Nuclear Energy Industry Transitions

Bill Habermeyer, president and CEO of Progress Energy Florida, will retire in May. After retiring from the U.S. Navy as a rear admiral in 1993, Habermeyer joined Progress Energy predecessor Carolina Power & Light. He became CEO in 2000.

Progress Energy also announced that Tom Walt has been promoted to vice president of the company’s H.B. Robinson nuclear plant. Walt, who currently serves as general manager of Progress Energy’s West Region Fossil Generation, will replace John Moyer, who will retire in April.

Nebraska Public Power District has named Ron Asche president and CEO, effective immediately. Asche has been with NPPD since 1976, most recently as chief financial officer and vice president of finance, risk management and rates. He replaces Bill Fehrman, who announced his resignation from the company this month.

Southern Nuclear Operating Co. has elected Joseph “Buzz” Miller its senior vice president of nuclear development, a new position. Miller also will serve as president of Southern Nuclear Development LLC, a Southern Nuclear subsidiary created to house Southern Co.’s unregulated nuclear generation ventures.

Dairyland Power Cooperative has named Hank Walters manager of fuel logistics in procurement. Walters joins Dairyland from Entergy Corp.

Dominion has appointed Thomas Hamlin vice president of business planning and market analysis, effective March 1.

Kelly Mannsfeld has been appointed deputy to the director at the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. Gail Stine is the new director of the laboratory’s project management and engineering division.

FirstEnergy Corp. has named Robert “Yank” Heisler Jr. to its board of directors. Heisler previously served on the board from 1998 to 2004. He is chairman of Keybank N.A., CEO of the McDonald Financial Group and executive vice president of KeyCorp.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power, Environment, Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics

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Activists' Claims Distort Facts about Advanced Reactor Design

Below is from our rapid response team . Yesterday, regional anti-nuclear organizations asked federal nuclear energy regulators to launch an investigation into what it claims are “newly identified flaws” in Westinghouse’s advanced reactor design, the AP1000. During a teleconference releasing a report on the subject, participants urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend license reviews of proposed AP1000 reactors. In its news release, even the groups making these allegations provide conflicting information on its findings. In one instance, the groups cite “dozens of corrosion holes” at reactor vessels and in another says that eight holes have been documented. In all cases, there is another containment mechanism that would provide a barrier to radiation release. Below, we examine why these claims are unwarranted and why the AP1000 design certification process should continue as designated by the NRC. Myth: In the AP1000 reactor design, the gap between the shield bu...

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