Late yesterday evening, Georgia Power announced that it and Westinghouse had come to an agreement – “in principle” – that would result in a transition of the Vogtle 3 & 4 project management from Westinghouse to Southern Nuclear and Georgia Power. The service agreement would not go into effect until after the current engineering, procurement…
Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) confirmed last week that it had completed construction for its first of four large nuclear units. It also announced that the initial operation of the plant will be delayed until sometime in 2018 to allow sufficient time to gain more operational experience and obtain national and international readiness reviews. After…
On a blisteringly hot April day in Washington, D.C., some people and organizations interested in addressing climate change gathered and marched with signs and chants. Notably, the event excluded the scientists, engineers, clean air advocates, environmentalists and clean energy technologists who recognize that nuclear energy is an important, ultra-low carbon dioxide tool. Along with groups like…
Late Friday evening, Georgia Power issued a terse press release. Thousands of people who have been tensely anticipating a crucial decision regarding the fate of the Plant Vogtle expansion project cannot stop worrying yet. We will now mark our calendars for May 12 as the next deadline for announcing a decision about whether the massive project will be continued…
Last night, GA Power issued a terse press release stating that it will continue working on the detailed project assessment needed before it can decide whether or not to continue trying to complete Vogtle units 3 and 4. The new date is Friday, May 12. More details are available at GA Power And Westinghouse Extend…
In a break from its historical tactic of quietly enabling surrogates, the US petroleum industry has started to openly engage in battles to suppress use of atomic fission. The Ohio division of the American Petroleum Institute (API Ohio) recently issued a press release urging members of the “Ohio legislature to reject legislation that would subsidize…
A couple of weeks ago, I spoke with Donald Hoffman, the founder, president and CEO of EXCEL Services Corporation (EXCEL). Hoffman is an active and visible leader within the nuclear industry. He’s a past President of the American Nuclear Society (ANS). His company has been a major exhibitor at ANS events for several decades – people…
Inside the U. S. nuclear energy industry, there is a high level of respect and admiration – along with a barely suppressed tinge of jealousy – for the way that the Republic of Korea (aka South Korea) has steadily developed its world class nuclear power plant manufacturing and construction industry. Starting from zero operating plants in…
The Beaver Valley (PA) Times has published an important article titled Group forms to oppose bailout of struggling nuclear power industry. That article needs to be read and retained by those of us who believe that existing nuclear plants are important pillars of the U.S. electricity supply network that is often called “the grid.” The…
During the ANS Student Conference 2017 in Pittsburg, PA, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison made the effort to find me and introduce himself. Among several other topics, he wanted to exchange thoughts about an article that I first published more than 22 years ago. The student indicated his interest in becoming an atomic…
Simon Irish, the Chief Executive of Terrestrial Energy, provided a project update to the 7th Annual SMR and Advanced Reactor Summit organized by Nuclear Energy Insider. What Is Terrestrial Energy Doing To Move Its Design To Market? His company is developing an Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSRTM). He noted that he had last provided information…
There are incredible archives available to us within a few keystrokes. The following article from the October 22, 1939 edition of the New York Times might be useful to dispel the myth that interest in using atomic energy to replace coal came from a desire to domesticate the atomic bomb. This is a transcript that…