Nuclear Energy Industry Transitions

TXU Corp. last week announced several leadership changes. Mike Childers is the new CEO of Generation Development. Chief Financial Officer Kirk Oliver and General Counsel Eric Peterson will be leaving TXU Corp. David Campbell, executive vice president of corporate planning, strategy and risk, will temporarily assume Oliver’s responsibilities. David Poole will be the company’s new general counsel and executive vice president of legal.

The Shaw Group has hired Dave Barry as president of the Shaw Stone & Webster Nuclear Services division. Barry joins Shaw from Bechtel, where he had been for six years, most recently as operations manager for fossil power projects.

PG&E Corp. has elected Richard Rollo as vice president of strategic development and business integration, effective March 29. Rollo joins PG&E from Health Net Inc., where he was vice president of corporate development and M&A.

Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) has named Traci Bender its vice president of finance, risk management and rates, and its chief financial officer, effective immediately. Bender has been with NPPD since 1990, most recently in the position of corporate planning and risk manager. She succeeds Ron Asche, who was named NPPD’s president and CEO in February.

Bernard Estève has been appointed executive president of AREVA North America, effective April 1. Xavier Jacob will replace Estève as senior executive vice president of AREVA NP, Plants Sector. AREVA Inc. also appointed Philippe Hatron chief financial officer.

David Oatley, vice president and general manager of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, retired from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. March 13.

David McCarthy will be the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s new chief energy counsel, effective next month. He will succeed the departing Mark Menezes. McCarthy’s previously served as deputy commissioner of U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, overseeing the bureau’s implementation of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

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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