Nuclear News

Published since 1959, Nuclear News is recognized worldwide as the flagship trade publication for the nuclear community. News reports cover plant operations, maintenance and security; policy and legislation; international developments; waste management and fuel; and business and contract award news.


Kentucky governor vetoes nuclear bill

April 8, 2024, 9:30AMNuclear News

Beshear

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed legislation last week that would have supported a push to bring nuclear energy to the Bluegrass State.

The governor said his objection to Senate Bill 198 is due to how voting members for the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority would be selected—and that it is not a reflection on his views toward nuclear power. The bill as written would designate members of the board from the private sector, bypassing the appointment authority of the governor or other state constitutional officers.

“The legislature can’t just say, ’You in this position in the private sector and you in that position on a private sector association are automatically on a board,’ and then [be] given governing authority,” Beshear said at a news conference. “That’s not the way the executive branch works, not the way that the power can be delegated to carry out the law.”

The case for nuclear energy in Kazakhstan

April 5, 2024, 3:01PMNuclear NewsErlan Batyrbekov

As the world shifts toward clean and sustainable energy, Kazakhstan stands on the cusp of a significant move into nuclear energy. Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has suggested a national referendum to gauge the country’s position on building a nuclear power plant, setting the stage for an in-depth discussion about the nation’s energy trajectory.

U.K. nuclear funding awarded to X-energy, Cavendish

April 5, 2024, 9:30AMNuclear News

X-energy UK Holdings and Cavendish Nuclear together received a government award of £3.34 million ($4.23 million) for further development of advanced modular reactors. The award, which was announced earlier this week, is from the U.K. government’s Future Nuclear Enabling Fund.

New Jersey plants seek subsequent license renewals

April 4, 2024, 3:00PMNuclear News
The Hope Creek and Salem nuclear power plants. (Photo: PSE&G)

PSEG Nuclear LLC announced this week it will pursue subsequent license extensions to keep the three reactors at its Hope Creek and Salem plants operating for an additional 20 years. Both plants had been granted initial life extensions years ago by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Salem-1 and -2 on June 30, 2011, and Hope Creek on July 20, 2011.

From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry Update April 2024

April 4, 2024, 12:00PMNuclear News

Here is a recap of industry happenings from the recent past:

ADVANCED REACTOR MARKETPLACE

INL completes NANO reactor design review

Idaho National Laboratory has completed its preconceptual design review of NANO Nuclear Energy’s ODIN low-pressure-coolant microreactor. INL and NANO signed a strategic partnership agreement in April 2023, after which a review panel of laboratory engineers and scientists examined the design and provided its recommendations to NANO. The company added that INL is expected to perform a similar design review of its ZEUS solid--core battery microreactor.

Bringing Part 53 across the finish line

April 4, 2024, 9:26AMNuclear NewsCraig Piercy

Craig Piercy
cpiercy@ans.org

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Regulatory Information Conference—“the RIC” as it’s commonly known—is an annual rite of spring for many nuclear energy professionals. Each year, 2,000 industry people crowd into the Montgomery County Conference Center to hear the commissioners give their annual plenary speeches, attend technical sessions on regulatory topics, and kibitz with friends in the expansive foyer during breaks.

And as always, there are two distinct conversations at the RIC: the one that emanates from the stage, and the other that unfurls organically in the hallways. The official conversation is in the public record for anyone to read or watch. The hallway topic du jour this year was Part 53 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, of course—specifically, the Staff Requirements Memo (SRM) handed down by the commission the week before that instructed staff to produce a new proposed rule for public comment and set a six-month countdown clock to finish it.

Remembering Clyde Jupiter

April 4, 2024, 7:00AMNuclear News

Jupiter

Clyde Peter Jupiter passed away peacefully March 31, 2024, at the age of 95. Born October 31, 1928, in New Orleans, La., Jupiter attended public and parochial schools in New Orleans, graduating from Xavier University in 1948. He was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and was noted as one of the first African Americans to attend Notre Dame University in 1949.

Following graduation, Jupiter pursued a career in the field of physics, where he was renowned for his contributions to nuclear radiation detection and the advancing of nuclear energy. His career in the nuclear field included working for such agencies as the Atomic Energy Commission, Lawrence Laboratories, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

He also served in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956 at the Chemical Corps Laboratory, in Fort Detrick, Md.

Utilities Services Alliance’s Christensen to retire

April 3, 2024, 12:01PMNuclear News

Christensen

John Christensen, president and chief executive officer of Utilities Service Alliance (USA), has announced his retirement effective at the end of 2024. His career spans more than 41 years in the nuclear industry.

“The last 17 years have been some of the most challenging and gratifying years in my career,” he said. “The people I’ve had the opportunity to work with have been a great inspiration. I am extremely proud of everything we have accomplished since I joined USA.”

Ken Peters, USA’s chair of the board, noted, “John’s service and drive in helping the members of USA improve safety, plant operations and financial performance is a testament to his commitment to our industry. We wish John the very best in his retirement.”

AI and data center growth equal power demand

April 3, 2024, 9:30AMNuclear NewsKen Petersen

Ken Petersen
president@ans.org

Nuclear has been on a good roll lately and it is getting better. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides a nuclear power production tax credit. This has stopped the early retirement of deregulated units. The IRA also provides a benefit for the clean production of hydrogen. Many utilities have committed to a net-zero goal by 2050. Duke and other utilities have plans to transition coal plants to nuclear with small modular reactors.

And now, nuclear has a new supporter—tech companies.

The big U.S. utility companies (like Exelon, Duke, Dominion, Southern, and Entergy) are all projecting growth in electricity demand—primarily in the commercial sector but some residential growth is also expected. Commercial growth is being driven by new factories (thank you, IRA and CHIPS, that is, the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act). It is also being driven by data centers.

Court vacates Holtec’s license for New Mexico spent fuel facility

April 3, 2024, 7:27AMNuclear News
Concept art of Holtec’s proposed HI-STORE CISF in New Mexico. (Image: Holtec)

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated Holtec International’s license to build and operate a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel near the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southeastern New Mexico. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted the license for the Holtec facility, called the HI-STORE CISF in May 2023.

New DOE guidance on coal-to-nuclear opportunities

April 2, 2024, 3:06PMNuclear News

The Department of Energy issued new guidance this week for converting coal-fired plants to nuclear units—an idea that has gained traction in recent years as the United States looks to cut carbon emissions.

A 2022 DOE study found potential for more than 300 coal-to-nuclear conversions across the country. While the process is complex, it would result in significant environmental and reliability benefits to the grid.

Winthrop University personnel visit SRS

April 2, 2024, 7:00AMNuclear News
SRNS’s Sean Alford (standing) discusses career opportunities with Winthrop University faculty and staff during a tour of the Savannah River Site. (Photo: SRNS)

Faculty and staff from Winthrop University recently toured the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site as part of a workforce development partnership.

U.K. to add 40k nuclear workers

April 1, 2024, 3:00PMNuclear News

Rishi Sunak, U.K. prime minister, announced plans this week to boost Britain’s nuclear workforce by 40,000 to support submarine building and developing other aspects of the nuclear energy industry.

“In a more dangerous and contested world, the United Kingdom’s continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent is more vital than ever,” Sunak said in a statement. “Today we usher in the next generation of our nuclear enterprise, which will keep us safe, keep our energy secure, and keep our bills down for good.”

More information about the government’s plans are laid out in the Defence Nuclear Enterprise Command policy paper.

James Behrens—ANS member since 1979

April 1, 2024, 12:00PMNuclear News
Left: Behrens as a physics lecturer in 1969 at the University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign. Right: Behrens at home today with his new pup Snowflake.

We welcome ANS members who have careered in the community to submit their own Nuclear Legacy stories, so that the personal history of nuclear power can be captured. For information on submitting your stories, contact nucnews@ans.org.

The James Wm. Behrens family legacy in America starts with Henry H. Behrens, who came across the pond from Germany in 1857. He was later joined by Wilhelmina, also from Germany, and they were married in Alton, Ill., in about 1862. One of their sons, George Wm. Sr., was my grandfather. He and his wife, Frances Walker (of Irish and English descent), had three sons, one of whom (George Wm. Jr.) was my father. I was born in 1947 and raised in the small country town of Bunker Hill, Ill. I attended Bunker Hill elementary and high schools, graduating from the latter in 1965.

Electron-Ion Collider coming to Brookhaven gets substantial U.K. investment

April 1, 2024, 7:00AMNuclear News
John Hill, deputy director for science and technology at BNL, with Ruqaiyah Patel, deputy director of UKRI North America, at a recent reception held by UKRI's North America office to mark the funding of the EIC. (Photo: BNL)

The U.S. Department of Energy is constructing the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory to explore the boundaries of nuclear physics—both for the sake of science and to support diverse applications, including in nuclear medicine, radiation safety, and nuclear energy. The project, already supported by international collaborators in 40 countries, just secured a significant commitment from the United Kingdom.

TerraPower submits Natrium construction application to the NRC

March 29, 2024, 12:00PMNuclear News

TerraPower today submitted its formal construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the Natrium reactor demonstration project—a milestone submission for the nation’s first commercial advanced reactor of its kind.

Remembering Joseph M. Hendrie

March 29, 2024, 9:30AMNuclear NewsRobert A. Bari

Joseph M. Hendrie

To those of us who knew Joe, even prior to his appointment as chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, it is an understatement to say that he was a larger-than-life member of the nuclear science and technology enterprise. He was best known to the broader community for two major accomplishments: the design and construction of the High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the creation of the standard review plan (SRP) for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

In addition to the products of these endeavors becoming major fundaments to their respective communities, they were uniquely Joe. The safety analysis report for the HFBR was written essentially single-handedly by him. This was true of the SRP as well, which became the key safety review document for the NRC as it performed safety reviews for the growing number of power reactor applications in the United States. His deep technical knowledge of nuclear engineering and his extraordinary management skills made this possible.

Can hydrogen be the transportation fuel in an otherwise nuclear economy?

March 28, 2024, 3:00PMNuclear NewsJames Conca

Let’s face it: The global economy should be powered primarily by nuclear power. And it probably will by the end of this century, with a still-significant assist from renewables and hydro. Once nuclear systems are dominant, the costs come down to where gas is now; and when carbon emissions are reduced to a small portion of their present state, it will become obvious that most other sources are only good in niche settings. I mean, why use small modular reactors to load-follow when they can just produce that power instead of buffering it?