Advanced Nuclear & SMRs

The vice president of Holtec’s small modular reactor business is excited about the prospect of developing such units at the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. “The details remain [to be worked out] as far as the exact timing and the financial conditions,” Tom Marcille, vice president and chief nuclear officer at Holtec International SMR,” said […]

The vice president of Holtec’s small modular reactor business is excited about the prospect of developing such units at the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. “The details remain [to be worked out] as far as the exact timing and the financial conditions,” Tom Marcille, vice president and chief nuclear officer at Holtec International SMR, said […]

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Monday announced plans to create a commercial nuclear fusion facility within 10 years, The Associated Press reports.  The Biden administration sees fusion as a carbon-free energy source for powering homes and businesses. The Lawrence Livermore National Lab scientist in charge of nuclear weapon design and physics, whose team frequently uses […]

Naval nuclear reactor manufacturer BWX Technologies has teamed with shipping company Crowley to develop a nuclear-powered concept ship for defense and disaster relief the company announced Sept. 20 on its website. Crowley signed a memorandum of understanding with BWX’s Advanced Technologies subsidiary that will allow both companies to jointly develop new shallow-draft-hull ships that can […]

Naval nuclear reactor manufacturer BWX Technologies has teamed with shipping company Crowley to develop a nuclear-powered concept ship for defense and disaster relief the company announced Sept. 20 on its website. Crowley signed a memorandum of understanding with BWX’s Advanced Technologies subsidiary that will allow both companies to jointly develop new shallow-draft-hull ships that can […]

The Defense Department extended an existing contract with X-energy Reactor Company under the military’s Project Pele initiative to develop a transportable, cost-effective advanced nuclear microreactor prototype for use in remote military locations.  X-energy expects to advance the design of its prototype – which could ultimately be used for commercial or industrial use in civilian applications […]

The Defense Department extended an existing contract with X-energy Reactor Company under the military’s Project Pele initiative to develop a transportable, cost-effective advanced nuclear microreactor prototype for use in remote military locations.  X-energy expects to advance the design of its prototype – which could ultimately be used for commercial or industrial use in civilian applications […]

Waste Control Specialists filed a permit renewal application for its low-level radioactive waste disposal site in West Texas, David Carlson, the president of the company told the Exchange Monitor this week at the annual National Cleanup Workshop in Arlington, Va.  Waste Control Specialists operates a state-owned low-level radioactive waste disposal facility alongside its commercial facilities […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans an Oct. 19 hearing on a proposal by Kairos Power to build a demonstration reactor in Oak Ridge, Tenn., on land once used for a Department of Energy gaseous diffusion plant. The hearing at Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) headquarters in Rockville, Md., marks the final phase of the agency’s review […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans an Oct. 19 hearing on a proposal by Kairos Power to build a demonstration reactor in Oak Ridge, Tenn., on land once used for a Department of Energy gaseous diffusion plant. The hearing at Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) headquarters in Rockville, Md., marks the final phase of the agency’s review […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not have the staff it needs to license new nuclear reactor designs and needs to take another look at its hiring programs before that can change, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office. The agency, which regulates civilian nuclear power plants and the waste they produce, has […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not have the staff it needs to license new nuclear reactor designs and needs to take another look at its hiring programs before that can change, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office. The agency, which regulates civilian nuclear power plants and the waste they produce, has […]

Looking toward a future as a developer of small nuclear reactors, Holtec International, Jupiter, Fla., added power generation to the responsibilities of its lead decommissioning executive, the company announced Monday. Kelly Trice is now president Nuclear Generation and Decommissioning for Holtec, the company wrote in a press release. In his new role, Kelly will now […]

Veolia Nuclear Solutions Federal Services this week identified itself as an integrated subcontractor on the new Amentum-led cleanup contractor at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site near Piketon, Ohio. The prime, Southern Ohio Cleanup Company also includes Fluor and Cavendish Nuclear. The team on July 13 received a Portsmouth Decontamination and Decommissioning contract from DOE […]

The Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant’s Unit 3 reactor, the newest nuclear reactor in the country, started delivering electricity to the grid in Georgia, Georgia Power announced this week. Unit 3 in Waynesboro, Ga., started generating electricity in April. It is the first reactor project to become operational under the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Part […]

Using leftover appropriations, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s budget for fiscal year 2024 would be essentially what the agency requested, if a proposal approved last week by Senate appropriators becomes law. An energy and water appropriations bill passed Thursday by the Senate Appropriations would provide a net appropriation for the NRC of about $940 million. That […]

Sixty four lawmakers called out what they said were six problems with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s draft rule for licensing advanced reactors and, in a July 14 letter, asked for a fix. Safety requirements in the NRC’s proposed rule are so strict that they will prevent commission staff from licensing new reactor designs quickly, said […]

Sixty four lawmakers called out what they said were six problems with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s draft rule for licensing advanced reactors and, in a July 14 letter, asked for a fix. Safety requirements in the NRC’s proposed rule are so strict that they will prevent commission staff from licensing new reactor designs quickly, said […]

Ohio created a new state Nuclear Development Authority this month that aims to make the state a research and development hub for advanced reactors and radioactive-waste-handling equipment, among other things. The new nine-member agency, created by the legislature as part of a 2024 state budget bill approved July 3, includes three tiers of members appointed […]

The Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act is now in the hands of the full House of Representatives after a late-night vote by the Rules Committee slashed allowable amendments to 209 from a record 1,502.  Approved at 11 p.m. Tuesday by a nine to four vote split on party lines, the bill ended up […]

Ohio created a new state Nuclear Development Authority this month that aims to make the state a research and development hub for advanced reactors and radioactive-waste-handling equipment, among other things. The new nine-member agency, created by the legislature as part of a 2024 state budget bill approved July 3, includes three tiers of members appointed […]

LightBridge, the Reston, Va.,-based nuclear technology company, said Thursday that Texas A&M University has received a $1-million Department of Energy award for research and development on advanced fuels in small modular reactors. The three-year study focuses on characterization of Lightbridge ‘s fuel inside a small modular reactor designed by NuScale Power, LightBridge said in a […]

The No. 2 Department of Energy manager at the West Valley Demonstration Project in western New York, Craig Rieman, has left to take another job within the agency, members of a local task force heard last week. Bryan Bower, DOE’s manager of the West Valley cleanup, announced the move last Wednesday, June 28, during a […]

Westinghouse Electric has submitted its first batch of vendor design review paperwork to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for a microreactor capable of generating up to 5 kilowatts of electricity, the company said Wednesday. Westinghouse filed four phase 1 submissions with the Canadian regulator June 30, the company said. The Pennsylvania-based company also intends to […]

Westinghouse Electric has submitted its first batch of vendor design review paperwork to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for a microreactor capable of generating up to 5 kilowatts of electricity, the company said Wednesday. Westinghouse filed four phase 1 submissions with the Canadian regulator June 30, the company said. The Pennsylvania-based company also intends to […]

Publicly traded stock of advanced nuclear reactor developer NuScale, which is majority-owned by Fluor Corp., hit an all-time low this week. The company’s stock, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, plunged to $6.42 a share on Tuesday, down by about 40% compared with the Oregon-based company’s first day of trading on May 2 […]

Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions is exploring the idea of using the shuttered Kewaunee Nuclear Generating Station in Wisconsin and some of its other decommissioning sites as potential locations for future new nuclear power sites. “We are in the early phases of exploring the use of EnergySolutions -owned former nuclear sites such as Kewaunee,” for new […]

The House Appropriations Committee on Thursday was to mark up a bill that would increase funding for next-generation nuclear energy programs at the expense of accounts that fund nuclear waste, among other things. Generally, the bill would provide DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy with more funding than requested for development of high assay low-enriched uranium […]

Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions is exploring the idea of using the shuttered Kewaunee Nuclear Generating Station in Wisconsin and some of its other decommissioning sites as potential locations for future new nuclear power sites. “We are in the early phases of exploring the use of EnergySolutions -owned former nuclear sites such as Kewaunee,” for new […]

A bill that would force reviews of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s efficiency and extend caps on industry liability for catastrophic nuclear accidents cleared a Senate committee Wednesday on a 16-3 bipartisan vote. Only three Democrats opposed the bill, the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023. Sens. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), […]