US nuclear power plants are suffering under a challenging business environment, as Exelon CEO Chris Crane warned investors that the company could be forced to close nuclear units that are not profitable. Nevertheless, the case for nuclear in the USA remains strong.
The USA's partially built Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, a key component of the country's plutonium disposition program, is to be placed on cold standby after being effectively cut out of the Department of Energy's FY2015 budget request.
Areva Inc and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd have announced separate initiatives that will see the companies share technology developed for nuclear energy applications with non-nuclear markets.
While investigations continue into the source of airborne radiation detected within the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico, initial sample results suggest that 13 workers received external doses.
US nuclear utilities could start applying to the regulator from 2017 for operating licence extensions beyond 60 years. Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission say they are preparing for this.
Development of the 225 MWe Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor (SMR) is being scaled back following the decision by the US Department of Energy to award funding to competing reactor designs.
The US government has finalized loan guarantees totalling some $6.5 billion for the construction of two AP1000 units at the Vogtle site in Georgia. US energy secretary Ernest Moniz was today due to formally issue the guarantees.
Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) has signed an agreement to support the development of TerraPower's travelling wave reactor. TVA 48.jpg "Watts_Bar_October_2007_(TVA)_48")
The board of the Tennessee Valley Authority has approved a $160 million contract to order additional steam generators for Watts Bar 2. The plant is expected to start up in two years using its previously-supplied steam generators.
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given its blessing to uprates at five nuclear reactors that will add nearly 100 MWe of capacity to the US grid.