Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire - Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry. Nuclear Activities
Saturday, September 13, 2025
Friday, September 12, 2025
In other news by WNN
In other news
A restart of the Indian Point nuclear power plant which closed in 2021 is "conceivable" at a cost of around USD10 billion, Holtec International President Kelly Trice has said. A restart would require the procurement and reinstallation of internal components and the top of the reactor vessel, which have been removed, but the containment buildings, turbine buildings, and electrical switch gear and components are all intact, Trice told Politico. It would require support from the state of New York through the purchase or subsidy of power from the plant, plus legislative support to ensure the plant could continue to operate for at least 30 years. It would take about four years to bring the plant back into service, he said. Entergy Corporation sold the Indian Point Energy Center to subsidiaries of Holtec International for decommissioning in June 2021.
GoviEx Uranium Inc has agreed with the Republic of Niger to extend the pause in ongoing arbitration proceedings related to the Madaouela uranium project for a further six months. The proceedings under the ICSID Convention - a convention on the settlement of investment disputes - were initiated by the Canada-based company in January following the government's decision in July 2024 to withdraw its mining rights over the project. The new extension builds on a letter of intent signed in February, which set out a structured roadmap for negotiations. "While the Parties have shown willingness to find an amicable solution, there is no certainty that negotiations will result in a binding and definitive agreement," GoviEx said. The arbitration proceedings may resume if a resolution is not reached in the extended period.
The UK's National Nuclear Laboratory has signed a memorandum of understanding with Lynkeos Technology Ltd to advance nuclear muography - a revolutionary imaging technology that is transforming how radioactive waste containers are monitored. Nuclear muography technology tracks natural muons from cosmic rays through objects using sophisticated particle detectors, creating detailed 3D density images even within heavy shielding. UKNNL has been working alongside Lynkeos Technology and Sellafield Ltd since 2019 to develop this unique capability. It says the MoU "cements a commitment to delivering robust, long-term muon imaging capabilities that will enhance nuclear safety standards across the sector, directly contributing to nuclear security whilst maintaining the highest safety standards".
The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation has approved EDF's post-defuelling safety case for the Hunterston B site, which was declared free from nuclear fuel in April this year. This marks the first such permission to be granted across EDF's Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor fleet and constitutes a significant milestone at Hunterston B as it progresses to the next phase of its lifecycle. In addition, ONR has also approved a revision to the site's emergency plan in recognition of the significantly-reduced hazard. During the next 15 years, the site will undergo decommissioning activities to prepare it for a prolonged period of care and maintenance for about 85 years before final site clearance work takes place.
Atomic Canyon, a developer of AI-powered search and generative AI tools for the nuclear power industry, has announced a strategic partnership with Idaho National Laboratory to develop and publicly release the first comprehensive benchmark suite for evaluating retrieval-augmented generation and large language models in nuclear applications. By establishing standards for AI adoption in nuclear facility operations, the partnership aims to address an industry need for objective evaluation methods for generative AI systems in nuclear environments, Atomic Canyon said. The benchmark tasks will focus on real-world nuclear workflows, including document retrieval, regulatory compliance checks, and answering technical questions.
Thursday, September 11, 2025
In Other News from World Nuclear News
In other news
Australia's nuclear science and technology organisation ANSTO has confirmed that its ninth export of used nuclear fuel to France for reprocessing has been completed. The fuel from the OPAL multipurpose reactor was transported on 3-4 September from ANSTO’s Lucas Heights campus to Port Kembla where it was loaded onto a dedicated, nuclear category rated ship, purpose-built for nuclear shipments, for transfer to Orano’s reprocessing facility in Normandy, ANSTO said. Multiple agencies including NSW Police Force, NSW Ambulance, NSW Fire and Rescue, Port Authority of NSW, Transport for NSW, as well as federal agencies collaborated in the operation.
The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute announced it has developed an artificial intelligence agent to support nuclear reactor operation by applying agentic AI "for the first time in the world". KAERI said agentic AI is a new technology emerging from the advancement of generative AI. It differentiates itself from existing AI by enabling proactive strategy formulation and situational selection and application of appropriate functions and tools based on advanced reasoning capabilities. "While existing artificial intelligence was only able to perform simple tasks such as 'diagnose the current status' and 'operate the coolant pump', agentic AI can independently make judgments and continuously process complex instructions such as 'diagnose and report the current status, and if there is an abnormality, establish and implement a mitigation strategy'," KAERI said.
Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj said that unit 2 of its Olkiluoto nuclear power plant has been operating at a reduced power level of 735 MW to reduce the risk of failure while the company sources a spare rotor for the generator. TVO said its refurbished spare rotor is expected to arrive at Olkiluoto in early 2026. As a result of conservative analyses, the power generation of the unit, which has a capacity of 890 MW, will continue at a lower power level of 735 MW until a completely new rotor is delivered to Olkiluoto. The completely new and technically improved rotor is expected to arrive at Olkiluoto by the 2027 annual outage.
The US Department of Energy has announced USD134 million in funding for two programmes designed to secure US leadership in emerging fusion technologies and innovation. USD128 million under the Fusion Innovative Research Engine (FIRE) collaborative has been awarded to seven teams that are focused on creating a fusion energy science and technology innovation ecosystem by forming virtual, centrally managed teams. USD6.1 million in funding for the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) programme goes to 20 projects selected by DOE that accelerate private-sector fusion energy development by reducing barriers to collaboration between businesses and national laboratories or universities.
The UK's Rolls-Royce has signed memorandums of understanding with both Western and South Australian Governments that outline a commitment to collaborate on workforce development, skills training, and critical technologies to support the growing defence sectors in each state. Rolls-Royce said this marks "a significant step forward in Australian preparations for the AUKUS submarine programme, which will provide the nation with their first conventionally armed nuclear navy. It also highlights the unique nuclear expertise Rolls-Royce brings to the AUKUS agreement".
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
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