Illinois will need to expand its nuclear capacity - not just maintain existing plants - in order to meet climate goals, a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has concluded. Keeping the state's existing nuclear plants open at the same time as investing in advanced nuclear technology and renewable energy is the most economical path to zero-carbon that generates the lowest life-cycle carbon emissions, the study has found.

The UN climate summit in November "must be the COP that consigns coal power to history" if the world is serious about achieving the 1.5 degree limit set by the Paris Agreement, COP26 President Alok Sharma said last week. In response, the UK's Nuclear Industry Association said that nuclear energy is the best low-carbon baseload replacement for coal, while US Special Presidential Climate Envoy John Kerry highlighted the development of small modular reactors.

US nuclear fuel and services provider Centrus Energy Corporation today announced it has secured new nuclear fuel sales contracts and commitments valued at about USD225 million over the past 12 months. This, the company said, was the strongest period for new sales since 2015.

EnergySolutions has announced it is to acquire the Kewaunee nuclear power plant from current owner Dominion Energy, and will complete the decommissioning of the single-unit plant, which shut down in 2013.
 

Lightbridge Corporation has demonstrated the manufacturing process for surrogate fuel rods for commercial-scale small modular reactors, using an internally developed and patented high-temperature coextrusion process.

Exelon is not giving up on its Illinois plants, but will go ahead with the closure of Byron and Dresden later this year if the state does not - before the end of its current session - pass policy reforms to support their continued operation, CEO Chris Crane said this week.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is to provide engineering, operations and licensing support to help Kairos Power deploy its Hermes low-power demonstration reactor at the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee under a newly announced collaboration agreement between the two companies.

The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board has produced a report on how the Department of Energy can develop a robust, safe and effective nuclear waste management programme for the USA, including laying the groundwork for a successfully implemented geological repository. It says the lack of progress on developing and operating a geologic repository impedes the associated potential benefits of having nuclear energy as part of a zero-carbon future for mitigation of climate change, as well as the advancement of US nuclear technology and commerce.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved an application by Dominion Energy's Virginia subsidiary for a 20-year extension to the operating licences of the twin-unit Surry nuclear power plant. This will enable the two pressurised water reactors to operate until 2052 and 2053, respectively. 

Most of the nuclear plants in the PJM Interconnection wholesale electricity market - covering 13 US states and the District of Columbia - will not produce enough revenue to remain economically viable in the coming years, an independent economic evaluation has concluded.

The US State Department has announced it is launching the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) programme, which will provide "capacity-building support to partner countries". As an initial investment, the department has committed USD5.3 million to support FIRST projects.

Entergy Corporation's Indian Point unit 3 will be shut down tomorrow after nearly 60 years of nuclear power generation at the site in New York state. The closure will bring to an end a world record-breaking run for the pressurised water reactor.