NEI Nuclear Notes

The world just goes about its business: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said on Thursday it was seeking public comment on the proposed certification of General Electric-Hitachi Nuclear Energy's Economic Simplified Boiling-Water Reactor (ESBWR) design for use in the United States. And that’s fine. --- And the world may want to stop and see what’s happened and why: The report, submitted to member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) shortly before Japan 's nuclear crisis erupted this month, said the global nuclear sector maintained a high level of safety performance in 2010. But, it warned, "in some cases, plans for nuclear power program development moved faster than the establishment of the necessary regulatory and safety infrastructure and capacity." The report, in this case, was generated by the IAEA, presumably to see if member countries agreed with its premise. There’ll be more to say about this, but for no...

Interesting roundtable discussion over at Penn Central. Participants include John Herron, president, CEO and chief nuclear officer of Entergy Nuclear; Mark Marano, Areva senior vice president of U.S. new build operations; Danny Roderick, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's senior vice president for new plant projects; Christofer Mowry, president and CEO, B&W Modular Nuclear Energy, LLC; and Deva Chari, Westinghouse senior vice president of Nuclear Power Plants. Lots of different topics are discussed: here’s a sampling of the questions: There has been a lot of talk about the possibility of a nuclear renaissance globally. What is the outlook for new nuclear projects over the next couple of years, especially given the global recession? How are the dynamics for new nuclear in North America different than they were a couple of years ago? The Department of Energy approved a federal loan guarantee last February for Southern’s proposed units, but nothing has happened since then. Cons...

Last week, Margaret Harding, former GE engineering manager, took on a post by UCS’ David Lochbaum that misstated the nuclear events at two reactors. From Margaret: On August 24th, Mr. Lochbaum posted a story on the Union of Concerned Scientists website about an event in 1988, then proceeded to link it to a 2005 event at a different plant and makes the case that the nuclear industry is filled with screw-ups and near misses. You can read the original article here. As it happens, my career has included learning about these particular events and leading the team that developed some of the solutions that are currently in place to prevent/mitigate the effect. From that, I can say – Mr. Lochbaum got it wrong . To find out how Margaret is correct, stop by for the rest . As well, Dan Yurman has more background to their story . Looking forward to reading more from Margaret, maybe this will turn into a bigger debate between her and Mr. Lochbaum.

In an interesting story in today’s USA Today , Julie Schmit profiles Exelon’s chairman, John Rowe. He’s always worth attending to on nuclear issues, though the selection of quotes here is, shall we say, a little strange: "I'm very depressed." "My dad felt about cows the way I feel about nuclear plants. They're a business, not a passion." "We're constantly looking for something dead in the plains." We’ll let you read the article for the context of these quotes – you’re probably curious about what’s dead in the plains. We will let you know that Rowe is depressed about the prospect for a climate change bill this year, yet confident there will be a bill because climate change concerns won’t end.  And Rowe insists climate legislation will be good for the environment as well as Exelon, which generates 92 percent of its electricity through nuclear energy. We always admire Rowe for his very frank assessments and this article captures tha...

North Carolina Governor Mike Easley (D) and state officials announced today that GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy will expand its campus in Wilmington, NC. The move will add 900 new jobs to the area over the next five years. Via The News & Observer : He [Jim Fain, N.C. Commerce Secretary] predicted the GE expansion would have "a significant halo effect" in the Southeastern region of the state. GE-Hitachi plans to invest $704 million at its New Hanover County campus and pay average annual salaries of $85,000. The Hanover County average wage is $33,226 a year. The company plans to add new manufacturing, training, simulation and testing facilities at its 1,300-acre campus.

From Entergy : The application seeks regulatory approvals to potentially build a new unit adjacent to Entergy’s existing Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, a reactor that ranks third among the nation’s 104 nuclear plants for total electricity output over its lifetime of commercial operations. With energy demands rising across the nation, many energy companies are pursuing clean, safe nuclear options through the NuStart consortium and other avenues. The U.S. Department of Energy states 250 to 500 new baseload power plants – those designed to help meet basic electrical needs – will be needed across the country by 2030.

From the AP : GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy said Tuesday it has received a tentative multimillion-dollar order from power plant operator Exelon Corp. to provide parts for two possible nuclear reactors. The deal for steam turbine generators and other components depends on whether Exelon's nuclear division decides to continue with plans for a plant in Texas. GE Hitachi said Exelon needs to have plans in place ahead of time to make sure the parts are available. And the hits keep on coming.

Details from World Nuclear News . For more from GE Nuclear, click here .

Here's some neat video we just got our hands on: An explanation of the passive safety systems of the General Electric ESBWR nuclear power plant : Neat stuff.

My apologies for the lack of posts today, as I was down on Capitol Hill this morning for the press event announcing NRG's license application with NRC to build an additional two reactors at the site of the South Texas Project . For more details directly from NRG, click here . I was at the event with my video camera, so I should have some footage to share later this afternoon. Congratulations to everyone at NRG and STP on taking an important first step -- one that hasn't been taken in the U.S. since 1978 -- on the road to building America's next new nuclear reactor. UPDATE : Here's NRG Energy's President and CEO, David Crane, at the press conference: UPDATE : And here's a clip of a statement from Senator Pete Domenici:

Details from GE .

Details from the Globe and Mail .

According to reports, both GE and AREVA are interested in a stake in AECL.

Just off the wire : GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) today submitted its ESBWR reactor design to government regulators in London to initiate the generic design assessment (GDA) process as the United Kingdom considers whether to build a new fleet of reactors to help meet its energy and emissions-reduction requirements. GEH is seeking “design acceptance confirmation” from U.K. nuclear energy regulators – the Health and Safety Executive, the Environment Agencies and the Office for Civil Nuclear Security – which is required before utilities can seek to build new plants based on the ESBWR in the United Kingdom. The business also has begun adding staff to its U.K. nuclear project development team. Included in its application, GEH submitted letters of endorsement from credible nuclear power operators stating they considered the ESBWR to be a serious contender for the first projects in a U.K. initiative to replace the country’s existing fleet of nuclear power plants. GEH received letters of end...

I know we've mentioned this news before, but in case you missed the press release earlier this week : GE and Hitachi, Ltd. have today completed the first half of their agreement to form a global alliance of their nuclear businesses, creating one of the world’s most comprehensive nuclear power plant and services operations that will compete for new reactor projects around the world. The global business that will operate throughout the world, excluding Japan, is called “GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy” and officially began business today. It is 60% owned by GE and 40% by Hitachi, and will be led by the executives of GE’s current nuclear business. In Japan, the business is planning to begin operations in early July and will be called “Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy.” It will be owned 80.01% by Hitachi and 19.99% by GE and will be led by the executives of Hitachi’s current nuclear business. All entities will share a joint advisory committee. With climate change and energy security concerns drivin...

From the Wilmington Star : GE Energy's nuclear division announced a deal Tuesday to build parts of the core infrastructure of a new nuclear plant tentatively planned for Virginia. Terms of the deal with Dominion Resources were kept secret. But Andy White, head of GE Nuclear, said the agreement was a boon for its Wilmington headquarters, where much of the design, engineering, procurement and budgeting for the project would be done. "This is great for Wilmington," White said. Congrats to everyone involved. Just another step in the process on the way to the next new nuclear power plant.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney was in the Washington suburbs yesterday to give a speech to the Northern Virginia Technology Council . During a post-speech Q&A, the Governor was asked a question about the future viability of nuclear energy : "I'm afraid building a nuclear power plant in our country today would require us first to hire the French to show us how to do it because they've been building 'em and we haven't," For more, including video, click here . A couple of points: While a new nuclear power plant hasn't been built in the U.S. in a few decades, both General Electric and Westinghouse have been building them overseas in the interim, gaining valuable construction experience, especially in Asia. While French nuclear giant AREVA is a leader in the industry, it is important to note that its reactor technology is essentially built on a Westinghouse design. For more facts on new nuclear plant construction, click here . For more on adva...

That's a question that MIT Technology Review is asking today: New reactor technologies offer poorer nations cheap, safe, efficient power. Sanctions designed to prevent the proliferation of weapons impede their use. What would a better policy look like? It's an interesting quesiton, and one that deserves our attention, especially given the interest of many developing nations .