Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

Holtec International late last week withdrew some sharp criticism it made against the company selected to provide spent-fuel management services at a California nuclear power plant, framing its comments as a heat-of-the-moment reaction. Comments directed at Orano USA in an April 6 letter “reflected an emotional response in the immediate wake of the disappointing news,” […]

The company aiming to build an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas joined the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in calling for a state lawsuit to be kicked out of a federal appeals court, according to a new filing on the docket. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s arguments against Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) proposed […]

The Department of Energy requested $10 million to fund local and tribal participation in a quest to find a host community for a federally operated interim spent fuel storage site, according to a detailed fiscal year 2023 budget request released late last week. For the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, DOE says it wants […]

The company in charge of a Michigan nuclear plant scheduled to close this summer doesn’t have any plans to keep the facility running despite the state government’s aims to save it, a spokesperson said this week. Entergy, which currently owns Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, “acknowledge[s] having recently been contacted by government officials about the facility […]

The Joe Biden administration’s pick to lead the Department of Energy’s nuclear power section is one step closer to the job after clearing the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Thursday on a voice vote. Kathryn Huff, who the White House nominated in January to become assistant secretary for nuclear energy (NE-1)  in DOE’s Office […]

Happy Friday and happy Earth Day, nuke-watchers. Before you head out and enjoy all our little blue marble has to offer, here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was tracking across the civilian nuclear power space this week. DOE unveils $1.6 million for help on nuclear power community outreach Awardees under a funding opportunity announced […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week continued to poke holes in the state of Texas’s lawsuit over an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel proposed for Andrews County, arguing that the Lone Star State had no right to sue — and even if it did, that its case was badly flawed. Texas hasn’t shown […]

The prototype of a mobile nuclear reactor under development at the Department of Defense will be powered by advanced fuel sourced from within the U.S., the project lead said last week. The Project Pele micro-reactor prototype “will use fully unencumbered nuclear fuel,” program manager Jeff Waksman told RadWaste Monitor in an emailed statement Friday. The […]

Two of North America’s largest utilities are teaming up to advance the rollout of new advanced nuclear technology in the U.S. and Canada, the companies announced this week. Under their new partnership, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) plan to coordinate design, licensing and deployment of advanced reactors “as part of […]

Some 260 Palisades Nuclear Generating Station employees, accounting for more than 40% of the current workforce, will stay on the job even after a decommissioning company takes over, the plant’s owner said. These employees will remain on site “as part of the first phase of decommissioning,” a spokesperson for plant owner Entergy told RadWaste Monitor […]

The company selected to manage Diablo Canyon Power Station’s spent fuel inventory fired back this week at claims from a competitor that its cask system was unsafe and untested. Orano USA, whose subsidiary TN Americas on April 6 locked down the spent fuel contract with plant operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), was “surprised” at […]

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is hitting the road early next month and heading to Massachusetts where they’ll discuss nuclear plant decommissioning policies in the shadow of one such project, according to a press release from a subcommittee chair. The Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee’s clean air, climate and nuclear safety subcommittee […]

A day after the Department of Energy made funding available for economically-troubled nuclear power plants, Michigan’s governor announced she would bid on aid to save the Palisades Power Plant in Covert Township. Michigan will provide a “compelling” application to receive funding for Palisades, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) told Secretary of Energy — and former Michigan […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week across the civilian nuclear power space. DOE announces $5M grant for nuclear scholarships, university programs The Department of Energy unveiled this week a package of federal cash aimed at propping up the nuclear industry’s next generation, according to a press release. As […]

An energy executive with experience in the gas distribution industry is set to become Entergy’s newest government affairs chief, the company announced this week. Entergy, New Orleans, named John Hudson as its newest senior vice president of federal policy, regulatory and government affairs, according to a press release dated Wednesday. Hudson, who will start in […]

U.S. nuclear electricity generation will continue its downward trend as more power plants close down in the coming years, the federal government’s independent energy auditor said in a recent report. Generation losses from reactor retirements contributed to a net U.S. nuclear electricity output of 778 million megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2021, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) […]

Holtec International gave Pacific Gas & Electric a piece of its mind last week in a letter blasting the utility for choosing another company to handle spent fuel management operations at a California nuclear power plant. Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) April 6 decision to give the spent fuel job at Diablo Canyon Power Station […]

The state of Massachusetts should ensure that Holtec International is being up front about its plans to discharge irradiated wastewater from a nuclear power plant into nearby waters, the sponsor of a proposed bill to block such an action told Bay State legislators this week. Massachusetts has “a responsibility to insist and expect full transparency […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s existing framework for applying principles of environmental justice to its oversight activities needs to more clearly state what such a process would look like at the agency, a staff review team informed the commission late last month. “[T]here is not a common understanding both internally and externally of how [environmental justice] […]

The Department of Energy’s nuclear waste management system saw a proposed funding increase for 2023, due in part to its absorption of the agency’s interim storage activities, according to the agency’s latest public budget document. For the Office of Nuclear Energy’s (NE) Integrated Waste Management System, DOE requested roughly $53 million for the upcoming fiscal […]

Fewer than five days remain before the Department of Energy is expected to publish instructions for financially-troubled nuclear power plant operators looking to bid on a multi-billion-dollar federal assistance package. DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy “anticipates opening a combined certification and sealed bid auction process” on its civil nuclear credits program April 18 by first […]

After the government won a key legal battle last week, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday that the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should allow it to enforce a presidential executive order requiring federal employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. On April 7 the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit overturned a nationwide preliminary injunction […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. As your rad waste reporter heads back to Washington after a successful Idaho trip, here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space this week.   IAEA to visit Chernobyl, investigate alleged Russian trenches The U.N.’s nuclear authority plans to soon visit the Chernobyl Nuclear […]

The former head of the House’s energy panel won’t seek another term in Congress, he announced this week. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) is retiring after a nearly 30-year stint representing Michigan’s sixth congressional district, he announced Tuesday during remarks on the House floor. “Thanks again to the people of my district who placed their faith […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved an agency staff suggestion to combine two ongoing radioactive-waste rulemakings into one in an effort to streamline the process, according to a memo this week. The commissioners’ unanimous approval, announced in a Wednesday memo, means that NRC staff will now re-issue a new proposed rulemaking combining an existing inquiry […]

The decommissioning company aiming to purchase a Wisconsin nuclear power plant expects that the state regulatory reviewing the transaction should make a decision before the summer, according to a recent letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Wisconsin Public Service Commission (WPSC) has received its final party briefings and won’t hold any more hearings on […]

In some of the first public details about decommissioning work at California’s last operating nuclear plant, Orano USA announced this week that it had locked down a contract to transfer the site’s spent fuel into dry storage post-shutdown. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), which owns and operates Diablo Canyon Power Plant, selected Orano USA subsidiary […]