NEI Nuclear Notes

Vivian T. Wagnon is an emergency response planner for the South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC) and has worked in the nuclear industry for 26 years. She is an active member of STPNOC’s Women in Nuclear chapter. Vivian T. Wagnon What is your role at STPNOC? Why do you like working where you do? I am an Offsite Emergency Response Planner, working with the County of Matagorda, Texas and the State of Texas. In my role with the county, I work with and provide support to our county’s Emergency Management Team. In addition, I provide offsite Emergency Responder Training to more than 200 individuals each year including local medical professionals. I am also the lead at the Joint Information Center (JIC) and I provide training to and evaluation of more than 84 ERO JIC members. My role is the perfect platform to inform the public about our great industry; to put fables to rest and share the benefits and truth about the nuclear industry. I believe nuclear energy is th...

Clarence Fenner As part of the STP Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC) ongoing workforce development efforts, 24 entry-level apprentices were recently brought onboard with STP. The apprentices will join Operations (10); Electrical Maintenance (5); I&C (4); and Mechanical Maintenance (4). The new employees were all part of the company’s “Grow Your Own” initiative, which is a focused effort on building pipelines through partnerships with local community colleges and four-year institutions. The employees were part of the Educational Incentive Program as well as Nuclear Regulatory Commission Scholarship students. “We couldn't have accomplished attracting this many solid candidates without the NRC’s scholarship investment,” said Clarence Fenner, Workforce Development/Knowledge Transfer Coordinator. “Our company’s and the NRC’s efforts to build a pipeline of knowledgeable candidates who are ready to work in the nuclear industry are paying off for STP,” Fenner said. STP...

By now I’m sure most readers here have heard that NRG’s cost estimates to build two new reactors at South Texas Project increased around $4 billion just recently. Apparently quite a bit of the increase was due to a weaker dollar. From the Wall Street Journal : Dollar weakness helped drive up cost estimates for two new reactors NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) is planning in Texas with Toshiba Corp. An NRG executive said last month the cost of equipment and materials from Japan climbed 13% to an estimated $2.5 billion compared with a 2007 estimate, mostly due to declines in the dollar. … Currency risk is just one variable for developers. Scana and Southern already have taken steps to eliminate the risk by using dollar-dominated contracts. For other projects, currency fluctuation typically is viewed as part of the larger issue of construction costs. Developers are trying to balance the massive cost and lengthy construction timetable with a tricky outlook for power demand and prices. ...

Environmentalist groups do a lot of good work, so we’re happy to help them raise money, if being against nuclear energy helps them do that, but we would suggest that such groups freshen up their messages a bit. Or maybe take the financial hit and allow that maybe nuclear energy isn’t all that ghastly. But one or the other, please. --- So here’s the deal. CPS Energy wants to add units to the South Texas Project , which it co-owns with NRG Energy and Austin Energy: The recommendation to the CPS Energy Board of Trustees comes after three years of detailed study of various energy options.  It also aligns with the Strategic Energy Plan, CPS Energy’s four-objective roadmap for satisfying future energy requirements. In CPS’s view, electricity demand will outstrip supply in its area of Texas (including San Antonio) soon enough, and CPS has already invested heavily in solar, wind and hydro power. So now, it’s time for more nuclear energy. We like the idea (big surprise), b...

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: