The US Department of Energy's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has received over 50 shipments of transuranic waste since shipments resumed in April.

UPDATED: Two nuclear units at St Lucie were able to continue operating as Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida. One unit at Turkey Point was shut down as a precaution in advance of the storm as nuclear operators and regulators put storm preparation procedures into action, while the other shut down automatically because of a valve-related issue. 

 

Two separate innovative nuclear fuels are closer to deployment thanks to agreements signed yesterday. Lightbridge Corporation and Areva NP signed a binding agreement to set up a joint venture to develop, manufacture and commercialise Lightbridge's advanced metallic fuel technology, while a memorandum of understanding between X-energy and Centrus Energy will see the companies work toward the development of a facility to fabricate Triso fuel.

Bechtel Corp highlighted "significant issues" at the VC Summer project 18 months before construction of two AP1000 reactors at the site in Fairfield County, South Carolina, was scrapped in July. Difficulties, such as flawed construction plans, faulty designs, inadequate management and low worker morale, were outlined in the engineering, construction and project management company's independent analysis of the project dated February 2016.

Georgia Power has today filed a recommendation with the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) to complete construction of Vogtle units 3 and 4 as the most economic choice for customers. The company expects unit 3 to begin commercial operation in November 2021 and unit 4 in November 2022.

Both units at the South Texas Project (STP) continued to operate at full power throughout Hurricane Harvey. Whilst the plant avoided the full force of the hurricane, its steel-reinforced containment building and flood protection measures ensured the reactors could continue operating safely.

Duke Energy has said it is seeking regulatory permission to cancel its plan to construct the William States Lee III nuclear power plant. Duke was issued with a licence in late 2016 to build and operate two AP1000 units at the site in South Carolina.

Oglethorpe Power, which owns a 30% stake in the project to build two AP1000 reactors at the Vogtle site in Georgia, is seeking an additional federal loan guarantee to fund its share of the cost of completing the units. Construction work continues on Vogtle 3 and 4, pending a final decision to complete them.

Low-cost abundant natural gas and the growth of renewable energy are accelerating the premature retirement of baseload power plants, particularly coal and nuclear ones, says a report from the US Department of Energy. This, it suggests, is putting the resilience of the USA's electricity grid at risk.

Canadian company L3 MAPPS is to update the simulator it supplied in 2006 to Fermi 2 in Michigan. The update is being carried out under a contract with Swiss industrial technology company ABB.

A Washington, DC-based organisation led by former US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has called for greater federal-level recognition of the importance of the USA's nuclear energy supply chain to national security. In its first major report, Energy Future Initiatives recommends immediate government action to support and encourage existing and future new-build projects and strengthen the supply chain.

The first steam generator has been placed in the containment of Vogtle unit 3, the first major lift carried out since Southern Nuclear took charge of oversight activities at the AP1000 construction site in Georgia.