Category: Nuclear

September 20, 2022

Oklo, the developer of the much-watched 1.5-MW Aurora microreactor, has submitted a recharged licensing project plan (LPP) with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), launching a renewed effort that could help the advanced nuclear reactor developer set the stage for “effective […]

September 12, 2022

Michigan’s governor has asked the Department of Energy (DOE) to support Holtec International’s efforts to “save” the 800-MW Palisades nuclear power plant, marking a potential turnaround for the facility in Southwest Michigan, which was taken offline for the final time […]

September 8, 2022

Germany plans to keep two of its three last nuclear power plants on standby until mid-2023—beyond their year-end closure deadline—to bolster its energy security through the winter. However, the declaration has prompted confusion within Germany’s nuclear industry, which says nuclear […]

August 31, 2022

An expert team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has arrived in Kyiv and is readying to inspect Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) for damage from weeks of shelling. The development marks a significant breakthrough for the agency, […]

August 26, 2022

Hungary’s nuclear energy agency has issued a license for construction of two reactors for Paks II, a power generation project first launched in early 2014 as part of an inter-governmental agreement between Hungary and Russia. Officials said Paks II would […]

August 24, 2022

Japan’s prime minister said the country is prepared to restart more of its idled nuclear reactors, and look at building more power generation facilities with next-generation nuclear technology. The comments from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during an Aug. 24 news […]

August 17, 2022

Germany’s government is weighing how the closure of the country’s last three nuclear power plants in December 2022 will affect its grid this upcoming winter as the country scrambles to secure sufficient energy supplies amid a decline in Russian gas […]

August 15, 2022

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on August 12 proposed extending the life of the state’s last operating nuclear power plant by five to 10 years to maintain reliable power supplies in the climate change era. The proposal to keep the Diablo […]

August 12, 2022

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a plan that would keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open into 2035, a decade beyond the facility’s current closure date. The proposal, which in part includes giving plant owner Pacific Gas & […]

August 4, 2022

High temperatures in river water are reportedly forcing Electricite de France SA (EDF) to cut power generation at some of its nuclear plants. The news is particularly troubling as several European nations struggle to cope with an energy crisis caused […]

August 1, 2022

Did you know that more than 90% of the potential energy that exists in fuel rods when they’re loaded into commercial nuclear reactors still remains in the fuel after five years of operation? Well, that’s true, according to the U.S. […]

July 29, 2022

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has indicated it will certify NuScale’s 50-MWe (160 MWth) small modular reactor (SMR) design, marking another definitive milestone for the reactor vendor and its technology prospects. The NRC on July 29 said it directed staff […]

July 28, 2022

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said it selected a sodium-cooled fast reactor design for its versatile test reactor that would be built at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). If funding is appropriated by Congress, the project would be the first […]

July 27, 2022

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, based on research from Stanford University and the University of British Columbia, addressed the problem of nuclear waste from small modular reactors (SMRs). The study said that […]

July 27, 2022

The world’s nuclear power plants generated a total of 2,653 TWh of energy in 2021, up 100 TWh from 2020. It was the third-highest total ever for global generation from nuclear, just 4 TWh short of the output in 2019 […]

June 30, 2022

California’s State Legislature has passed a bill that could extend the operating lives of existing generating facilities slated for retirement, potentially providing a new lifeline for the 2,240-MW Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP), which has a premature closure date in […]

June 28, 2022

SaskPower has chosen GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) technology for Saskatchewan’s first two nuclear units, which the provincial utility plans to deploy by the mid-2030s. The announcement on June 27 wraps up a four-year process […]

May 26, 2022

After more than 50 years of operation, the Palisades nuclear power plant was taken offline for the final time on May 20. The station was scheduled to be permanently shut down on May 31, but plant operators “made the conservative […]

May 24, 2022

The winner of the Philippines’ presidential election earlier this month has made another move in support of reviving nuclear power in that country, holding talks with South Korea about enlisting help to restart a nuclear power plant project that was […]

May 9, 2022

An updated financial report from one of the owners of the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia shows the cost to build two new reactors has now topped $30 billion, more than double the original price tag expected for the […]