New laws offer nuclear industry incentives for existing power plant uprates

August 30, 2024, 3:02PMNuclear NewsPaul Menser

This year, the U.S. nuclear industry received a much-needed economic boost that could help preserve operating nuclear power plants and incentivize upgrades that extend their lifespan and power output.

Signed into law in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act offers production tax credits (PTCs) for existing nuclear power plants and either PTCs or investment tax credits (ITCs) for new carbon-free generation. These credits could make power uprates—increasing the maximum power level at which a commercial plant may operate—a much more appealing option for utilities.

BWXT to probe options for new centrifuge pilot plant under contract with NNSA

August 30, 2024, 12:01PMNuclear News

BWX Technologies announced on August 26 that its Nuclear Fuel Services subsidiary had received a contract from the National Nuclear Security Administration for a yearlong engineering study of a pilot plant capable of testing a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment technology developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and producing domestic-origin enriched uranium the NNSA can use for multiple national security purposes. BWXT, which has a long history of providing fuel fabrication and downblending services for the federal government, has not—until now—included enrichment in its portfolio.

INL spent fuel transfers are ahead of schedule

August 30, 2024, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions
Work crews at the INL Site prepare to move Peach Bottom fuel from a transfer cask to a storage vault. (Photo: DOE)

Crews at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory Site recently completed work to transfer baskets of spent nuclear fuel ahead of a September 30 deadline.

DOE accepting applications for NE scholarships and fellowships

August 30, 2024, 7:06AMNuclear News

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy is making $6 million available in scholarships and fellowships for students pursuing nuclear energy-related degrees across the United States. The funding is provided through the DOE’s University Nuclear Leadership Program (UNLP). 

The short life of the Hallam plant

August 29, 2024, 3:06PMNuclear NewsJeremy Hampshire
Aerial view of Hallam nuclear power plant (toward right) and Sheldon Power Station (toward left). (Photo: U.S. AEC/Wiki Commons)

The Hallam nuclear power plant in Nebraska, about 25 miles southwest of Lincoln, was a 75-MWe sodium-­cooled, graphite-moderated reactor operated by Consumers Public Power District of Nebraska (CPPD). It was co-located with the Sheldon Power Station, a conventional coal-fired plant. The facility had a shared control room and featured a shared turbo generator that could accept steam from either heat source.

NRC issues subsequent license for North Anna plant

August 29, 2024, 12:00PMNuclear News
The North Anna nuclear power plant. (Photo: Dominion)

Dominion Energy’s North Anna nuclear power plant received its second operating license renewal earlier this week, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced.

North Anna Units 1 and 2 are twin 973-MWe three-loop Westinghouse pressurized water reactors located about 40 miles northwest of Richmond, Va. Unit 1’s operating license will now expire April 1, 2058, and Unit 2’s will expire August 21, 2060.

2024 Robert Maher Memorial Scholarship is awarded

August 29, 2024, 9:30AMNuclear News

Holston

Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) and the charitable educational organization Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness (CNTA) have announced that Micah Holston, a student at Kennesaw State University, is the winner of the 2024 Robert Maher Memorial Scholarship.

The $5,000 scholarship is sponsored by SRMC, the liquid waste contractor for the Department of Energy at the Savannah River Site.

The winner: Holston, a senior from Marietta, Ga., is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in physics and political science with minors in nuclear engineering, math, and international affairs. CNTA executive director Allison Hamilton Molnar said the organization is proud to award this scholarship to such a deserving student.

The IAEA and two African universities deploy sediment tracking tech in Kenya

August 29, 2024, 7:02AMNuclear News
The 10-member team that collaborated to survey sediments in Kenya’s Kilindini Harbor. (Photo: IAEA)

Kilindini Harbor in Mombasa, Kenya, is East Africas largest international seaport. But rapid development of the Kenyan coastal zone is changing sediment distribution and dispersal patterns in the region, and shifting sediment poses safety and efficiency risks to ships in the harbor. With help from the International Atomic Energy Agency, a team of researchers from Kenya and South Africa has deployed a unique system to measure natural radionuclides in beach and aquatic sediments and map sediment transportation in the region. The IAEA described the mission in a photo essay published August 21.

From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry update August 2024

August 28, 2024, 3:31PMNuclear News

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

ADVANCED REACTOR MARKETPLACE

Last Energy forms partnership with NATO center

The NATO Energy Security Center of Excellence (ENSEC COE), located in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Washington, D.C.–based Last Energy have formed a partnership to investigate military applications for microreactor technologies. The agreement was ENSEC COE’s first with a company in the nuclear energy sector. Last Energy, which is a spin-off of the research institute Energy Impact Center, will conduct research with ENSEC COE on microreactor applications for NATO military installations, explore opportunities for deploying microreactors on NATO bases, and serve as an industry advisor to ENSEC COE. Last Energy’s PWR-20 small modular reactor is a pressurized water reactor with a capacity of 20 MWe (60 MWt). It is designed to be built off-site and assembled in modules within a period of 24 months.

DOE funds AI-assisted hunt for biomarkers of low-dose radiation health effects

August 28, 2024, 12:38PMNuclear News

Funds earmarked for “integrated biological and computational low-dose radiation research” will go to 14 university research projects in a new approach to federally funded low-dose radiation research that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to find cellular markers of radiation health effects. The Department of Energy announced on August 21 that these 14 projects on cellular and molecular responses to low-dose radiation would collectively get $19.5 million in funding over three years.

Advanced nuclear workshop brings together Japanese and American experts

August 28, 2024, 9:33AMNuclear News
Tohoku University’s Sakura Hall was the site of a workshop coffee break and photo op. (All photos: University of Michigan/Tohoku University)

Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, was the site of an advanced nuclear reactor workshop in late May that was hosted by the Fastest Path to Zero Initiative of the University of Michigan and Tohoku’s Center for Fundamental Research on Nuclear Decommissioning. The event was co-organized by the U.S. Consulate in Sapporo, Japan, and the Atlantic Council, which is associated with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The workshop, “The Potential Contribution of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technologies to the Decarbonization and Economic Development of Japan and the U.S.,” featured numerous American and Japanese academic authorities, government policymakers, executives of utilities and advanced reactor developers, and leaders of nongovernmental organizations. Also participating were students from both the University of Michigan and Tohoku University.

N. Prasad Kadambi—ANS member since 1972

August 27, 2024, 3:29PMNuclear News

N. Prasad Kadambi

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

I graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India, and took up nuclear engineering when I was awarded a scholarship by an organization called His Exalted Highness The Nizam of Hyderabad’s Charitable Trust. That scholarship enabled me to do graduate work at Pennsylvania State University, and I enrolled there in 1966. One of the terms of the scholarship was that I return to India after graduation. Hence, I returned to India in 1972 after receiving my Ph.D. and began working at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai.

TVA puts $150 million toward SMRs as NRC backs quality assurance plan

August 27, 2024, 12:00PMNuclear News

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s board of directors approved $150 million in additional funding to continue design work and TVA’s plans for small modular reactors at its Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tenn. With that decision late last week and an initial $200 million investment announced in early 2022, TVA has put a total of $350 million toward the development of SMRs at the site.

NC State to showcase student research

August 27, 2024, 9:30AMANS Nuclear Cafe
The Memorial Belltower at NC State in Raleigh. (Photo: NC State)

North Carolina State University is hosting the inaugural Future Leaders in Nuclear: Undergraduate Symposium in early October at its campus in Raleigh. The event for rising juniors and seniors in nuclear engineering or related science and engineering fields will give attendees the opportunity to present their research.

Westinghouse AP300 SMR application filed with UK regulator

August 27, 2024, 7:00AMNuclear News
Concept art of a Westinghouse AP300 SMR. (Image: Westinghouse)

The United Kingdom’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero has signed off on Westinghouse’s AP300 small modular reactor earlier this month.

Crude oil transportation: Pick your poison

August 26, 2024, 3:16PMNuclear NewsJames Conca
The 2015 CSX Transportation crude oil train derailment and fire in Mount Carbon, W. Va. (Photo: CPO Angie Vallier/U.S. Coast Guard)

We all know that nuclear energy is the best energy source available—the safest and most reliable with the lowest life-cycle carbon footprint and the lowest environmental impact of any source, according to the latest UN report (unece.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/LCA_final.pdf).

Constellation succeeds in rezoning property near Illinois nuclear plant

August 26, 2024, 11:59AMNuclear News
Byron nuclear power plant. (Photo: Constellation)

The Ogle County Board has approved a zoning change that designates 524 acres around the Byron nuclear power plant, located in northern Illinois, as industrial rather than agricultural.

UMich hosts summer STEM program for high schoolers

August 26, 2024, 9:29AMANS Nuclear Cafe
High school students Madison Henley of Detroit, Mich. (left) and Simon Fadare of Atlanta, Ga., work on a project to imagine and build a future nuclear energy device. (Photo: Brenda Ahearn/Michigan Engineering)

The first Harper Academy 4 Future Nuclear Engineers was held recently at the University of Michigan. The four-week program provided eight rising high school seniors with classes in nuclear engineering fundamentals, mathematics, technical skills, design, community engagement, and college preparation. While taking the course, the students stayed at Bursley Hall on the university’s Ann Arbor campus.