Toshiba has made its first payments to the owners of the VC Summer and Vogtle nuclear construction projects under its guarantee obligations as the parent company of Westinghouse Electric Company. The Japanese company also confirmed it is to acquire KazAtomProm's 10% stake in Westinghouse on 1 January.

US energy secretary Rick Perry has called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to act swiftly to address threats to grid resiliency through market reforms to recognise the attributes of baseload generation sources including nuclear. Perry also announced further support of up to $3.7 billion in loan guarantees to the owners of the Vogtle nuclear construction project in Georgia.

Entergy Corporation has reversed its December 2016 decision to close the Palisades nuclear power plant in 2018, the company announced yesterday. The Michigan plant will now operate under an existing power purchase agreement with Consumers Energy until the spring of 2022.

South Carolina Electric & Gas and Santee Cooper have sold to Citibank NA the settlement payments to be made by Toshiba under its guarantee obligations for the VC Summer nuclear construction project. The sale, for $1.8 billion, covers all payments to be made after October.

Policy-driven market distortions are leading to a loss of diversity in the US electric supply portfolio, which will cause higher costs for consumers as well as a loss of resilience to supply disruptions, according to a new study by IHS Markit. A less diverse portfolio will also likely mean little or no reduction - and possibly increases - in electricity sector carbon dioxide emissions, the report finds. 

Following two years of planning, demolition of the West Valley Demonstration Project vitrification facility in New York State began last week. The work is scheduled to be completed in eight months.

The World Nuclear Association's newly published Fuel Report indicates that, by 2035, the United States might be losing 11 reactor units (reference scenario), losing 30 (lower scenario), or losing two and gaining five (upper scenario). Michael Pacilio, COO of Exelon Generation, says the country "can't possibly meet its carbon reduction goals without nuclear power". The following is an abridged version of Pacilio's Hot Seat Interview at the Association's annual symposium in London last week.

The NuScale Power Module design has "some unique features that help with alternative uses of nuclear power", Thomas Bergman, NuScale's vice president for regulatory affairs, told the World Nuclear Association's Symposium, held in London last week. The company has completed five collaborative studies on non-power applications of its small modular reactor (SMR) technology, he said.

As the start up of the world's first AP1000 unit approaches, Westinghouse is using the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection process to transform itself. The company will come out of the process "leaner, stronger and more competitive", Westinghouse president and CEO Jose Gutierrez told the World Nuclear Association's Symposium.

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.