TerraPower, the nuclear company founded by Bill Gates, just announced an agreement with private funders, including Warren Buffet, and the state of Wyoming to site its Natrium fast reactor demonstration project there. It is the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) flagship “advanced” small modular reactor (SMR) project, for which DOE will pay a heavy share, starting … More Commentary: Will Bill Gates’ Fast Nuclear Reactor Bomb?

A no-carbon electric grid need not, and should not, include nuclear, according to a new report unveiled today (July 15) and done for prominent anti-nuclear groups. The report for national groups Friends of the Earth and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, and the Illinois-based Nuclear Energy Information Service, done by Mark Cooper at the … More Is a no-carbon, no nukes U.S. grid worthwhile?

The U.S. Supreme Court today (June 29), in a 5-4 vote, upheld the authority of the federal government over that of the states in an eminent domain case involving the state of New Jersey and environmental groups. The decision in the PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey saw a split in the court, with conservative … More SCOTUS upholds FERC authority over states in gas pipeline siting

More problems have surfaced at Georgia Power’s Vogtle 3 nuclear construction project, casting further doubt on the startup date for the badly behind schedule and massively over budget project. The unit is one of two the Southern Company utility is building at its existing Vogtle nuclear station, with Unit 4 supposed to follow soon after … More More problems for Vogtle 3 nuclear startup

A Canadian firm, with an investment from Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, says it plans to build a major prototype fusion energy project in the UK. Started in 2002, General Fusion, which has at least $100 million from multi-billionaire Amazon chief Bezos, has struck a deal with Britain’s UK Atomic Energy Authority, the Independent … More Canadian firm, with UK support, aims to advance fusion energy faster than many experts believe possible

Earlier this month, the Secretary of Defense requested $60 million for further development of Project Pele, a micro-reactor concept the Army is working on to provide power for remote military bases. So far, the project has flown largely below the political radar screen. It shouldn’t. In a Defense News piece, “Military Micro-reactors: Fighting Yesterday’s Wars While Losing … More Guest commentary: Tiny military nukes are a bad idea

A disturbing series of events at China’s flagship Taishan two-unit nuclear power station is raising questions about what is going on at the 3,200-MW pressurized water reactor site. It’s disturbing because the still unclear events mirror what has happened in previous major nuclear accidents around the world, including confusion, obfuscation, lying, and coverup. That the … More What’s up with China’s Taishan plant?

Virginia-based Dominion Energy is negotiating with Utah-based EnergySolutions to sell Dominion’s shut Kewaunee nuclear plant in Wisconsin so it can be fully decommissioned, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. If the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves the deal, work could begin this year on a project estimated to cost $1 billion. No financial details of the … More Dominion to sell shut Kewaunee nuke for final decommissioning

Facing the potential shutdown of two of Exelon Corp. nuclear plants, the Democratic Gov. of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, and the Chicago-based utility holding company, which owns six nuclear plants in the state, on June 1 reached a deal with to keep the two unprofitable plants open. The deal came after Pritzker extended the session of … More Illinois last minute deal to save two Exelon nukes?

Georgia Power’s long-troubled, over-budget, and consistently off schedule two-unit, 2,000-MW Vogtle nuclear construction project has taken another hit. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last Wednesday (May 19) that Georgia Power and Southern Nuclear, both subsidiaries of Atlanta-based utility giant Southern Co., told Peach State utility regulators that the first of two new reactors, the only nuclear … More New Vogtle nuke faces new startup delays