Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

NRC wants more info about concrete condition at Seabrook


NRC wants more information about concrete condition at Seabrook Station
Foster's Daily Democrat
By JIM HADDADIN SEABROOK — Federal inspectors have confirmed a concrete condition found in an underground tunnel at Seabrook Station poses no immediate safety threat, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is calling for more information about how the ...

NRC approves new SCE&G nuclear units 4-1 vote


US NRC approves new SCE&G nuclear units in 4-1 vote
Platts
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Friday approved licenses for South Carolina Electric & Gas and partner Santee Cooper to build and operate two new nuclear generating units at their Summer station. The five-member commission voted 4-1 to approve the ...

NRC Rules Against Riverkeeper's Post-Fukushima Contention

NRC Rules Against Riverkeeper's Post-Fukushima Contention ...
By Liz Giegerich
Riverkeeper's contention that the relicensing application does not take into consideration lessons learned from Fukushima was too generic, NRC decided.
Bedford-Katonah Patch

Progress Energy Reactor Review May Be Delayed, NRC Chief says


Progress Energy Reactor Review May Be Delayed, NRC Chief Says
BusinessWeek
While the NRC has approved plans by Scana Corp. (SCG) (SCG) and Southern Co. (PEG) (PEG) to build reactors, its review of Progress's bid to construct identical units may be slowed by an agency analysis of US plant safety after meltdowns at Tokyo ...

Japan's Near Miss


Japan's Near Miss
Dissident Voice
In fact, the 3/11 earthquake led to a total of 14 reactors at 4 sites in Japan being directly affected. Such a malfunction is not unusual for the nuclear industry, which excels in keystone cops antics, and worse, lying to regulators.

Nuclear energy could hold the key to the fabled "hydrogen economy"


Nuclear energy could hold the key to the fabled “hydrogen economy”
Hydrogen Fuel News
By Julie Cambell Since the Japanese earthquake of March 2011, nuclear power has been cast as the villain for much of the rest of the world. The quake triggered a serious nuclear crisis that threatened the health and safety of thousands of Japanese ...

Major quake impact on Tokyo could be worse than thought: study


Major quake impact on Tokyo could be worse than thought: study
Reuters
The study by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology comes just over a year after one of the biggest tremors on record struck Japan's northeast coast, triggering a massive tsunami and the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 ...

Japan Opens Three Evacuated Towns After Tepco's Disaster

Japan Opens Three Evacuated Towns After Tepco's Disaster
Bloomberg
Japan will partially open three towns in the evacuation zone in Fukushima prefecture next month for the first time since a record earthquake last March caused the worst nuclear disaster in 25 years. Residents of the towns Kawauchi, Tamura and Minami ...

ANS Update: NRC approves two new reactors in South Carolina

American Nuclear Society

NRC approves two new reactors in South Carolina

By lscheele on Mar 30, 2012 01:04 pm

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on March 30 voted to clear the way for its Office of New Reactors to issue two licenses for two new AP1000 reactors at the V.C. Summer site in Parr, S.C. This marks the NRC’s … Continue reading
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"The EPA's coal mandate: An opportunity for nuclear, a giveaway for natural gas"

from The Neutron Economy:

"The EPA's coal mandate: An opportunity for nuclear, a giveaway for natural gas"


This week, the EPA announced a carbon cap of 1000 lbs CO2 per MWh electricity generated from all new power plants. While such a mandate provides an obvious opportunity for nuclear, upon inspection it looks suspiciously like a giveaway to the natural gas industry.

Could China run Britains' net nuclear reactor?

Could China run Britain's next nuclear reactor?
SmartPlanet.com
There are several viable, safer alternatives, such as thorium fuel and molten salt reactor designs, among others (many related links below).

NEA / OECD Report of the Survey on the Review of New Reactor Applications

NEA / OECD Report of the Survey on the Review of New Reactor Applications

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/govt-eases-limits-in-nuclear-no-go-zone-for-1st-time

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/govt-eases-limits-in-nuclear-no-go-zone-for-1st-time

Friday, March 30, 2012

California Slammed With Fukushima Radiation

California Slammed With Fukushima Radiation

The Journal Environmental Science and Technology reports in a new study that the Fukushima radiation plume contacted North America at California “with greatest exposure in central and southern California”, and that Southern California's seaweed tested over 500% higher for radioactive  iodine-131 than anywhere else in the U.S. and Canada:
Projected paths of the radioactive atmospheric plume emanating from the Fukushima reactors, best described as airborne particles or aerosols for 131I, 137Cs, and 35S, and subsequent atmospheric monitoring showed it coming in contact with the North American continent at California, with greatest exposure in central and southern California. Government monitoring sites in Anaheim (southern California) recorded peak airborne concentrations of 131I at 1.9 pCi m−3
Anaheim is where Disneyland is located.
EneNews summarizes the data:
Corona Del Mar (Highest in Southern California)
  • 2.5 Bq/gdwt (gram dry weight)= 2,500 Bq/kg of dry seaweed
Santa Cruz (Highest in Central California)
  • 2.0 Bq/gdwt = 2,000 Bq/kg of dry seaweed
Simon Fraser University in Canada also tested North American seaweed after Fukushima:
  • “In samples of dehydrated seaweed taken on March 15 near the North Vancouver SeaBus terminal, the count was zero; on March 22 it was 310 Bq per kilogram; and by March 28 it was 380 Bq/kg.” -Vancouver Sun
  • Seaweed in Seattle also tested positive for iodine-131; levels were not reported -KIRO
  • No results after March 28 were reported
In addition, radioactive debris is starting to wash up on the Pacific Coast. And because the Japanese are burning radioactive materials instead of disposing of them, .

Nuclear helped UK cut emissions in 2011

Nuclear helped UK cut emissions in 2011

An 8% drop in carbon dioxide emissions in the UK in 2011 was helped by an 11% increase in electricity output from the country's nuclear power plants, provisional figures from the government indicate.

Review of Emerging Resources: U.S. Shale Gas and Shale Oil Plays -- EIA

Review of Emerging Resources: U.S. Shale Gas and Shale Oil Plays -- EIA

Review of Emerging Resources: U.S. Shale Gas and Shale Oil Plays is a report from the Energy Information Administration explains the use of horizontal drilling in conjunction with hydraulic fracturing has greatly expanded the ability of producers to profitably recover natural gas and oil from low-permeability geologic plays—particularly, shale plays. Application of fracturing techniques to stimulate oil and gas production began to grow rapidly in the 1950s, although experimentation dates back to the 19th century. Starting in the mid-1970s, a partnership of private operators, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and predecessor agencies, and the Gas Research Institute (GRI) endeavored to develop technologies for the commercial production of natural gas from the relatively shallow Devonian (Huron) shale in the eastern United States. This partnership helped foster technologies that eventually became crucial to the production of natural gas from shale rock, including horizontal wells, multi-stage fracturing, and slick-water fracturing

Modern Shale Gas Development in the United States: A Primer -- EIA

Modern Shale Gas Development in the United States: A Primer -- EIA

Modern Shale Gas Development in the United States: A Primer from the Energy Information Administration explains how "natural gas production from hydrocarbon rich shale formations, known as “shale gas,” is one of the most rapidly expanding trends in onshore domestic oil and gas exploration and production today.

atomic power review Nuclear Renaissance alive and well

atomic power review



Posted: 30 Mar 2012 12:57 PM PDT
Today, we find that the NRC has voted to allow construction of two new Westinghouse AP1000 reactor plants at the V.C. Summer site in South Carolina. There are now two new nuclear energy construction projects underway (Summer, and Vogtle in Georgia) with a total of four ~1000 MWe plants.

Read the NRC press release here.

Read the Shaw Group's release here (this firm is architect-engineer for Vogtle and Summer AP1000 projects.)

Read a statement from Westinghouse (reactor vendor for Summer and Vogtle projects) here.

Read the South Carolina Electric & Gas press release here.

NuStart Energy has written a press release, and it has been sent to some sources but isn't on NuStart's site yet; click here to check NuStart Energy's press page.

APR will link more press releases when they're available.

4:00 PM Eastern Friday March 30, 2012
ATOMIC POWER REVIEW
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Expert: Nuclear Power Is On Its Deathbed

Expert: Nuclear Power Is On Its Deathbed
U.S. News & World Report
By Jason Koebler After the Fukushima power plant disaster in Japan last year, the rising costs of nuclear energy could deliver a knockout punch to its future use in the United States, according to a researcher at the Vermont Law School Institute for ...

Radioactive Iodine from Fukushima Found in California Kelp

Radioactive Iodine from Fukushima Found in California Kelp

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=radioactive-iodine-from-from-fukushima-found-in-california-kelp

I-NUCLEAR UPDATE: NRC issues construction & operating licenses for two AP1000s to South Carolina Electric & Gas by I-Nuclear

i-NUCLEAR

NRC issues construction & operating licenses for two AP1000s to South Carolina Electric & Gas

by I-Nuclear
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved issuance of combined construction and operating licenses (COLs) to South Carolina Electric & Gas and Santee Cooper for two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant site in the US state of South Carolina.
The Commission, in a 4-1 vote March 30, approved issuance of the licenses allowing SCE&G to proceed with construction of the two reactors.
The Commission’s findings impose two conditions on the COLs, with the first requiring inspection and testing of squib valves, important components of the new reactors’ passive cooling system.
The second requires the development of strategies to respond to extreme natural events resulting in the loss of power at the new reactors.
The Commission also directed NRC staff to issue to SCE&G and Santee Cooper, simultaneously with the COLs, an Order requiring enhanced, reliable spent fuel pool instrumentation, as well as a request for information related to emergency plant staffing.
The NRC staff is expected to issue the COLs within 10 business days.

MORE NEWS:


Scana Receives NRC Approval to Build South Carolina Reactors
Bloomberg
(SCG) won US approval to build nuclear reactors, the second construction permit issued by regulators in more than 30 years for units that may be among the nation's last erected this decade. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission today voted 4-1 to ...

Bloomberg
US Approves New Nuclear Reactors in South Carolina
Wall Street Journal
s proposal to build two new nuclear reactors in South Carolina, paving the way for the second license issued to a new nuclear power plant in two months after a drought that lasted more than 30 years. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted 4-1 to ...
Repeat Performance: NRC approves COL for VC Summer
Power Engineering Magazine
By Brian Wheeler The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on March 30 approved the combined construction and operating licenses (COL) for the VC Summer nuclear power plant in South Carolina, just the second construction license approved for a nuclear ...
NRC OKs Second Nuclear Project in Two Months
Fox Business
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday approved a license for Scana Corp to build two reactors at the Virgil Summer nuclear station in South Carolina, the agency's second approval of additional nuclear units to be built in the United States in ...


Shaw Congratulates South Carolina Electric & Gas on Combined License for New ...
MarketWatch (press release)
The license for VC Summer was issued by the NRC under an improved process that combines the construction permit and operating license for a nuclear power plant. By combining the construction permit and operating license, the new licensing method ...
Misguided NRC Approves New SC Nuclear Reactors
Clean Energy News (press release)
COLUMBIA, SC – Just weeks after the one-year anniversary of the devastating nuclear disaster in Japan, today, in a 4-1 vote, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved a final license for two new reactors at the site of South Carolina Electric ...
Two more nuclear reactors approved by NRC3:26 PM ET
GovExec.com
By Olga Belogolova The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday gave Scana Corp. permission to build two new nuclear reactors in South Carolina, making it the second power company in two months to get a nuclear license approval. Before the Atlanta-based ...
Regulators approve construction of new nuclear reactors in South Carolina
The Hill (blog)
By Andrew Restuccia - 03/30/12 02:12 PM ET Federal regulators greenlighted the construction of new nuclear reactors Friday for just the second time in longer than three decades. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted 4-1 to approve a license ...
Westinghouse President and CEO Statement on U.S. NRC Granting COL to SCE&G
SYS-CON Media (press release)
... my professional career and tenure as president and CEO of Westinghouse Electric Company, I applaud the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision to grant South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) a combined construction and operating license (COL).

NRC Blog: Last-Minute Location Change for Next Week’s Seismic Meeting by Moderator

U.S. NRC Blog

Last-Minute Location Change for Next Week’s Seismic Meeting

by Moderator
Every once in awhile, one of our public meetings will outgrow its original location and we have to find a different venue. This sort of situation gets more complicated when there’s not much time to find a new location, and that’s what happened with our meeting next week to discuss the recently announced earthquake re-evaluations of U.S. commercial nuclear power plants.
The meeting’s now being held at the San Mateo Marriott on 1770 S. Amphlett Blvd. in San Mateo, Calif. The meeting will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT on April 2 and from 9 a.m. to noon PDT on April 3.
If you’re interested in the meeting but can’t make it to San Mateo, you can also participate via teleconference and webinar. For information on calling in or participating in the webinar, please contact Christopher Gratton at 301-415-1055 or christopher.gratton@nrc.gov.
NRC staff at the meeting will talk with nuclear power plant representatives about the generic methods to meet two agency requests for information. The first calls for reanalysis of each U.S. reactor’s earthquake risk. The second requires the plants to “walk down” each reactor to identify any near-term actions for enhancing earthquake resistance. Each U.S. nuclear power plant will develop specific plans for these efforts in the near future. These measures are included in the NRC’s recent information request to all U.S. nuclear power plants, part of our ongoing implementation of changes in response to last year’s events at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Scott Burnell
Public Affairs Officer

Nuclear Power: Japan's Sunset, Will We See Another Sunrise?


Nuclear Power: Japan's Sunset, Will We See Another Sunrise?
International Business Times AU
It's a move full of symbolism in Japan, just over a year after the terrible quake and tsunami which helped create the Fukushima disaster and the nuclear power crisis. Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) the owners of Fukushima, cut the power output to ...
See all stories on this topic »

Japan's Tepco scraps plans for new reactors at stricken plant

Japan's Tepco scraps plans for new reactors at stricken plant
Reuters
| TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, said on Friday it had notified Japan's trade ministry it was dropping plans for two more nuclear reactors at its Fukushima Daiichi plant, paralyzed last year by a devastating earthquake.

JAPAN HEADING FOR ENERGY DEATH SPIRAL?

Dear Colleagues & Friends:

I spent some time last week with former International Energy Agency Exec Director NOBUO TANAKA who has some grim views on the direction of Japan’s economy and energy situation.  I just wrote up my chat with Tanaka, who I consider to be Japan’s Daniel Yergin (without the books or the Pulitzer).

Hope you find this of interest.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/japan-heading-for-energy-death-spiral/255266/
JAPAN HEADING FOR ENERGY DEATH SPIRAL?
by Steve Clemons

All best,

Steve Clemons
Washington Editor at Large, The Atlantic

EPA Proposals: End of Coal or Dawn of New Energy?

EPA Proposals: End of Coal or Dawn of New Energy?

The Environmental Protection Agency this week proposed measures that it said would cut emissions for new power plants. Critics are lining up to say this marks the end of coal-fired power generation in the United States and in some ways they may be right. Despite the fervor over things like the Keystone XL oil pipeline and the fracking of natural gas, coal still dominates the energy sector and has been since at least the 1960s. While critics of the EPA's proposals may have a point, is that necessarily a bad thing? The Supreme Court in 2007…Read more...

Exelon's 'Nuclear Guy': No New Nukes - Forbes forbes.com

Camera Can “See” Radiation

Camera Can “See” Radiation 

http://www.japanprobe.com/2012/03/30/camera-can-see-radiation/

Nuclear Matinee: Sustainable energy choices for the 21st century

Nuclear Matinee: Sustainable energy choices for the 21st century

Climate change and sustainability of the global human enterprise are two of the most critical issues of the 21st century. If we are to tackle these problems effectively, we need to make prudent, evidence-based choices about energy. This is the story told in this short animated video.

Companies Revise Cost Estimate for New V.C. Summer Reactors

Companies Revise Cost Estimate for New V.C. Summer Reactors

While still below the projection approved by state regulators, the companies building two new reactors at South Carolina’s V.C. Summer nuclear plant announced Thursday they had agreed to revise the project’s cost.

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Weekly Review by Nuclear Street News Team

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Weekly Review

Sandia's Ion Beam Laboratory looks at advanced materials for reactors

Sandia's Ion Beam Laboratory looks at advanced materials for reactors

Albuquerque NM (SPX) Mar 30, 2012
Sandia National Laboratories is using its Ion Beam Laboratory (IBL) to study how to rapidly evaluate the tougher advanced materials needed to build the next generation of nuclear reactors and extend the lives of current reactors. Reactor operators need advanced cladding materials, which are the alloys that create the outer layer of nuclear fuel rods to keep them separate from the cooling

NRG Energy to Build Unprecedented Electric Vehicle Fast-Charging Infrastructure

NRG Energy to Build Unprecedented Electric Vehicle Fast-Charging Infrastructure

Princeton NJ (SPX) Mar 30, 2012
The California Public Utilities Commission and NRG have entered into an agreement where NRG will build a comprehensive electric vehicle (EV) charging network in California, investing approximately $100 million over the next four years. This fee-based charging network will consist of at least 200 publicly available fast-charging stations-installed in the San Francisco Bay area, the San Joaq

German utilities retreat from U.K. new build

German utilities retreat from U.K. new build

E.ON and RWE pack it in for Wylfa and Oldbury

A Brief History of the Light Water Reacto to Three Mile Island by Charles Barton

A Brief History of the Light Water Reacto to Three Mile Island

The Light Water Reactor is both cooled and moderated by purified ordinary water. While heavy wateer, rgat is water that contains a large amoumy of Duterium is a better moderator than Light Water, it is far more expensive to produce. Moderators determine how much U-235 is required to start a chain reaction. A reactor that is moderated by heavy water or graphite can produce a chain reaction in purified Uranium, while a light water reactor requires uranium enriched to 3% U-235. The enrichment lecel can actually be lower, but this requires more frequent refulings.

PennEnergy Update: Top Oil & Gas News 3/30

Offshore oil platform shut down and fully evacuated due to leak
Total is reporting it has shut down production at three fields and evacuated a drilling platform after a leak was discovered in the North Sea.
Full Article
Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend
Potential oil and gas lease sale in Alaska's Cook Inlet
The Department of the Interior is seeking input from industry to determine interest in oil and gas exploration off the coast of South-Central Alaska.
Full Article
Share: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Forward to Friend

i-Nuclear Update Lithuania and Hitachi sign concession agreement on Visaglinas Nuclear Power Plant

i-NUCLEAR

Lithuania and Hitachi sign concession agreement on Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant

by I-Nuclear
Lithuania’s plans to build a 1,350-MW Hitachi-GE ABWR at Ignalina advanced March 30 with the signing of a “concession agreement” between Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant and Hitachi Ltd.
According to a statement from the Lithuanian Energy Ministry, Lithuania and Hitachi signed the agreement in Vilnius March 30, but the details of the contract have not been made public yet.

Japan Nuclear Plant May Be Worse Off Than Thought

Japan Nuclear Plant May Be Worse Off Than Thought


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/30/world/asia/inquiry-suggests-worse-damage-at-japan-nuclear-plant.html?_r=1

AEA Issues Report on Mission to Review Japan's Nuclear Power Plant Safety Assessment Process

AEA Issues Report on Mission to Review Japan's Nuclear Power Plant Safety Assessment Process

Thursday, March 29, 2012

NEI Questions Associated Press Reporting on Gundersen Radiation Claims

NEI Questions Associated Press Reporting on Gundersen Radiation Claims

By now I'm sure most of you have seen the AP story that ran earlier this week that quoted Arnie Gundersen saying that soil samples he took in Tokyo would be classified as low level radioactive waste in the U.S. Yesterday, I published a short blog post on the subject after speaking with NEI's Chief Health Physicist, Ralph Andersen.

After discussing the situation further with our media relations staff, we decided to take our case directly to the AP. The following note was sent to AP Editors Karen Testa and Evan Berland in Philadelphia this afternoon. We'll provide updates once we hear back from them.

PetroChina passes ExxonMobil in 2011 crude oil production


PetroChina passes ExxonMobil in 2011 crude oil production
USA TODAY
"There's a lot of anxiety in China about the energy question," says energy historian Dan Yergin. "It's just growing so fast." While PetroChina sits atop other publicly traded companies in oil production, it falls well short of national oil companies ...

MIT PhD's Startup Envisions Molten Salt SMR Burning Spent Fuel


MIT PhDs' Startup Envisions Molten Salt SMR Burning Spent Fuel
Nuclear Street - Nuclear Power Portal (blog)
Among the emergent companies exploring the potential for small modular reactors and nuclear plants that use different fuel technology than conventional light water reactors, two PhD candidates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are making ...

UK Feels the Fallout from Nuclear Industry Woes


UK Feels the Fallout From Nuclear-Industry Woes
Wall Street Journal
By ANDREW PEAPLE Nuclear power has fallen out of fashion fast since last year's Fukushima accident; now even supportive governments can't catch a break. German utilities RWE and E.ON on Thursday scrapped plans to invest £15 billion ($23.8 billion) ...


RWE, E.ON scrap $24 bln British nuclear plan
Reuters
The companies said Germany's sudden decision to phase out nuclear power, the high running costs of their Horizon joint venture and the long lead times required for nuclear plants resulted in the decision to sell the venture. "A strategic decision has ...
RWE, E.ON scrap $24 billion British nuclear plan
Reuters
DE) have pulled out of a 15 billion pound ($23.78 billion) plan to build new nuclear power stations in Britain, throwing into doubt the UK government's push for a new fleet of nuclear plants by 2025. The companies said Germany's sudden decision to ...
Germany's E.ON, RWE to give up UK nuclear power project, joint venture
Washington Post
BERLIN — Germany energy companies RWE AG and E.ON AG are giving up their plans to build nuclear power stations in Britain and intend to sell a joint venture they set up to pursue the project. The two companies set up Horizon Nuclear Power in late 2009.
RWE, E.ON Scrap UK Nuclear Plans
Wall Street Journal
By SELINA WILLIAMS And JAN HROMADKO LONDON—In a huge blow to UK government plans to develop new nuclear power, German utilities E.ON AG and RWE AG said Thursday they were scrapping their partnership plans in the UK and are seeking a buyer for their ..
S
RWE, E.ON Scrap UK Nuclear In Big Blow To Government Plans
Wall Street Journal
By Selina Williams and Jan Hromadko Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--In a huge blow to UK government plans to develop new nuclear power, German utilities E.ON AG (EOAN.XE) and RWE AG (RWE.XE) said Thursday they were scrapping their plans in ...

Report: Addressing Flaws in Nuclear Safety Likely to Drive the Already High , ,


Report: Addressing Flaws in Nuclear Safety Likely to Drive the Already High ...
MarketWatch (press release)
The high cost of addressing nuclear power safety concerns that are steadily multiplying in number is now the Number 1 factor guiding new nuclear reactor construction decisions, as well as the plans for retiring old reactors in the US, according to a ...

Japan Admits Nuclear Plant Still Poses Dangers

Japan Admits Nuclear Plant Still Poses Dangers
New York Times
The results of the inquiry, released this week by the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, also cast doubt over the Japanese government's declaration three months ago that the ravaged site is now under control.

NRC schedules Friday vote for SCE&G nuclear expansion


NRC schedules Friday vote for SCE&G nuclear expansion
The Augusta Chronicle
By Rob Pavey Seven weeks after licensing two new reactors at Plant Vogtle, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will act on a second request Friday for a similar project in South Carolina. The commission issued the first-ever combined operating license ...

Group plans panel to discuss risks at Pilgrim nuclear power plant


Group plans panel to discuss risks at Pilgrim nuclear power plant
Wicked Local
Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station is 40 years old, and its owner Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. has applied to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to operate another 20 years. The NRC is expected to rule on this matter by June 8.

Things are Tough All Over for San Onofre Nuclear Plant


Things are Tough All Over for San Onofre Nuclear Plant
OC Weekly (blog)
29 2012 at 8:30 AM ​Perhaps you've heard the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) ordered the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) to remain shut down until plant operator Southern California Edison (SCE) can satisfy the feds that it knows ...

Troubled Southern Calif. Nuclear power plant remains offline until safety


Troubled Southern Calif. nuclear power plant remains offline until safety ...
Power Engineering Magazine
Southern California Edison (SCE) confirmed that it has received the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Confirmatory Action Letter outlining actions it must complete at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station before seeking permission from the ...

Bill Gates: Make Energy Cheap, Clean

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 08:13 AM PDT
What does energy have to do with ending poverty? Bill Gates -- whose philanthropic largesse has made him one of the most prominent advocates for the world's poor -- should know.At the recent Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics forum, Gates made a pitch for making energy cheap and clean around the world.

Donald Sadoway: The missing lik to renewable energy


Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy ...
It's called the liquid metal battery. It's a new .... I made the battery all liquid -- liquid metals for both electrodes and a molten salt for the electrolyte. I'll show you ...
dotsub.com/view/9be9dcdc-ae65-422c-85cc-8097afbca2ac

Liquid Metal Batteries
MIT professor Donald Sadoway has invented a new liquid metal battery that could one day ...
www.greenchipstocks.com/articles/.../1687?...

Fairewinds: Steam Generator Failures at San Onofre

http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/93/fa/7/1255/Steam_Generator_Failures_at_San_Onofre.pdf

NRC: SCE MUST ADDRESS UNUSUAL TUBE WEAR AT SAN ONOFRE BEFORE RESTARTING


NRC: SCE MUST ADDRESS UNUSUAL TUBE WEAR AT SAN ONOFRE BEFORE RESTARTING
Southern California Edison (SCE), operator of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Clemente, Calif., must understand and address unusual wear on steam generator tubes before it can be allowed to restart the beleaguered two-reactor nuclear plant, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said on Tuesday. California officials are meanwhile preparing contingency plans to prevent power outages this summer that could result from the plant’s indefinite shutdown. Read More »