Future of TMI Unit 1 questioned after nuclear power plant restarted in Michigan May 16th 2024 A nuclear power plant is about to restart in Michigan, and it has many questioning the future of Three Mile Island Unit 1. The plant is owned by Constellation Energy. At the company’s earnings call for the first quarter…
Oak Ridge National Lab Starts Examination of GE Vernova’s Advanced Nuclear Fuel MAY 9, 2024 Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) recently started examining several new fuel rods developed by GE Vernova’s Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) that could help boost the performance of nuclear power plants. The rods were recently shipped to the lab from a…
Replacing old coal-fired plants with small nuclear reactors could be an economic boon Energize Weekly, May 8, 2024 The steady pace of coal-fired plant closures in the U.S. is leaving gaps in the economies of dozens of communities and creating risks to electricity reliability. One solution addressing multiple problems could be replacing coal with nuclear…
Southern Co’s long-delayed Vogtle unit 4 nuclear reactor enters commercial operations April 29, 2024 Southern Co’s (SO.N), opens new tab Vogtle unit 4 nuclear reactor has entered commercial operation after years of running behind schedule, the utility firm’s Georgia unit said on Monday. The Vogtle two-unit expansion project near Waynesboro, Georgia has been hailed as…
Can Aging U.S. Nuclear Power Plants Withstand More Extreme Weather? APRIL 23, 2024 To reach its climate goals, the Biden administration aims to extend the lives of U.S. nuclear reactors. But a new report finds regulators have not studied whether increasingly extreme weather could threaten the safety or viability of power plants largely built in…
North Dakota’s Dept. of Commerce looking at nuclear power to meet the increasing demand for electricity April 15, 2024 North Dakota’s Commerce Department has begun studying whether nuclear power could be used to help meet the increasing demand for electricity. That demand is being driven – in part – by new data centers, that are…
FirstEnergy gave $1 million to boost Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted’s campaign before scandal, document shows April 10, 2024 A surge in FirstEnergy political spending ahead of the utility’s push to secure a legislative bailout for its nuclear power plants included a $1 million dark money contribution to support the campaign of Ohio Gov. Mike…
Plant Vogtle Unit 4 reaches 100% power Apr 5, 2024 The nuclear expansion at Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle has reached another milestone as it nears completion after years of cost overruns and scheduling delays. Unit 4, the second of two new reactors being built at the plant south of Augusta, achieved 100% power on Monday…
Biden administration offers conditional $1.52B to Holtec Palisades to recommission Michigan nuclear power plant March 29, 2024 As a loan guarantee for Holtec Palisades, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that its Loan Programs Office (LPO) agreed to a conditional commitment of up to $1.52 billion to Holtec Palisades to finance the restoration of…
Transformer fires trigger emergency shutdown of Waterford 3 nuclear plant March 25, 2024 Entergy’s Waterford 3 nuclear generating plant in Killona was forced to shut down last week after two transformers caught fire in the plant’s main transformer yard, according to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The fires and emergency SCRAM, or shut-down, of the…
Xcel’s Prairie Island nuclear plant near return after lengthy outage drew questions March 18, 2024 Xcel Energy has promised state officials its Prairie Island nuclear power plant is almost back to full power despite the outage dragging on for nearly two months longer than expected. The Minnesota Department of Commerce is waiting on the company’s…
After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans March 18, 2024 State regulators are once again considering massive electric utility spending plans that would affect the state’s climate goals – and 5.4 million electric customers’ monthly bills – after rejecting previous versions late last year. The Illinois Commerce Commission forced the state’s two…