret,” the U.S. Space Force is investing $35 million in a national research team led by the University of Michigan to develop a spacecraft with an onboard microreactor to produce electricity, with some of that electricity used for propulsion. But this spacecraft would not be solely dependent on nuclear electric propulsion—it would also feature a conventional chemical rocket to increase thrust when needed.Go to Article
How can the U.S. make nuclear waste a nonissue?Katrina McMurrianAs the nation confronts increasing demand for clean, baseload energy, nuclear power today receives substantial bipartisan support, but nuclear waste remains a trusty arrow in the quiver of opponents. The U.S. should work to make nuclear waste a nonissue not only to support opportunities for nuclear power expansion but primarily to meet long--standing obligations. Federal government inaction to remove and dispose of commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) continues to negatively impact host communities in 36 states; electric customers in more than 40 states who paid billions of dollars into the Nuclear Waste Fund; and all U.S. taxpayers, who pay about $2 million per day for the government’s partial breach.Go to Article
Drones fly in to inspect waste tanks at Savannah River SiteSoon, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management will for the first time begin using drones to internally inspect radioactive liquid waste tanks at the department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Inspections were previously done using magnetic wall-crawling robots.Go to Article
Nuclear waste: Trying again, with an approach that is flexible, and vagueThe Department of Energy has started over on the quest for a place to store used fuel. Its new goal, it says, is to foster a national conversation (although this might better be described as many local conversations) about a national problem that can only be solved at the local level with a “consent-based” approach. And while the department is touting the various milestones it has already reached on the way to an interim repository, the program is structured in a way that means its success will not be measurable for years. Go to Article