Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

WASHINGTON — The Secretary of Energy told attendees at an international nuclear power conference this week that the U.S. aims to keep nuclear at the center of its energy mixture in the long term. “[W]e are committed to maintaining and modernizing our existing fleet, and we are committed to developing a secure and diverse supply […]

WASHINGTON — Though the government lags private industry in the development of centralized nuclear waste storage, Washington can still be part of the solution, the Secretary of Energy said here this week. “I understand that there are private efforts going on, but we believe that the government has a role in a [nuclear waste] repository […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers, happy nuclear science week, and happy Formula One U.S. Grand Prix weekend, for those who celebrate. Before we head off into the weekend, here are some other stories that RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week from across the civilian nuclear power space. Industry and government figures this week celebrated Nuclear Science Week […]

Non-profit advocacy group Public Citizen is angling to get out of a joint lawsuit challenging a proposed interim storage facility in west Texas, court documents show. Washington-based Public Citizen “​​has expressed its desire to terminate its involvement in this matter,” according to a Thursday filing with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in a case […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is rolling out an Instagram account, the agency said in a press release this week. NRC’s new account on photo-sharing social media platform Instagram will be used to post photos, videos and graphics to “provide a more creative approach to information regarding the NRC’s mission, with a focus on the skilled […]

The governor of Michigan last week signed a bill aimed at evaluating whether the Great Lake State could expand nuclear power generation in the wake of a recent plant closure, according to a press release. The measure, which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law Oct. 14, directs Michigan’s public service commission to, among other things, […]

Although a Michigan nuclear power plant shut down earlier than expected, capacity losses from nuclear generation outages were lower this summer than they were the year prior, the government’s independent energy auditor said in a report last week. Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, which shut down May 20, removed around 770 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission may not wrap up a proposed series of amendments to its regulations for packaging and transporting radioactive waste for another two years or so, an agency official said during a webinar this week. The current projected publication date for NRC’s proposed changes, which the agency has said would bring its oversight […]

One of two on-site facilities storing spent fuel from a California nuclear power plant can keep operating for another decade or so, the Golden State’s coastal land regulator said last week. The 12-member California Coastal Commission voted 9-0 Oct. 13 to approve a 13 year extension on state permits for the storage pad, located at […]

A recently-shuttered Michigan nuclear power plant that the state hopes to get running again will have new representation in Congress after November’s midterm elections. Until this year, the Covert, Mich., Palisades Nuclear Generating Station was located within the state’s sixth congressional district, represented by Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.). Following a redistricting effort, the plant is […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before we head off into the weekend, here are some other stories that RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week from across the civilian nuclear power space. Energy secretary Jennifer Granholm was scheduled Oct. 26 to hold a press conference with the head of the United Nations’ nuclear power authority during an international […]

An amendment to the Senate’s nearly $900 billion defense budget proposed for the 2023 fiscal year would, if made law, direct the Department of Energy to ensure that the U.S. civilian nuclear fleet can run on domestically-sourced fuel. Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.V.) proposed add to the Senate’s $847 billion version of the National Defense Authorization […]

The recent effort to keep California’s last operating nuclear power plant online enjoys bipartisan support among voters in the Golden State, according to a university poll published last week. Among registered voters in California, 56% said that they support keeping Diablo Canyon Power Plant online five years past its scheduled 2025 shutdown date, according to […]

Ahead of the midterm elections, plans for disposing of spent nuclear fuel currently stranded at a California nuclear power plant are among the issues at play in one battle to represent the Golden State in Congress. The issue of nuclear waste disposal is especially personal to the candidates for California’s 49th congressional district — incumbent […]

Uranium fuel company Cameco and environmental investment firm Brookfield Renewable Partners announced this week a strategic partnership aimed at purchasing Westinghouse Electric Company, according to a press release. If the deal closes as planned, Cameco will own a 49% stake in Westinghouse and Brookfield Renewable will control 51% of the company, according to a Tuesday […]

A Massachusetts state legislator is pushing to get a proposed study on the possible effects of discharging a shuttered nuclear power plant’s irradiated wastewater into an economic development bill under consideration in Boston, a spokesperson said recently. State Sen. Susan Moran (D), who represents Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station’s host community in Boston, has proposed establishing […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission thanked Massachusetts’s senior senator for outlining his reservations about a proposed agency rulemaking aimed at streamlining the decommissioning process for nuclear power plants, according to a recent letter. “We appreciate and share your interest in ensuring that the NRC has a safe, effective and efficient decommissioning process for nuclear power plants,” […]

The Department of Energy could soon announce which nuclear power plant operators will receive the first round of payouts in the agency’s multi-billion dollar civil nuclear credits program. Thursday marked one month since the Sep. 6 application deadline for DOE’s roughly $6 billion bailout scheme. A spokesperson for DOE told RadWaste Monitor via email Thursday […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before we head off into the weekend, here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space this week. Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff was in Toronto this week at an international nuclear energy conference where she made the case for building […]

A Michigan state representative sponsoring legislation to support developing nuclear power in the Great Lake State said this week that a recently-closed nuclear facility should be part of such a push. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) support for a proposal to restart Palisades Nuclear Generating Station using cash from a Department of Energy bailout is “really […]

The company in charge of dismantling a Wisconsin nuclear power plant will soon begin actually taking the facility apart, the company’s chief operating officer said this week. The first phase of the decommissioning process, which will include activities such as site configuration and the first non-radioactive building demolition should begin at Kewaunee “in the months […]

The contest for a Nevada Senate seat up for grabs in the upcoming midterm elections is, according to one poll, too close to call with around a month remaining until Silver Staters cast their votes. Incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) trails her challenger, former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt (R), by just two percentage […]

The Department of Energy could have its own interim storage facility to store U.S. spent nuclear fuel within a decade or so, the Office of Nuclear Energy’s newly-minted head of waste disposition said during a webinar this week. “We will have a federal interim storage facility within the decade, if not fifteen years, with a […]

As it prepares a second round of funding under a program aimed at propping up the aging U.S. nuclear fleet, the Department of Energy said in draft guidelines last week that the upcoming bailouts need not be limited to plants facing imminent closure. The second round of DOE’s civil nuclear credits program “does not restrict […]

The House approved this week a temporary budget bill for fiscal year 2023, setting up most Department of Energy nuclear waste programs to continue operating at their 2022 budgets through Dec. 16. For the first two-and-a-half months of fiscal year 2023, the stopgap bill would give DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), which runs civilian […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before we head off into the weekend, here are a couple of other stories that RadWaste Monitor was tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space this week. Granholm talks ‘re-establishing U.S. leadership in nuclear energy’ at IAEA conference Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm spoke this week at the International Atomic Energy […]