Terrestrial Energy, Westinghouse ink deal for IMSR fuel plant

August 4, 2023, 9:30AMNuclear News

Canadian nuclear tech firm Terrestrial Energy has signed a manufacturing and supply contract with Springfields Fuels Limited—a Britain–based subsidiary of Westinghouse Electric Company—for the design and construction of an Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) fuel pilot plant.

In an August 3 press release, Terrestrial said that Springfields’ reactor fuel manufacturing facility has extensive existing infrastructure available to support the fuel supply for IMSR development and is scalable to support a fleet of IMSR plants operating in the 2030s. Located near Preston, Lancashire in northwestern England, the Springfields facility is the only site in the United Kingdom for nuclear fuel manufacturing.

More funds go to accelerate Sizewell C development

August 3, 2023, 3:18PMNuclear News
A rendering of the Sizewell site on the Suffolk coast. Sizewell A and B are to the left and center (respectively) in the image; the section to the right is Sizewell C. (Image: EDF Energy)

The U.K. government recently confirmed a further £170 million (about $216 million) investment of previously allocated funding for development work on the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power plant project in Suffolk, England.

Vogtle-3 begins commercial operation

July 31, 2023, 12:39PMNuclear News
Vogtle-3 (Photo: Georgia Power)

To the ears of the nuclear community, the news from Georgia Power this morning may sound a bit like “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s Ninth: After years of delay, Unit 3 at the Vogtle nuclear power plant has entered commercial operation, becoming the first newly constructed power reactor in the United States in more than 30 years and the nation’s first Westinghouse-supplied Generation III+ AP1000 unit to be placed into service. The new unit joins Vogtle-1 and -2—1,169-MWe four-loop pressurized water reactors that entered commercial operation in the late 1980s.

Senate okays defense bill with measure boosting U.S. nuclear sector

July 28, 2023, 12:00PMNuclear News

In an 86–11 vote yesterday, the Senate passed the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and with it, the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act.

Introduced March 30 by the senatorial trio of Shelley Moore Capito (R., W.Va.), Tom Carper (D., Del.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.), The ADVANCE Act was endorsed by the Environment and Public Works Committee in May in a bipartisan 16–3 vote and was made part of the annual must-pass NDAA earlier this month.

On July 14, the House narrowly passed (219–210) its own version of the NDAA, containing several controversial amendments pushed by GOP conservatives. The two chambers are now faced with reconciling the two measures and producing a compromise version that can be sent to President Biden’s desk.

Slovakia shows interest in deploying Westinghouse reactors

July 18, 2023, 3:06PMNuclear News
From left: Petr Brzezina, president, Westinghouse Czech Republic and Slovakia; Elias Gedeon, senior vice president, Westinghouse commercial operations; Gautam Rana, U.S. ambassador to Slovakia; and Pavol Štuller, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, JAVYS. (Photo: Westinghouse)

Westinghouse Electric Company yesterday announced the signing of two memorandums of understanding with Slovakia’s state-owned nuclear company JAVYS regarding the potential deployment of the U.S. firm’s AP1000 reactors and AP300 small modular reactors.

ANS Annual Meeting: Promoting the common defense and security

June 23, 2023, 3:01PMNuclear News
ANS immediate past president Steven Arndt, Jeffrey Merrifield, and John Kotek on stage at the ANS annual meeting President's Plenary.

At the 2023 ANS Annual Meeting, Steven Arndt (as of the close of the meeting, ANS immediate past president) led a president’s session on the mission of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission—a not particularly surprising topic, given that he spent over 30 years at the agency in various roles.

Six firms unite for SMR deployment in Central & Eastern Europe

June 16, 2023, 9:30AMNuclear News
(Photo: Nuclearelectrica)

Six companies—NuScale Power, Romania’s nuclear plant operator Nuclearelectrica, E-Infra, Nova Power & Gas, Fluor Enterprises, and Samsung C&T Corporation—signed a memorandum of understanding on June 13 to collaborate on the deployment of NuScale’s VOYGR small modular reactor plants in Central and Eastern Europe, starting with Romania.

Plan to complete Cernavoda-3 and -4 progresses

June 12, 2023, 12:07PMNuclear News

Nuclearelectrica, operator of the Cernavoda plantRomania’s sole nuclear power facility—has announced the signing of a support agreement with the Romanian government for further development of the project to complete construction of Cernavoda-3 and -4.

Invested in nuclear

June 8, 2023, 12:01PMNuclear NewsSteven Arndt

Steven Arndt
president@ans.org

This will be my last column in Nuclear News as president of the American Nuclear Society. Where has the year gone? For me and for all of us in the nuclear community it has been an exciting and productive 12 months. We have cheered the decision to extend Diablo Canyon operations, witnessed fuel loading and—hopefully by the time the June issue of NN is out—the start of commercial operations of Unit 3 at Vogtle, and seen significant strides forward in the licensing and deployment of small modular reactors. Internationally, we have watched the progress in the deployment of new units in the United Arab Emirates and other countries, as well as renewed commitment to nuclear in countries including Japan, South Korea, India, and the United Kingdom. All of this has been a result of both public and private investment in and commitment to nuclear.

Recently, the Inflation Reduction Act and other government actions in the United States have provided opportunities for increased investment in nuclear energy, including production tax credits and investment tax credits.

Westinghouse, Fortum to study SMRs in Finland, Sweden

June 8, 2023, 9:30AMNuclear News

Representatives of Westinghouse and Fortum sign MOUs in Helsinki, Finland, on June 7. From left are Laurent Leveugle, vice president of new nuclear at Fortum; Petra Lundström, executive vice president of nuclear generation at Fortum; Elias Gedeon, senior vice president of commercial operations at Westinghouse; and Roman Romanowski, vice president of new plant market development at Westinghouse. (Photo: Westinghouse).

Looking to add Finland and Sweden to its growing list of potential reactor customers in Europe, Westinghouse Electric Company on June 7 announced the signing of memoranda of understanding with Finnish state-owned energy company Fortum—operator of the two-unit Loviisa nuclear plant—to explore the possibilities of developing and deploying AP1000 and AP300 reactor projects in the two Nordic nations. The MOUs, according to Westinghouse, establish a framework of collaboration for detailed technical and commercial discussions.

OPG to collaborate further with Polish firm on SMR deployment in Europe

June 7, 2023, 3:00PMNuclear News
Officials gather after OPG and OSGE signed a letter of intent on SMR deployment in Europe on June 2. (Photo: OSGE)

Ontario Power Generation—owner and operator of Canada’s Darlington and Pickering nuclear plants—and Poland’s ORLEN Synthos Green Energy (OSGE) have signed a letter of intent (LOI) that builds on the companies’ existing cooperation on the deployment of small modular reactors in Europe, OPG announced last week.

Framatome extends partnership with Slovakia’s nuclear operator

June 6, 2023, 7:00AMNuclear News
From left, Framatome’s CEO Bernard Fontana shakes hands with Slovenské Elektrárne’s CEO Branislav Strýček following the signing of an MOU. Also pictured is first vice chairman of Slovenské Elektrárne’s board of directors, Michele Bologna.

Slovakia’s Slovenské Elektrárne—operator of the nation’s two nuclear power plants, Bohunice and Mochovce—and France’s Framatome have signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of a global strategic relationship, the companies announced last week.

Holtec inks agreement for up to 20 SMRs in Ukraine

April 25, 2023, 3:00PMNuclear News
Kris Singh (front left), Holtec International president and chief executive officer, signs the cooperation agreement between Holtec and Ukraine’s Energoatom, alongside other Holtec officials. (Photo: Holtec)

Small modular reactor developer Holtec International and Energoatom, Ukraine’s nuclear plant operator, signed a cooperation agreement last Friday that envisions the construction of up to 20 of the American firm’s SMR-160 units in Ukraine, with grid connection for the pilot project achieved by March 2029. In addition, the agreement calls for building a Ukrainian manufacturing facility to localize the production of equipment required for SMR-160 construction.

Cameco, Urenco sign contracts for Kozloduy fuel supply

April 25, 2023, 7:00AMNuclear News
Various officials (back row) look on at the fuel supply contract signing in Sofia, Bulgaria. Front row, from left: Angie Darkey, Uranium Asset Management’s managing director; Boris Schucht, Urenco CEO; Tim Gitzel, Cameco president and CEO; and Aziz Dag, Westinghouse senior vice president of global BWR & VVER fuel business.

Canada’s Cameco and U.K.-based Urenco last week jointly announced the signing of agreements to become part of a Westinghouse-led fuel supply chain for Bulgaria’s Kozloduy nuclear power plant. (Also included in the partnership is Uranium Asset Management.)

Poland powers forward with nuclear plans

April 19, 2023, 12:00PMNuclear News

Germany may have walked away from nuclear energy, but just across the border, Poland continues to stride confidently toward it.

After solidifying plans in February for deploying Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactors in Poland, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) on April 13 submitted an application to the Ministry of Climate and Environment for a decision-in-principle regarding the nation’s initial nuclear project—construction of an AP1000 plant at a site some 40 miles northwest of Gdansk, the capital of Poland’s Pomeranian province.

Industry to G7: Back current fleet, speed deployment of advanced units

April 18, 2023, 12:22PMNuclear News
Representatives of six nuclear organizations sign a declaration in Sapporo, Japan. Seated, left to right, are George Christidis (representing CNA chief executive officer John Gorman), Shiro Arai, Maria Korsnick, Tom Greatrex, Yves Desbazeille, and Sama Bilbao y León. (Photo: World Nuclear Association)

G7 governments should support life extension for today’s power reactor fleet, restart operable units, and accelerate the deployment of advanced reactors, states a joint declaration issued April 16 at the Nuclear Energy Forum, a first-of-its-kind colloquy held on the margins of the G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment in Sapporo, Japan.

U.K., South Korea issue joint declaration on nuclear cooperation

April 11, 2023, 9:40AMNuclear News

As part of the run-up to the G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy, and Environment in Japan on April 15–16, U.K. energy security secretary Grant Shapps met in Seoul yesterday with South Korean trade, industry, and energy minister Chang-yang Lee to discuss closer collaboration on clean energy development and energy security.

U.K. policy paper declares nuclear “critical baseload” of future energy system

April 7, 2023, 12:00PMNuclear News

With the release last week of the policy paper Powering Up Britain, the U.K. government unveiled its plan to enhance the nation’s energy security and deliver on its ambitious net-zero commitments.

“This document explains how we will diversify, decarbonize, and domesticate energy production by investing in renewables and nuclear, to power Britain from Britain,” writes U.K. secretary of state for energy security and net zero Grant Shapps in the foreword. “It sets out the extraordinary opportunities opening up in technologies like carbon capture, usage, and storage; floating offshore wind manufacturing; and hydrogen, which will not only help us reach net zero but also consolidate Britain’s position as a global leader in green energy. And it details how we will use that leadership to influence energy decarbonization internationally.”

First step in Rolls-Royce SMR design assessment completed

April 6, 2023, 12:00PMNuclear News
Rendering of a Rolls-Royce SMR plant. (Image: Rolls-Royce SMR)

The United Kingdom’s nuclear regulators—the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the Environment Agency, and Natural Resources Wales (NRW)—have announced the completion of step one of their generic design assessment (GDA) for Rolls-Royce SMR’s 470-MWe small modular reactor design and the start of step two, which is expected to last 16 months.

Lawmakers back measure to bolster U.S. nuclear energy sector

April 4, 2023, 3:00PMNuclear News

Carper

Capito

Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R., W.Va.), Tom Carper (D., Del.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.) have introduced S. 1111—the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act.

Unveiled in the Senate on March 30, the legislation is cosponsored by a bipartisan septet of lawmakers: John Barrasso (R., Wyo.), Cory Booker (D., N.J.), Mike Crapo (R., Idaho), Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), Martin Heinrich (D., N.M.), Mark Kelly (D., Ariz.), and Jim Risch (R., Idaho).