/Duke says future will be nuclear

New nuclear plants remain Duke Energy's best large-scale power option for the Carolinas despite obstacles, a utility executive told an industry audience Tuesday.
Duke must replace its aging fleet of nuclear and coal-fired plants by 2050, said Christopher Fallon, the company's vice president for nuclear development, at the Nuclear Construction Summit in Charlotte. Each technology produces about half of Duke's energy.
The utility plans to build a two-unit nuclear plant, its first since the mid-1980s, near Gaffney, S.C. The plant would start operating about 2021. Duke is also mulling construction of a nuclear facility in Ohio.

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http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/10/27/1789184/duke-says-future-will-be-nuclear.html

Tapping natural gas could unleash uranium

Plans to tap one of the largest sources of natural gas in the United States could release naturally trapped uranium into the environment

, researchers say. Proposals to drill into the Marcellus shale -- a massive rock formation that stretches from New York through Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia -- have critics focusing on the effects of pumping millions of gallons of water and chemicals deep underground to fracture rocks to release the natural gas.
Researchers at the University of Buffalo in New York say the process, known as hydraulic fracturing or "fracking," could force uranium in the rocks to move into groundwater, a university release said Monday.
"Marcellus shale naturally traps metals such as uranium and at levels higher than usually found naturally, but lower than man-made contamination levels," Tracy Bank, UB assistant professor of geology

, said. "My question was, if they start drilling and pumping millions of gallons of water into these underground rocks, will that force the uranium into the soluble phase and mobilize it? Will uranium then show up in groundwater?"

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Chillicothe Gazette * Your browser’s security settings are preventing some features from appearing. See instructions for fixing the problem. Board finds no major safety concerns at USEC facilities

No safety issues at USEC's Ohio facilities, NRC official says
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has discovered no major safety issues at USEC's Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant and American Centrifuge demonstration facility, both in Piketon, Ohio, according to Jay Henson, the NRC's bureau chief overseeing inspections for USEC facilities. The bureau is also recommending fewer inspection hours as USEC reduces operations at the two facilities, Henson said. Chillicothe Gazette (Ohio)

U.S. generation from renewables, coal up in June, nuclear drops

Report: Nuclear output fell 1.3% between 2009 to 2010
Nuclear plants accounted for 19.9% of total power generated in the U.S. between June 2009 and June 2010, but output fell 1.3% during that period, according to the Energy Information Administration. The reduced output was partly due to refueling stoppages at FirstEnergy's Davis-Besse plant in Ohio, Progress Energy's Crystal River facility in Florida and its H.B. Robinson station in South Carolina. PowerGenWorldwide.com

Duke Energy Ohio urged to pursue cheaper options than nuclear plant

Duke Energy said it is still studying the prospects of constructing a nuclear facility in Piketon, Ohio. This comes in response to the Sierra Club, which urged the utility to consider renewable-energy projects instead of a nuclear plant. Sally Thelen, a spokeswoman for Duke, also said the public would be able to comment on the project should the company decide to push through with it. Dayton Daily News (Ohio)

Job creation celebrated at Piketon uranium enrichment facility

Ohio depleted-uranium plant creates 160 jobs
State and federal officials hailed the startup of a depleted-uranium facility for hexafluoride conversion in Ohio and the 160 jobs it created. The site's opening means more jobs and reduced nuclear waste for Pike County, said Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. "This will transform a product of the past into a product of the future," he said. Chillicothe Gazette (Ohio)http://www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20100910/NEWS01/9100304/1002/Job-creation-celebrated-at-Piketon-uranium-enrichment-facility

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Ohio opens depleted-uranium facility

      A depleted-uranium hexafluoride conversion site has opened in Ohio. The plant will convert depleted uranium into a more stable kind for disposal or reuse. Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland announced the facility's startup. Manufacturing.net/The Associated Press
http://manufacturing.net/News/FeedsAP/2010/09/mnet-market-sectors-aerospace-depleted-uranium-plant-now-operating-in-ohio/

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Ohio site is ideal for potential nuclear project, Duke official says

Officials from Areva and Duke Energy touted the prospects of constructing a nuclear plant on property in Ohio owned by the Department of Energy. Wray Jordan of Duke said the site at a former gaseous diffusion facility was suitable. "This has been a nuclear site for many years, and it might be the best site in the world for this kind of project," he added. Chillicothe Gazette (Ohio)

FirstEnergy Seeks To Renew Davis-Besse Nuclear-Plant License

FirstEnergy files license-renewal bid for Ohio nuclear plant

 

FirstEnergy said it submitted a license-renewal application for its Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Ohio. The renewal would allow the company to operate the plant for two decades after its license expires in 2017. Davis-Besse began operating in 1977. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires

 

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