Nuclear Matters

 

Hi Michele,  As 2020 comes to a close, we want to say thank you. This year brought hardships and challenges that none of us expected, and through it all you’ve remained poised and ready to take action when we needed you most. Whether it was submitting comments to support clean energy legislation, sharing your personal testimonies or contacting your legislators, you’ve shown up. And we thank you. Rest assured, in 2021 we will hit the ground running. Until then, read up on the latest industry news and what’s to come in the new year.

News You Need

Keeping Current Fleets Safe. A bipartisan group of senators approved the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, a bill that aims to support America's nuclear fuel supply chain, position America as a global energy leader and secure the current fleet of reactors – and all while reducing carbon emissions across the country. Vogtle Receives First Fuel Shipment. Georgia Power received the first nuclear fuel shipment for Vogtle Unit 3, representing the first nuclear fuel shipment for this newly-designed AP1000 reactor in the U.S. The milestone marks a major step for the Vogtle 3 & 4 nuclear expansion project towards operations and providing customers with  more reliable, affordable carbon-free energy. Bipartisan Support for Innovation. Nuclear energy policy represents one of the rare instances of continuity in policy priorities in a change of administration – and this proves true with the Biden administration expected to continue the progress in nuclear innovation, technology and development made in past four years. What MOPR Means for Maryland. The FERC Minimum Price Offer Rule (MOPR) could have serious consequences for customer bills in Maryland – by hundreds of millions over the next nine years to be exact – and Advocacy Council Member and Former EPA Administrator Carol Browner explains the situation at hand and the state-focused solutions available. More Clean Energy for Wisconsin. NextEra Energy applied to extend the life of its Point Beach Nuclear Plant by 20 years – keeping the 50-year-old plant running through 2050 and helping the state reach critical clean energy goals. A Reactor That’s Out of This World. NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy will partner with the industry to build a nuclear plant on the moon to provide safe, reliable energy to support long-term space exploration in the coming decades. Carbon-Free Cooperation. Xcel Energy and Idaho National Lab will work together to build a hydrogen-energy production facility at the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Station, providing carbon-free hydrogen for industrial use while ensuring reliable power for the region. This project tests a production dynamic between hydrogen and nuclear energy that, if successful, could shore up existing plants across the country. SMR Design Achieves Safety Milestone. In a win for U.S. innovation and the nuclear industry, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy received an early final safety evaluation report for the BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) design, the only boiling-water SMR design in development in the country.

In Case You Missed It

• Earth Institute - Columbia University | The State of Nuclear Energy Today — and What Lies Ahead
• Forbes | Biden Expected to Continue Trump Support for U.S. Nuclear Energy Exports
• Washington Post | Biden Names John Kerry as Presidential Climate Envoy
• Inside Climate News | Inside Clean Energy: Arizona’s Net-Zero Plan Unites Democrats and Republicans
• Vice | Why the Future of Nuclear Power is Tiny and Factory-Made
• InsiderNJ | Did You Know: New Jersey Gets Almost All of its Carbon-Free Energy From Nuclear Power?
• Power Technology | Rolls-Royce and Exelon Sign MoU on Nuclear Power Stations Operations
• NJ Spotlight | Op-Ed: Nuclear Provides NJ’s Economy with a $1.2B Boost
• Bloomberg | Nuclear is Big Part of Duke Energy’s Carbon Plan: Summit Update

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