Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

SUMMERLIN, NEV.  — A protracted challenge to its recent purchase of a Wisconsin nuclear power plant hasn’t altered EnergySolutions’ strategy for future transactions, a company executive said here this week. EnergySolutions COO Jeff Richardson told RadWaste Monitor Monday that the company was “happy with the way we approached” its purchase of Kewaunee Power Station from […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — There are no plans to keep Diablo Canyon Power Plant operating beyond 2024 or 2025, even as the governor of California presses the federal government to open up its multi-billion dollar nuclear plant bailout program to the plant, a Pacific Gas & Electric executive said here this week. “The bottom line is, […]

In early fall, Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will recommend whether the civilian nuclear energy regulator should overhaul federal rules about securing special nuclear material, an agency official said during a public meeting on Wednesday. Staff were due to turn in their notation vote paper to the commission by September, said Marshall Kohen, a technical assistant […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. With a long weekend behind us and a regular old weekend ahead, here are some other stories from across the civilian nuclear power space that RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week. Next week in Vegas: Exchange Monitor’s Decommissioning Strategy Forum Mark your calendars — Monday, June 6 is the start of the […]

A federal judge this week gave New Mexico’s attorney general another seven days to fine-tune his next argument in a lawsuit challenging a proposed consolidated interim storage facility in neighboring Texas, court filings show. June 16 is now the deadline for state attorney general Hector Balderas to make his next move in New Mexico’s ongoing […]

The Department of Energy is considering the California governor’s request to alter the agency’s multibillion-dollar nuclear power bailout to allow a plant in the Golden State to apply for a payout, a spokesperson said this week. DOE is “currently reviewing” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) May 23 letter to the agency asking it to loosen restrictions […]

A university report published this week that raised concerns about waste streams from advanced reactors distracts from the larger issues facing nuclear waste management across the globe, a nuclear power expert told RadWaste Monitor this week. “The technical content of the study obfuscates from the fact that waste is predominantly a political rather than a […]

Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff is optimistic about her opportunity to contribute to the federal government’s 30-year quest to solve the nuclear waste storage problem.  “It’s really exciting,” Huff, silhouetted against a virtual background depicting a hot nuclear reactor emblazoned with the Office of Nuclear Energy seal, told RadWaste Monitor during […]

The new head of the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy said Thursday she still plans to hire nuclear activist and advocate Sam Brinton.  Newly-sworn-in Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff confirmed her intentions during an interview with RadWaste Monitor.  Brinton, who identifies variously as male and female and uses the […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before you unplug for this Memorial Day weekend, here are some other stories from across the civilian nuclear power space that RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week. Nuke credits, waste on the agenda for Granholm’s visit to CT power plant Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm last week visited Connecticut’s only operating nuclear […]

Holtec International’s plan to dispose of a Massachusetts nuclear power plant’s irradiated wastewater meets regulatory requirements, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told the head of a local town council in a recent letter. Holtec’s license with NRC allowing it to decommission Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station requires the company “to ensure that the releases of gaseous and […]

Keeping California’s last nuclear power plant online would be “an outrage and a betrayal,” a coalition of anti-nuclear groups told the state governor in a letter last week, as the Golden State pondered whether to press for a federal bailout for the facility. Keeping Diablo Canyon Power Plant online past its scheduled 2025 shutdown date […]

A prominent nuclear-professional organization this week rallied behind a proposed Nuclear Regulatory Commission rulemaking aimed at streamlining decommissioning of nuclear power plants. The American Nuclear Society (ANS) said in a statement Tuesday that it was “pleased” with NRC’s proposed changes to decommissioning regulations.  “This rulemaking has been under development for many years, and changes to […]

The state of California this week asked the Department of Energy to alter requirements for its recently-unveiled nuclear bailout to ensure the Golden State’s last operating nuclear power plant is eligible for an award during the agency’s first funding cycle. DOE’s April guidelines for its roughly $6 billion civil nuclear credits program present “overly broad” […]

The company aiming to purchase a Michigan nuclear power plant won’t expedite the process even though the site went offline earlier than expected, a spokesperson said this week. Although Palisades Nuclear Generating Station shut down Friday, around 11 days earlier than its scheduled May 31 closure date, Holtec International has “no plans” to finalize the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week dashed Holtec International’s hopes of getting a federal license for its proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel sometime in the near future, as the agency pushed its timeline for a final safety review to early next year. NRC staff determined that Holtec still has not provided enough […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was not required to interview affected workers or record a March 1 public meeting about an incident last year that exposed 22 workers to radiation at a reactor near Richland, Wash., the regulator told one such worker’s lawyer on May 13. The decision not to talk to any of the workers […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before we head into the weekend, here are some other stories from across the civilian nuclear power space that RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week. Pilgrim community votes to oppose Holtec wastewater discharge Communities surrounding a Massachusetts nuclear power plant under decommissioning voiced their displeasure during local elections this week with Holtec […]

Around a month after a workplace injury paused decommissioning work at a California nuclear power plant, things are spooling back up again, the plant’s operator said last week. Decommissioning at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) is “slowly ramping up” after operator Southern California Edison (SCE) put a hold on things to evaluate an April […]

Orano’s company-led inspection of its own waste storage canisters at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station revealed no degradation after nearly two decades, the company in charge of waste management at the site said this week. During the months-long inspection that began in November, Orano USA found no signs of chloride-induced stress corrosion in the […]

The state of Texas doubled down this week on its argument that federal law precludes the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from licensing a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the Lone Star State, new court filings show. NRC’s claim that neither the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) nor the Atomic Energy Act prevented […]

Operators of nuclear power plants facing impending closure now have until mid-summer to apply for a federal bailout, the Department of Energy said this week. Just a day before the scheduled application deadline for DOE’s civil nuclear credits program, the agency announced in a Wednesday press release that it would push the due date back […]

The California congressional district home to one of the Golden State’s former nuclear power plants could have a new representative in Congress after November’s midterm elections. Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.), the incumbent for California’s 49th district, faces a primary challenge from a slate of rivals including Lisa Bartlett (R), a member of the Orange County, […]

Decommissioning company EnergySolutions is one step closer to finalizing its purchase of a former Wisconsin nuclear power plant after a state regulator approved the transaction this week.  The Wisconsin Public Service Commission (WPSC) unanimously approved Wednesday the sale of Kewaunee Power Station, to EnergySolutions from current operator Dominion Energy. WPSC is now the second regulator […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before we head into the weekend, here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was tracking across the civilian nuclear power space this week. NRC approves EnergySolutions nuke plant license transfers following stock buyout The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved EnergySolutions' request to transfer control of several of its shuttered nuclear power plants to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s inspector general pushed back this week on claims by agency staff that the internal watchdog bent the facts in its review of the commission’s response to a 2020 safety issue at a California nuclear power plant, new documents show. NRC staff’s May 3 claim — that the inspector general took statements […]