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Technology Selected for DOE’s Versatile Test Reactor Program

November 20, 2018

Battelle Energy Alliance—the management and operating contractor for the Idaho National Laboratory (INL)—selected GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH’s) PRISM technology to support the U.S. Department of Energy’s Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) program.

The VTR program is expected to accelerate the development of fuels and materials for U.S. advanced reactors, utilizing fast neutron spectrum technology. Rather than producing electricity, the VTR will conduct irradiation testing for fuels, materials, and equipment to be used in rapidly evolving designs for advanced reactors brought forward by U.S. companies, as well as public and private research institutions.

In October, the INL awarded nearly $ 3.9 million in funding through the VTR program for 13 university-led projects to develop instrumentation and tools needed to monitor and conduct experiments in the fast spectrum reactor.

The university-led projects selected for funding were:

University of Pittsburgh	Disruptive Nuclear Technology: Resonance Sensors and Inductive Signal Transmission through Hermetic Walls	$ 450,000
University of Wisconsin – Madison	Miniature Scale Liquid Metal Oxygen Purification and Measurement System	$ 350,000
University of Utah	Development of Experiment Vehicle for Analyzing the Chemistry of Irradiated Molten Salt	$ 450,400
Texas A&M University	Development of Innovative Measurement Techniques for Fission Product Transport Quantification	$ 250,000
Oregon State University	In Situ Mechanical and Corrosion Testing	$ 440,000
University of New Mexico	Preparatory Out-of-pile Lead Loop Experiments to Support Design of Irradiation Test Loop in VTR	$ 450,000
North Carolina State University	VIM for VTR: Holistic Approach to Design and Construction	$ 319,000
Texas A&M University	Rabbit System Design and Demonstration	$ 400,000
Abilene Christian University	Investigation of Instrumentation, Data Analytics, and Simulation Synergies for the Versatile Test Reactor	$ 150,000
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Advanced Data Acquisition and Simulation with Live Data Supporting VTR Experiments	$ 150,000
University of Idaho	Advanced Molten Salt Flow Sensor	$ 100,000
Colorado School of Mines	Big, Deep, and Smart Data to Support VTR Experiment Design and Validation	$ 169,000
Georgia Tech	IBD Power Monitor for the VTR Experimental Program	$ 196,000

“The VTR is a vital and strategic project for the U.S.…

DOE Considers Subsidies Modeled on Renewables for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors

November 16, 2018

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State-imposed standards and financial incentives such as those used to spur widespread adoption of renewables technologies offer a promising model to address challenges to commercialize small modular reactors (SMRs), says a report by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy.

But to make a meaningful impact, nearly $ 10 billion in incentives will be needed to deploy 6 GW of SMR capacity by 2025, it acknowledges.

The report, “Examination of Federal Assistance in the Renewable Energy Market,” was prepared by Kutak Rock and Scully Capital under contract with the DOE and made public on November 15. It notes that while uncertainty attached to the rapidly evolving market environment is shadowing long-term investment decisions at electric utilities in the U.S, current trends in the power sector present an opportunity for SMR development “as a flexible, carbon-free baseload generation resource which can be built on a smaller scale than traditional nuclear plants.” However, efforts to commercialize SMR technologies have lagged owing to several challenges.…

TVA Extends Deadline for Bellefonte Nuclear Plant Deal

November 12, 2018

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A Tennessee businessman now has until the end of November to finalize a two-year-old purchase agreement for the unfinished Bellefonte nuclear power plant in Alabama.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which began building the plant in 1974 but ended construction in 1988 amid a downturn in the nuclear power industry, on November 9 said it has extended the deadline in its agreement with Franklin Haney’s Nuclear Development LLC (NDLLC) from November 14 to November 30. Haney now has another 16 days to complete the agreement to buy the plant’s assets.

Haney last week said legal and regulatory issues have delayed the sale’s closure. The project also has been dogged by allegations of payments to secure federal government support. And one of the project’s potential electricity customers recently signaled it may back away from a deal to purchase power from the plant.

Haney, a real estate developer who grew his business by buying and building properties that he then leases to local, state, and federal government interests, was the highest bidder for Bellefonte’s assets in an auction in November 2016.…

Midterms a Mixed Bag for State Energy Ballot Measures

November 10, 2018

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The midterm elections yielded mixed results for power-related matters across the U.S.

Voters in Arizona shot down a measure that would have expanded the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 50% by 2030, but voters in Nevada overwhelmingly backed a similar measure, adding it to a growing list of states that have sought 50% RPS levels.

In Colorado, voters defeated a measure to limit drilling for oil and natural gas on state-owned land. In Washington State, voters thwarted a consequential statewide initiativeto impose a fee on emissions of carbon dioxide. And in California, voters defeated a measure that would have allowed state lawmakers to pass a spending plan for revenue from the state’s cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gases (GHGs) from 2024 onward.

Arizona Overwhelmingly Rejects Prop 127

Proposition 127, the “Renewable Energy Standards Initiative” sought approval for a constitutional amendment that required Arizona electric utilities to acquire a certain percentage of power from renewables each year, with that percentage increasing annually—from 12% in 2020 to 50% in 2030.…

Xcel Buys Minnesota Gas-Fired Plant

November 8, 2018

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Xcel Energy said it will buy a natural gas-fired power plant in Minnesota from Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co. The $ 650 million deal for the Mankato Energy Center puts Xcel in charge of a facility from which it has purchased power since the plant’s first unit came online in 2006.

A second unit at the plant is expected to come online in 2019, bringing the facility’s total power generation capacity to 760 MW. That would make it the largest gas-fired plant in Xcel’s fleet. The plant was built by Calpine Corp. and sold to Southern Power in 2016 in a $ 395.5 million deal.

“Securing the Mankato gas plant is a great value for our customers as it will provide significant cost savings and operating flexibility for the long term,” said Chris Clark, Xcel’s regional president, in a statement November 6. “As we continue to transition to cleaner energy sources and reduce reliance on coal, this plant will help us continue to deliver reliable electricity while keeping bills low.”…

Report: Investments in Coal Risky, Billions in Assets Could Be Stranded

October 31, 2018

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A study from a London-based group focused on financial aspects of the energy industry said up to $ 60 billion of coal-fired power generation assets may be stranded in Southeast Asia in the next 10 years. The study released this week by Carbon Tracker said renewable energy resources and more-stringent environmental policies make investments in new coal generation “a mistake.”

The study was released on the heels of a report last week from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a Cleveland, Ohio-based clean energy group, that said the U.S. will retire 15.4 GW of coal capacity in 2018, which it said represents 44 coal-fired generation units at 22 power plants. The group said another 21.4 GW of coal generation will close by 2024.

The IEEFA report said the U.S. is still operating 246 GW of coal generation capacity, with announced retirements from 2018 through 2024 (Figure 1) representing about 15% of that total. It said coal plants in at least 14 states are scheduled to close over the next few years, including units in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, according to IEEFA.…