Ohio’s long troubled Davis-Besse nuclear plant is facing new technical problems, in addition to its economic issues. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission July 27 announced it has launched a “special inspection” at the plant. The NRC said the site inspection “will focus on two separate issues: multiple diesel generator failures during testing and maintenance; and… More NRC sets ‘special inspection’ at Davis-Besse nuke
Ohio-based utility holding company FirstEnergy Corp. has cut a deal with the U.S. Justice Department on a fraud case derived from the company’s actions dating back to mid-2019, when it paid key Republican legislators to pass legislation bailing out two uneconomic nuclear power plants. The case ended up ousting the Ohio House Republican Speaker, Larry… More FirstEnergy has $230M plea deal with DOJ
Problems at China’s Taishan nuclear project – which could become the world’s largest nuclear station – are worse than the Chinese government has acknowledged, according to co-owner Electricite de France. CNN reported this week that the French state-owned company said that while radiation detected in the primary coolant circuit at one of the two 1,750-MW… More EDF says it would have shut down Taishan reactor with fuel cladding problems
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?