The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has warned all nuclear plant operators and managers to take more care in evaluating and documenting temporary alterations to plants “except those that have permanently ceased operations and have certified that fuel has been permanently removed from the reactor vessel.” In a five-page information notice dated March 12, the agency … More NRC flags problems with temporary plant alterations

“If you can’t explain something simply, you don’t understand it well. Most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple, and may, as a rule, be expressed in a language comprehensible to everyone. Everything should be as simple as it can be, yet no simpler.” – -Albert Einstein Any journalist who has covered the … More NRC STEMwinder: acronyms, abbreviations, and plain language

Alabama Power, blaming federal regulations past and future, specifically coal ash and wastewater management (although poor company planning may have more to do with it), announced last month that it will close the final three units of its elderly Gorgas coal-fired station in Parrish, Ala., near Birmingham. But while the utility is blaming the feds, … More Money for nothing: Alabama Power to profit from closed coal plant

The late (1921-2004), great U.S. comedian Rodney Dangerfield had a stock catchphrase, “I don’t get no respect.” The same appears to be true of West Virginia. The latest evidence is a March 1 article in the Wall Street Journal, with the headline “Left Behind in Nationwide Jobs Recovery: Charleston, W.Va.” and a subhead, “Thanks to … More Is West Virginia the Rodney Dangerfield of states?

The once-giant, 1700-MW San Juan coal plant outside of Farmington, N.M., near the Colorado border, could have a new lease on life. But the details look problematic. POWER magazine reports that a rather unknown New York real estate hedge fund real estate investor, Acme Equities LLC, has offered a deal to the city to keep … More Unlikely plan to save New Mexico’s San Juan coal plant

Terrifying. That word comes unbidden reading “Midnight in Chernobyl: The World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster,” by Adam Higgenbotham. This splendid book is by far the most detailed and best account of the April 1986 disaster at the Soviet Union’s V.I. Lenin plant in the Ukraine. This is a story of the deep-seated rot in Communist socialism. … More Book review: “Midnight in Chernobyl”

In a short meeting today, postponed from the morning to the afternoon due to snow and some ice Wednesday in Washington, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued rules making some utility mergers easier and streamlining hydropower regulations. FERC also clarified in a draft order its rules on how new generators and technologies can connect to … More FERC issues two final rules, clarifies an existing order

Two states with deep roots in the history of civilian nuclear power in the U.S. are facing disputes over nuclear plant shutdowns: Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In Pennsylvania, site of the nation’s first commercial reactor, Shippingport, opened near Pittsburgh in 1957, the legislature may consider legislation to provide state aid to preserve five nuclear stations, … More Nuke subsidy battles playing out in New Jersey, Pennsylvania

What are the odds that Yucca Mountain will become the final U.S. nuclear waste repository? Ask the odds makers in Las Vegas. They would be glad to take your money, because the odds are slim and none, and Slim is leaving the room. Late last month, three members of the San Onofre Community Engagement Panel, … More Revived Yucca Mountain a longshot

South Carolina’s Republican state Senate may have killed a move to sell the giant state-owned Santee Cooper public power system. The State newspaper reported today that the Senate has pulled the plug on funds flowing to a Virginia consulting company, ICF, which was evaluating bids for the state-wide system that supplies electricity to the state’s … More Is a Santee Cooper sale dead?