From the NEI Clip File

Here are some of the news clips we're reading at NEI today. In an editorial on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the East Valley Tribune has some specific advice for Governor Janet Napolitano:

First, strongly recommend that the next nuclear power plant that is built in this country be located in Arizona. With the technological advances of the past 30 years, this is arguably the most environmentally friendly source of energy available.

In Georgia, Southern Company had some interesting things to say about the plant site at Vogtle:

Southern Co.'s first new nuclear power plant in decades will likely sit on the Plant Vogtle site along the Savannah River near Waynesboro, if the energy giant decides to build one.

That's where Southern has been performing the tests needed to apply for an initial permit for a new nuclear plant, Southern Nuclear spokesman Steve Higginbottom confirmed Wednesday.

In New Mexico, the NRC has scheduled an environmental and safety hearing on Louisiana Energy Service's application to build and operate a uranium enrichment facility.

And finally, the AP has run a wire story on China's grand plans for nuclear energy:

QINSHAN, China - The shadows of Chernobyl and Three Mile Island no longer reach to the pine-crested hillsides of Hangzhou Bay, where China is rushing to expand a nuclear power station to meet soaring demand for electricity for its economic boom.

Driven by crushing fuel shortages, smog and ambitions to profit from its hard-won nuclear prowess, Beijing has embarked on a quest to more than double its nuclear power generating capacity by 2020.

The push for more nuclear power means opportunities for U.S., French and Russian technology suppliers that are competing for up to $8 billion in contracts for two new nuclear power plants - the biggest deals in years for the industry.

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

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Wednesday Update

From NEI’s Japan micro-site: NRC, Industry Concur on Many Post-Fukushima Actions Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues • There is a “great deal of alignment” between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry on initial steps to take at America’s nuclear energy facilities in response to the nuclear accident in Japan, Charles Pardee, the chief operating officer of Exelon Generation Co., said at an agency briefing today. The briefing gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss staff recommendations for near-term actions the agency may take at U.S. facilities. PowerPoint slides from the meeting are on the NRC website. • The International Atomic Energy Agency board has approved a plan that calls for inspectors to evaluate reactor safety at nuclear energy facilities every three years. Governments may opt out of having their country’s facilities inspected. Also approved were plans to maintain a rapid response team of experts ready to assist facility operators recoverin...

Fluor Invests in NuScale

You know, it’s kind of sad that no one is willing to invest in nuclear energy anymore. Wait, what? NuScale Power celebrated the news of its company-saving $30 million investment from Fluor Corp. Thursday morning with a press conference in Washington, D.C. Fluor is a design, engineering and construction company involved with some 20 plants in the 70s and 80s, but it has not held interest in a nuclear energy company until now. Fluor, which has deep roots in the nuclear industry, is betting big on small-scale nuclear energy with its NuScale investment. "It's become a serious contender in the last decade or so," John Hopkins, [Fluor’s group president in charge of new ventures], said. And that brings us to NuScale, which had run into some dark days – maybe not as dark as, say, Solyndra, but dire enough : Earlier this year, the Securities Exchange Commission filed an action against NuScale's lead investor, The Michael Kenwood Group. The firm "misap...

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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