A federal grand jury this week has indicted former Illinois House speaker Michael Madigan and a key ally, Michael McClain, on 22 counts of racketeering, bribery, and extortion, unveiling a long-term corrupt association between the once all-powerful state legislator and Chicago’s electric utility company Commonwealth Edison, the largest utility in the state and an Exelon … More Feds indict former Illinois speaker Madigan and aide

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has put on hold a 2019 decision to extend the operating license to 80 years for the two-unit Turkey Point station in southern Florida south of Miami, the Associated Press reported this week. The plants are two elderly 802-MW Westinghouse pressurized water reactors, with construction completed in 1972 and 1973. … More NRC puts Turkey Point 80-year license extension on hold

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week (Feb. 17) moved in new direction on a partisan issue that has dogged the agency for years: whether and how to account for greenhouse gas emissions in approving new natural gas pipelines. By a 3-2 vote, with all of the Democratic members in support and neither of the … More FERC moves to consider greenhouse issues for new gas pipelines

Atlanta-based Southern Co.’s plagued two-unit, 2,000-MW Vogtle nuclear construction project, already vastly over budget and behind schedule, has suffered another setback, one that could put the cost of the project to over $30 billion and take another six months to resolve. The announcement could add $920 million to the project’s cost. When major Vogtle construction … More More Vogtle delays, even higher costs

Corn-based ethanol alcohol mixed with gasoline, long a U.S. strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, may be wrong-headed, according to a new research report to be published March 1, 2022 in the influential journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study by nine researchers led by Tyler J. Lark of … More Is corn-based gasoline bad for the environment?

The Biden administration last week launched a $6 billion plan to keep uneconomic nuclear power plants operating as “the nation’s largest source of clean power.” The money comes from the bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed Congress early in the administration, under a provision titled the “Civilian Nuclear Credit Program.” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said, “U.S. … More Biden DOE launches nuclear plant bailout plan

Will France, the second largest nuclear power country after the US, spark a revival in atomic energy? President Emmanuel Macron, once a nuclear skeptic, announced last week that he is committing France to build six new generation of pressurized water nuclear power plants at existing sites, beginning in 2028, with the plants operational in 2035. … More Will France spark a nuclear power renaissance?

A Federal Energy Regulatory Commission financial audit has found Ohio-based FirstEnergy improperly accounted for many expense items, including its spending on the controversial and now cancelled legislation (HB6) to bail out two uneconomical nuclear power plants and a coal plant. As a result, the company will have to refund, by its calculation, at least $9.5 … More Federal audit finds serious FirstEnergy accounting problems

By Henry Sokolski and Victor Gilinski A Jan. 26 agreement to cooperate on fast nuclear reactor technology between the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. with American TerraPower LLC raises worrisome international security issues. The agreement’s immediate goal is building a 350-megawatt nuclear plant, called Natrium, in the U.S. state of Wyoming, … More Guest commentary: Back away from fast reactors

West Virginia, the deposed king of U.S. coal, is moving to repeal a 1996 state law essentially banning nuclear power plants in the state. The state senate on Tuesday (Jan. 25) overwhelmingly approved a bill to repeal the nuclear prohibition. The vote was 24-7, with three senators who did not vote. The bill had both … More Will coal-rich West Virginia go nuclear?