While no development details have been released, Constellation is asking to rezone 658.8 acres of land it owns around the Byron nuclear plant in Illinois for possible long-term use.
Comprehensive analysis of 245 operational coal power plants in the United States by a team of researchers at the University of Michigan has scored each site’s advanced reactor hosting feasibility using a broad array of attributes, including socioeconomic factors, safety considerations, proximity to populations, existing nuclear facilities, and transportation networks. The results could help policymakers and utilities make decisions about deploying nuclear reactors at sites with existing transmission lines and a ready workforce.
Duke Energy Florida is considering long-term plans for new nuclear development on 5,000 acres it owns near Gainesville.
According to testimony filed in Duke’s three-year, $818 million rate hike request with the Florida Public Utilities Commission, “In the 2038–2048 timeframe, this would be an attractive site for [the] addition of a new zero-emitting load following resource . . . including the potential development of next generation nuclear [small modular reactor] technology.”
Augustine today, at home.
Augustine in 1991, during his years at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory.
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.
In college I started in physics, but in 1977, during my sophomore year, I decided to pick a more practical major: nuclear engineering. Like many young people, I wanted to make the world a better place.
During my junior year, the Three Mile Island accident occurred. Many of us in nuclear engineering wondered whether we had chosen the wrong major, but our professors assured us there was a future in nuclear power. It seemed at the time a common-sense solution to the predicted shortages of oil and gas, and it was far safer than coal. I stayed the course and ended up getting my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nuclear engineering.
Here is a recap of industry happenings from the recent past:
Radiant purchases nuclear-grade graphite for its microreactor
Microreactor startup Radiant Industries and Amsted Graphite Materials, the largest American-owned synthetic graphite producer, have reached an agreement to collaborate on reducing U.S. reliance on foreign sources of nuclear-grade graphite. The collaboration began with Radiant placing a purchase order with Amsted for its Kaleidos microreactor, a 1-MW high-temperature, gas-cooled portable microreactor that has a graphite core and uses TRISO fuel.
Because of its hardness and its hardiness in the face of high temperatures, silicon carbide has been used for industrial purposes for decades. It has proven its worth as a key component of tiny TRISO fuel particles. But SiC has a weakness—in its pure form it is too brittle for use in structural components, such as 12-foot-long light water reactor fuel cladding tubes.
The European Commission has issued a positive opinion on the technical and nuclear safety aspects of the construction of Units 3 and 4 at Cernavoda nuclear power plant in Romania.
Under the Euratom Treaty, nuclear project developers are required to notify the EC of planned investments and to demonstrate compliance with the highest nuclear safety standards.
State regulators will study the economic and technical feasibility of adding advanced nuclear technology in Florida.
The directive was included in a sweeping energy bill, House Bill 1645, passed by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Florida Public Service Commission must issue a report to the governor and legislative leaders by April 1, 2025, with findings and recommendations to support new nuclear in the state—specifically including military bases.
Aalo reported last week that it has submitted a regulatory engagement plan to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in “a huge step forward in getting regulatory approval for our Aalo-1 reactor.”
Peters
Mark Peters will become president and chief executive officer of MITRE, effective September 3, 2024. He will succeed Jason Providakes, who previously announced his intention to retire after 37 years with the not-for-profit research and development company, including seven years as president and CEO.
Peters is a recognized expert in nuclear fuel cycle technologies, nuclear waste management, and national security, with more than 25 years of leadership and scientific discovery for federally funded R&D centers (FFRDCs). He currently serves as executive vice president, laboratory management and operations, at Battelle Memorial Institute, which, with other strategic partners, operates eight FFRDCs for the federal government, with responsibility for governance and oversight of the Department of Energy and Department of Homeland Security national laboratories.
American Electric Power and Exelon are seeking a hearing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission about a proposed data center project linked to Talen’s Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.
While commissioning began earlier this year at Turkey’s first nuclear plant, new reports say the project is delayed by sanctions against Russia due to its military invasion of Ukraine.
Constellation Energy is in talks with the governor’s office and state legislators about funding to restart a unit at Three Mile Island nuclear plant, Reuters has reported. The ongoing talks have been described as “beyond preliminary” by two sources.
An external radiation monitoring station was taken out by shelling and fire near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine the last week of June.
This brings the total to four of the plant’s 14 radiation monitoring sites that are out of commission, further reducing the effectiveness of its off-site capability to detect and measure any radioactive release during an emergency, said IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi.
A new radio series on National Public Radio’s “Marketplace Morning Report” recently highlighted career opportunities and job training at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site.
To listen to the radio segment, click here.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have signed a revised memorandum of understanding establishing a framework for the agencies to cooperate on emergency preparedness for commercial nuclear power plants.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) wants to mimic and accelerate the natural half-life decay chain of alpha-emitting radioisotopes and plans to invite proposals for experimental or theoretical research tracks under Decay on Demand—a new DARPA disruptioneering opportunity. The solicitation was published in draft form on June 27.
Every year, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) puts out a set of technology-specific cost and performance parameters for electricity generation. Now in its 10th year, the Electricity Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) has nearly 100,000 users from 144 countries, according to NREL. Utility planners and grid operators who look to the ATB to assess their investment options in a changing market require complete and accurate information and will be glad to know that the 2024 Electricity ATB, released June 24, includes—for the first time—a range of data on nuclear energy.
Robert Roche-Rivera and Marcos Rolón-Acevedo are licensed professional engineers who work at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They are also alumni of the University of Puerto Rico–Mayagüez (UPRM) and have been sharing their knowledge and experience with students at their alma mater since last year, serving as adjunct professors in the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. During the 2023–2024 school year, they each taught two courses: Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Nuclear Power Plant Engineering.
The Department of Energy released an anticipated request for proposals on June 27 for low-enriched uranium enrichment. “Today’s action will help spur the safe and responsible build-out of uranium enrichment capacity in the United States, promote diversity in the market, and provide a reliable supply of commercial nuclear fuel to support the energy security and resilience of the American people and domestic industries, free from Russian influence,” the DOE declared.