Latest Nuclear energy policy Stories
Analysis of 251 Reactors Built or Cancelled in the U.S. Finds that Intractable Safety Issues Have Steadily Escalated Nuclear Costs and Fukushima Makes It Likely That Future Reactors Will Suffer the Same Fate, Driving Final Nail in Coffin of "Nuclear Renaissance" WASHINGTON, March 29, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Are affordable new nuclear power and safe nuclear power fundamentally incompatible? The high cost of addressing nuclear power safety concerns that are steadily...
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- EEI President Tom Kuhn hailed today's approval of the nation's first new nuclear operating license in more than three decades, calling the decision by federal regulators "a crucial step in revitalizing the role that nuclear power plays in the U.S. energy portfolio." "We commend the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for giving the green light to Georgia Power to build its new reactors at its Vogtle site," Kuhn said. "It is an outcome...
Give Long-Term Uncontrollable Costs and Short-Term Pressure from Needed Post-Fukushima Safety Regulations, Nuclear Reactors Even Less Able to Take on Natural Gas, Other Alternatives WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the Fukushima disaster, earthquake-related reactor shutdowns, further reactor project cost escalation, infighting at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and cheap natural gas, 2011 was a year the nuclear power industry would prefer to get...
A newly released study from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) concludes that small modular reactors may hold the key to the future of U.S. nuclear power generation. "Clearly, a robust commercial SMR industry is highly advantageous to many sectors in the United States," concluded the study, led by Robert Rosner, institute director and the William Wrather Distinguished Service Professor in Astronomy & Astrophysics. "It would be a huge stimulus for...
The North of England has the opportunity to become one of the world’s leading nuclear manufacturing hubs, creating many thousands of new jobs and generating substantial economic growth for the UK, according to a University of Manchester report. Commissioned by the Dalton Nuclear Institute, the country’s leading academic nuclear research capability, the report highlights the opportunity for the Government to invest in the vast potential of the region to meet the demands of the UK’s...
The research into the sustainability of nuclear and other electricity options in the UK shows that nuclear power could make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. However, that would require a huge expansion of nuclear, constituting 35% of the electricity mix by 2035, almost double the current contribution. Given that most current nuclear power stations are due to close in this period, this scenario seems unfeasible, the authors claim. At the same time,...
WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Six months after the Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan, solid majorities of Americans still view nuclear energy favorably, still support the extension of operating licenses at existing facilities that meet federal safety standards, and still believe that construction of a new reactor is acceptable at the site of the nearest nuclear power plant that already is operating, a new national survey shows. While support for nuclear energy has...
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Opponents of two proposed South Texas Project nuclear reactors received a favorable order from Atomic Safety and Licensing Board judges allowing a full hearing to proceed regarding the project's foreign ownership. Licensing efforts may be impacted as a result. In April, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told Unistar Nuclear Energy it could not get an operating license for its planned reactor at Calvert Cliffs in Maryland because it was...
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Westinghouse Electric Company, together with the world's leading civilian nuclear power plant vendors, today announced the adoption of a common set of principles that reflects global best practices in connection with the export of nuclear power plants. These "Principles of Conduct" reflect the participating companies' commitment to their customers and all those who stand to benefit from nuclear power to assemble and share best practices that...
Better physics teaching with a particular emphasis on radioactivity and radiation science could improve public awareness through education of the environmental benefits and relative safety of nuclear power generation, according to leading Brazilian scientist Heldio Villar. He suggests that it might then be possible to have a less emotional debate about the future of the industry that will ultimately reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. To environmental activists, nuclear power and...
