California’s last nuclear plant was nearing the end of its life. Tucked against picturesque bluffs along California’s central coast, the aging facility known as Diablo Canyon began operating in 1985. It was designed for a different era, with analog knobs and systems that no longer comply with the state’s environmental standards. The plant has faced controversies over its impact on underwater ecosystems, the production of toxic waste and its proximity to earthquake fault lines – and its planned closure by 2025 seemed an all-but-certain step in California’s ambitious journey toward a greener future. But with just three years to go, the fate of Diablo Canyon now looks less assured. California is facing steep energy challenges that are only expected to worsen as the climate crisis intensifies. The plant still provides roughly 9% of the state’s energy – the largest single source of electricity and enough to supply more than 3 million residents. The state is still far from finding a reliable and climate-friendly replacement, and concerns are rising that it will fall back on fossil fuels to fill the gap. Now, decades-old discussions about whether the plant should continue to play a role in California’s renewable energy transition are being rehashed.

Guardian 23rd June 2022 read more »

Orano Federal Services and TerraPower will gain access to the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) national laboratories to help advance their nuclear technologies under the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) initiative. GAIN was established by the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy to provide provide the nuclear community with access to technical, regulatory, and financial support to move innovative technologies towards commercialisation while ensuring the continued safe, reliable, and economic operation of the existing US nuclear fleet. The vouchers give advanced nuclear technology innovators with access to the research capabilities and expertise available across the DOE’s national laboratory complex. Orano is partnering with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop a new technical study that updates the physical chemistry limits of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas enriched up to 10% uranium-235 that can be safely transported in existing shipping containers. Previous studies for UF6 limits in shipping containers have only considered enrichment of up to 5%. The new study will update these studies with current techniques, evaluate the impact of higher enrichments in safety criticality cases in transport conditions, and produce a report that will help underpin regulatory reviews and approval. TerraPower is developing the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor and the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment (MCRE), a proof-of-concept critical fast-spectrum salt reactor which is to be built at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The GAIN voucher awarded to TerraPower will be used to leverage the neutron testing capabilities at Los Alamos National Laboratory to measure the properties of chlorine isotopes to determine how they will behave in the MCRE, generating data that will help reduce regulatory uncertainty for chloride salt reactors.

World Nuclear News 23rd June 2022 read more »

Adding to a gloomy day for Germany, the head of its network regulator has warned consumers could see their energy costs double or even triple as a result of the current crisis. Klaus Mueller from Bundesnetzagentur told broadcaster ARD the regulator had considered various scenarios, and that most “are not pretty and mean either too little gas at the end of winter or already very difficult situations in autumn or winter”. It comes after Germany moved into phase two of its three-stage emergency gas plan – with the threat of rationing looming.

Telegraph 24th June 2022 read more »

The country has triggered the “alarm” stage of an emergency gas plan to deal with shortages, Germany’s economy ministry said. It is the latest part of a standoff between the European Union and Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. German economy minister Robert Habeck said Russia was using gas “as a weapon” in response to EU sanctions.

BBC 23rd June 2022 read more »

Guardian 23rd June 2022 read more »

Times 24th June 2022 read more »

For years, nuclear researchers, investors, and advocates have said that small modular reactors (SMRs) will not only be the future of nuclear energy, but they will also be the future of energy, period. As the world rushes to balance the decarbonization imperative with the need to maintain energy security and independence, nuclear energy has emerged as a strong alternative to fossil fuels. SMRs, in particular, have gained a lot of attention for their myriad advantages, most notably their modularity. The field of SMRs is just emerging and models are still under development, leaving the field wide open for competition. And a new, unexpected candidate may be stepping up to take the lead in the SMR vanguard: Romania. For decades, Romania has derived about 20 percent of its energy mix from the nuclear plants that are part of the lasting legacy of the country’s infamous dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who was ousted from power and summarily executed in 1989. While Ceausescu is remembered for his cruelty, authoritarianism, and the nefarious cult of personality, his aim to wean Romania off of reliance on Russia by making the nation energy-independent has left the country in a great position for the current energy crisis.

Oil Price 23rd June 2022 read more »

Sweden’s Land and Environment Court has granted radioactive waste management company Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB (SKB) an environmental permit to increase the amount of used nuclear fuel in the Clab interim storage facility at Oskarshamn from 8000 tonnes to 11,000 tonnes. Used fuel from Swedish nuclear power plants will be stored at Clab until the final disposal repository begins operating. During interim storage, the fuel is kept in deep storage pools about 30 metres below ground in the rock. Covering the fuel with 8 metres of water shields against radiation and cools the fuel down. In time the radioactivity lessens and the fuel is therefore easier to manage when disposed of in the repository SKB plans to construct at Forsmark.

World Nuclear News 23rd June 2022 read more »

Polish state-owned energy company Enea SA has signed an agreement with US small modular reactor (SMR) developer Last Energy to cooperate on the deployment of SMRs, potentially in Poland. Meanwhile, France’s EDF has signed further cooperation agreements with Polish companies to support its offer to supply 4 to 6 EPRs in Poland.

World Nuclear News 23rd June 2022 read more »

US nuclear industry hopes to double electricity output with new reactors. The US nuclear industry is generating less electricity as reactors retire, but now plant operators are hoping to nearly double their output over the next three decades. The massive scaling-up envisioned by the utilities hangs on the functionality of a new type of nuclear reactor that’s far smaller than traditional reactors. About two dozen US companies are developing advanced reactors, with some that could come online by the end of the decade if the technology succeeds and federal regulators approve. Utilities that are members of the Nuclear Energy Institute project they could add 90 gigawatts of nuclear power, combined, to the US grid, with the bulk of that coming online by 2050, according to the association. That translates to about 300 new small modular reactors, estimated Maria Korsnick, president and chief executive officer of the institute.

Business Standard 21st June 2022 read more »

Dmytro Orlov, the mayor of Enerhodar in Zaporizhia Oblast, has said that Russian occupiers put workers of the captured Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant [ZNPP] into the plant’s basements.

Yahoo 21st June 2022 read more »

While the previous administration was looking to phase out nuclear power entirely, President Yoon Suk-yeol wants to put South Korea back on the map as a nuclear energy superpower. President Yoon Suk-yeol plans on making South Korea not only a major player in the global nuclear energy market, but an exporter of nuclear energy plants.

Oil Price 20th June 2022 read more »