Recommissioning & Restarts

A Louisiana nuclear plant that shut down as Hurricane Ida battered the state last week will soon resume normal operations, the utility company that owns the site said Tuesday. Entergy Nuclear has “completed all necessary internal readiness reviews and has received recommendations and approvals” from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to restart Waterford Steam Electric Station, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission denied a request for a new rule that would establish a framework for restarting retired nuclear reactors, according to a notice published last week. There’s not enough industry interest in a regulatory framework to reauthorize operations at retired reactors, NRC said in its denial of a 2018 petition for a new […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission denied a request for a new rule that would establish a framework for restarting retired nuclear reactors, according to a notice published last week. There’s not enough industry interest in a regulatory framework to reauthorize operations at retired reactors, NRC said in its denial of a 2018 petition for a new […]

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s planned revival of an underground ventilation fan that has been idle for years is targeted for late July, officials for the Department of Energy and its prime contractor in Carlsbad, N.M. said Thursday night. The summer target timeframe was shared by Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) operations manager Don McBridge […]

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s planned revival of an underground ventilation fan that has been idle for years poses scant radiological risks, according to the Department of Energy and its prime contractor for the facility in New Mexico. Data gleaned from a four-hour test of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)’s 700-C ventilation fan on […]

Following a five-month pause, plutonium downblending resumed in mid-March at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The mission involves dilution of 6 metric tons of nuclear weapon-usable, non-pit plutonium, and not the 34 metric tons of material intended to be processed by Savannah River’s MOX program. Operations began in September 2016, […]

Entergy failed to restart its Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station on Tuesday, after bringing the reactor to 9 percent power before discovering an issue with the facility’s turbine turning gear, prompting the utility to shut the unit down. The Massachusetts plant was first shut down Sept. 6 after a malfunction in which excessive water levels were […]

Exelon has sealed a deal to buy Entergy’s James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant for $110 million, the utility announced Tuesday, about a week after the New York Public Service Commission approved Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) Clean Energy Standard. Cuomo’s plan is projected to pay upstate nuclear operators up to $1 billion in zero-emission energy credits […]

New York state Sen. Patty Ritchie (R) is trying to force power provider Entergy to sell its James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant to the state, the latest attempt to keep the Oswego County facility alive and save the jobs of more than 600 workers. Ritchie, who has championed zero-emission credits in the name of […]

Karl Herchenroeder RW Monitor 12/4/2015 On the heels of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement that the state will develop a new clean energy standard, energy company Exelon said Wednesday it is willing to sell fuel to the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant at a cost should it mean the plant remains open in […]

On the heels of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement that the state will develop a new clean energy standard, energy company Exelon said Wednesday it is willing to sell fuel to the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant at a cost should it mean the plant remains open in the interim.   In November, […]

Company Seeking to Purchase and Restart Nuke Plant Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/31/2014 Any potential discussion on a path to restarting the Kewaunee Power Plant with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must go through Dominion, the owner of the site license, the NRC responded last week to RGA Labs, the engineering company looking to purchase […]

RW Monitor 10/31/2014 IN NRC The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced this week that it has officially enacted the exemptions for emergency preparedness at the Kewaunee Power Station. The Commission had approved the exemptions back in August after Staff had recommended the changes would not have a significant impact on public safety. Dominion will still need […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission officially enacted the exemptions for emergency preparedness at the Kewaunee Power Station, the NRC announced yesterday. The Commission had approved the exemptions back in August after Staff had recommended the changes would not have a significant impact on public safety. Dominion will still need to maintain an onsite emergency plan and […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/22/2014 RGA Labs, the engineering company looking to purchase and restart Dominion’s Kewaunee Nuclear Power Station, sent a letter last week to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Region III office declaring its interest in potentially going through the unusual relicensing of a shutdown plant. The letter would indicate an increasing seriousness […]