NEI Nuclear Notes

Does America Online still exist? Why, yes it does, though it seems to have changed its business model considerably – it isn’t supporting the CD-manufacturing industry all by itself anymore, for one thing. It also has an energy site , at which we learn: The headlines should come somewhere between December and March 2012 when the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, if all goes as expected, will okay building up to four new nuclear reactors. The licenses for two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at Southern Co.'s Plant Vogtle in Georgia, followed quickly by two more at SCANA's Summer station in South Carolina, will be the first granted since the 1970s. The story following is notably positive. One plus for new nuclear is new jobs. Both the Vogtle and Summer sites will employ thousands of construction workers, as well as hundreds of operational personnel when the units start up 2016-19. Fertel said that, while the largest reactor components have to be forged overseas since no facilities ex...

We've noted Ontario's interest in nuclear energy and now Alberta  takes a crack at it (courtesy of The Prairie Post ): The debate about nuclear energy and whether it will have a future in Alberta has officially begun as Bruce Power Alberta begins the planning to build the first nuclear power plant in western Canada and the Alberta government appoints a committee to research whether nuclear energy should be pursued in the province. That sounds like two stories, doesn't it, since Bruce Power is not going to get very far if the government research goes against it. Here's what Bruce Power has in mind: Bruce Power, based in Ontario, purchased the assets of Energy Alberta Corporation and in March filed an application with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to prepare a site for the potential construction of the plant on Lac Cardinal near Peace River. Peace River sounds kind of nice, but Bruce Power! Are all the boys in Canada named Bruce (who are not nam...

Steven Aplin has the details.

From The Record (Ontario, Canada): Alternative energy sources may have a role to play, but Ontarians should not expect them to replace nuclear power as the province's main source of electricity, the chief executive of Bruce Power told local Rotarians yesterday. When surveyed, most people say they prefer wind, solar or hydroelectric power over nuclear energy because they think energy from renewable sources is "free," Duncan Hawthorne said. "That's fair, except I can qualify them all with one word: 'Sometimes,' " he said. "Because sometimes the sun shines, sometimes the wind blows and sometimes the rain falls. We need energy on a stable basis." "It's not reasonable to build a developed society out of any of those three things," he said. I first heard Hawthorne speak at a Platts conference in 2005. Bruce is lucky to have him.

In the Canadian province of Ontario, work is well underway to restart Units 1 and 2 at the Bruce A Nuclear Power Plant. Ed Willet, a freelance writer, recently toured the facility and came away impressed .

Details from the Mississauga Business Times . Thanks to We Support Lee for the pointer.