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DOE Grants California’s Request to Revise Civil Nuclear Credit Program Eligibility, Extends Deadline

July 2, 2022

The Department of Energy (DOE) has revised eligibility criteria for the first-award cycle of its $ 6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) program and extended its application period to Sept. 6, 2022. The action responds to a request for adjustments from the California governor’s office to better address Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E’s) 2,240-MW Diablo Canyon Power Plant’s (DCPP’s) “unique circumstances.”

The DOE’s formal amendment of its April 2022–issued CNC program guidance on June 30 seeks to clarify how it interprets a reactor has met eligibility requirements that it “competes in a competitive electricity market,” as set out in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The changes, which the DOE adopted from a proposal it unveiled on June 17, have drawn mixed reactions from an array of stakeholders, including the nuclear industry, the power sector, and citizen and environmental groups.

‘Material Amount of Total Revenue’

The April guidance, which applies to the CNC’s first-award cycle, allowed nuclear reactors to demonstrate competitive operation during the CNC’s four-year credit period by showing units would receive 50% or more of total revenue “from sources that are exposed to market competition.”…

Unit 3 at Barakah Nuclear Plant Licensed, Set to Load Fuel

June 19, 2022

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The third unit of the Barakah nuclear power plant (NPP), the first such facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Arab world, is ready to begin fuel loading, according to a statement issued by the country’s nuclear regulatory agency on June 19.

The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) on Sunday said it would send inspectors to oversee the process, in order “to ensure the fuel load and testing processes are completed according to requirements.”

The FANR on June 17 granted Nawah Energy Co., the operations and maintenance division of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp., a license to operate Unit 3 for 60 years. Christer Viktorsson, FANR’s director-general, said the licensing of Unit 3 means the plant’s operators can being a commissioning period to prepare for commercial operation.

FANR in a news release said its decision to issue the operating license “is a culmination of efforts made by FANR since it received the Operating License Application from Nawah in 2017 for Units 3 and 4.…

Latest APR-1400 Reactor Now Online at South Korea’s Shin Hanul Nuclear Plant

June 11, 2022

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The first of what could be as many as four APR-1400 nuclear reactors at the Shin Hanul site in South Korea is now supplying electricity to the country’s power grid.

Unit 1 at Shin Hanul is a 1,400-MW reactor. It was connected to the grid on June 9, just more than two weeks after the pressurized water reactor reached first criticality on May 22, according to officials with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP).

South Korean officials said Shin Hanul, located in Uljin on the country’s east coast, is part of the new government’s strategy to achieve energy security while also supporting environmental goals. The start-up of the reactor comes three months after the election of Yoon Suk-yeol as South Korea’s new president. Suk-yeol has said he plans to reverse the strategy of former President Moon Jae-in, who wanted to phase-out nuclear power generation. Jae-in adopted that policy after he assumed office in 2017, in part citing the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan.…

DOD Picks BWXT Design for ‘Project Pele’ Prototype Nuclear Microreactor

June 9, 2022

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The Department of Defense (DOD) has picked BWX Technologies’ (BWXT’s) microreactor design for its “Project Pele” full-scale transportable prototype. The selection closes out a much-watched contest with X-energy for the contract from the DOD’s Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) to build and operate what could be the nation’s first advanced microreactor.

Lynchburg, Virginia-based BWXT will now manufacture and deliver the prototype microreactor to Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for testing by 2024. “The prototype will be built under a cost-type contract valued at approximately $ 300 million, depending on options selected, by BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC in facilities in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Euclid, Ohio,” the company said on June 9. “Over the next two years, BWXT expects that approximately 120 employees will work on the project, including roughly 40 skilled trades, engineers and other positions that will be hired to support this effort and other projects.”

Project Pele will comprise a high-temperature gas-cooled (HTGR) mobile microreactor that will be capable of producing 1 MWe to 5 MWe. …

Philippines May Restart Bataan Nuclear Plant Project

May 24, 2022

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The winner of the Philippines’ presidential election earlier this month has made another move in support of reviving nuclear power in that country, holding talks with South Korea about enlisting help to restart a nuclear power plant project that was abandoned nearly 40 years ago.

President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with Kim Inchul, South Korea’s ambassador to Manila, on May 23 to discuss reviving the 620-MW Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. The Bataan plant was championed by Marcos Jr.’s father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., during the latter’s time as the country’s leader, and $ 2.3 billion was spent on the plant’s construction.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son and namesake of longtime Filipino president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., was elected as president of the Philippines on May 9. Marcos Jr., known as Bongbong, has said nuclear power will be a priority for his administration. Source: Wikipedia

The Bataan facility—what would have been the country’s first and only nuclear plant—was never commissioned, as safety concerns arose after the Three Mile Island accident in the U.S.…

Vogtle Nuclear Expansion Price Tag Tops $30 Billion

May 10, 2022

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An updated financial report from one of the owners of the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia shows the cost to build two new reactors has now topped $ 30 billion, more than double the original price tag expected for the project.

The Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG), one of four groups with an ownership stake in the Vogtle expansion, on May 6 raised its total cost forecast for the project to $ 7.8 billion, up from $ 7.5 billion. The group’s updated figures, when combined with cost estimates from the other owners, push the cost to build two new 1,100-MW reactors at the site in Waynesboro, Georgia, to at least $ 30.3 billion.

The owners’ updated cost estimate does not include the $ 3.68 billion that original contractor Westinghouse paid to the project’s owners after Westinghouse declared bankruptcy, putting total spending for the expansion in the range of $ 34 billion.

More Cost Overruns

MEAG, which provides power to city-owned utilities, owns 22.7% of Vogtle.…