Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

The Department of Energy this week unveiled a framework for increasing its workplace diversity as directed by the White House, the agency said in a press release. Under DOE’s new Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) strategic plan, the agency aims to “sustain an inclusive and accessible work environment by strengthening recruitment, retention and promotion, […]

As the California legislature this week passed a billion-dollar bailout to keep the state’s last operating nuclear power plant running through the next decade, opponents of the proposal are sounding the alarm about the safety and transparency of such action. Representatives from anti-nuclear groups such as Beyond Nuclear, San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace and […]

The Department of Energy expects next month to publish its key findings from a review of hundreds of public comments on its ongoing effort to site a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, an agency spokesperson said this week. DOE is “going through the formal review process” for its November request for information […]

California lawmakers this week passed an eleventh-hour bill that, if signed into law, would help keep the Golden State’s last operating nuclear power plant running into the next decade. The state Senate passed the proposed measure 31-1 late on Wednesday night, the final scheduled day of the legislative session. The bill would give the California […]

In oral arguments this week, two federal appeals judges appeared skeptical of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s power to license commercial storage of spent nuclear fuel.  Those two judges, by themselves, have the power to undo the commission’s September 2021 license of Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) proposed spent-fuel storage site in Andrews County, Texas, which by […]

In oral arguments this week, two federal appeals judges appeared skeptical of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s power to license commercial storage of spent nuclear fuel.  Those two judges, by themselves, have the power to undo the commission’s September 2021 license of Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) proposed spent-fuel storage site in Andrews County, Texas. The site […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before RadWaste Monitor begins its two-week hiatus, here are some other stories from across the civilian nuclear power space we were tracking this week. Indian utility orders first spent fuel casks from Holtec Holtec International last week announced that India’s only nuclear plant operator is buying spent fuel storage racks from the […]

The federal government, slow to return to normal contracting operations after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, was largely to blame for continued operating losses at Perma-Fix Environmental Services during the second quarter of 2022, CEO Mark Duff said in the company’s latest earnings call with investors. For the second quarter, Perma-Fix reported a net […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week submitted its last set of arguments against a coalition of anti-nuclear and other groups suing the agency over a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, court documents show. In its wrap-up brief, filed Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, NRC doubled […]

With less than a month left for nuclear plant operators to apply for the Department of Energy’s civil nuclear credits program, the agency is leaving open the possibility that it will need extra time to review submissions, a spokesperson said this week. Although DOE said in April that it would notify awardees around 30 days […]

The House of Representatives on Friday passed a sweeping spending package that would, if enacted, give economically-troubled nuclear power plants another financial boost in addition to the Department of Energy’s ongoing bailout program. Among the provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, which the House passed Friday evening on a 220-207 party line vote, the bill […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is one step closer to having its executive committee back at full strength, as one of the agency’s two new top regulators took her oath of office this week, a spokesperson said. Annie Caputo was sworn in as an NRC commissioner Tuesday, the agency said in a press release dated Thursday. […]

RadWaste Monitor will not be published on Aug. 19, 2022 or Aug. 26, 2022, as part of the Exchange Monitor’s annual August recess. Look for the next issue in your inbox on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Your rad waste reporter is headed off to Maryland’s eastern shore this weekend, but before that, here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space this week. NRC licenses Vogtle operations, fuel loading The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week said it cleared one of the […]

The nuclear energy industry accounted for just nearly a tenth of all power grid retirements in the first half of this year, the government’s independent energy reported this week. The decline stems from one plant closure: Michigan’s Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, which shuttered for good May 20 and removed roughly 769 megawatts (MW) of electricity […]

Nuclear services company NuScale’s advanced reactor design should soon be certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to be built in the United States, the agency said in a press release last week. The commission directed its staff to draw up a final rule approving NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) design, first proposed in 2016, according […]

A bevy of safety violations at a New Jersey nuclear power plant under decommissioning have been resolved, the company dismantling the site told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a recent letter. Since NRC on Jan. 26 slapped Holtec International with around $50,000 in fines for several security violations at Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Holtec […]

Entergy, New Orleans, reported this week increased earnings in its nuclear power segment for the second quarter of 2022, which the utility company credited largely to the recent sale of one of its nuclear plants. According to earnings documents published Wednesday, income for Entergy Wholesale Commodities, which manages the company’s nuclear fleet, was around $87 […]

The state of Michigan is still working to find a potential buyer who will save Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, a spokesperson for the state governor said this week. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) office continues to work with “potential buyers, operators, and stakeholders to keep this vital energy source and the 600 good-paying jobs right here […]

Keeping California’s last operating nuclear power plant running past its planned shutdown date would be a tall order for the utility company in charge of the facility, its CEO told investors during a conference call last week. Amid pressure from the nuclear industry, activists and state Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) […]

The full Senate this week confirmed the White House’s nominees to fill out the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, bringing the nuclear safety regulator’s executive committee to five members for the first time in over a year. Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell, who the upper chamber approved to become NRC commissioners on a voice vote Tuesday night, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the state of Texas traded blows this week about whether a recent Supreme Court decision moves the needle in the Lone Star State’s ongoing lawsuit against a proposed, privately owned interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, court documents show. Wednesday’s filings with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals are […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before the weekend starts, here are a couple of other stories that RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week. Testing reveals non-nuclear pollutants in Pilgrim wastewater A state test on spent fuel pool wastewater planned for release from a Massachusetts nuclear power plant under decommissioning revealed non-nuclear pollutants, local media reported this week. […]

The Department of Energy has formalized its plans to build an advanced reactor at one of its national laboratories, the agency said in a press release this week. In a record of decision document, DOE said it would aim to build its Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) at Idaho National Laboratory, the agency said. If Congress […]

The utility company in charge of decommissioning a California nuclear power plant is preparing to ship some heavy reactor parts out of state to a low-level disposal facility, according to a recent press release. The reactor pressure vessel head of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station’s (SONGS) Unit 2 reactor “will be leaving the site soon,” […]

A proposed bill currently awaiting debate in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that would create an independent federal agency to oversee the development of nuclear waste storage sites. The new organization proposed in Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) Nuclear Waste Administration Act would assume all of the nuclear waste management authority given to the […]

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted unanimously this week to advance the White House’s nominees to fill out the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the panel said in a press release. If the full Senate gives the green light to Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell, they will fill two positions on the nuclear safety regulator’s […]