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IAEA: Shelling at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant Raises ‘Real Risk’ of Nuclear Disaster

August 7, 2022

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is growing increasingly alarmed by military action at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant, warning that artillery shelling at the plant site on Aug. 5 underlines a “very real risk of a nuclear disaster.”

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in a statement on Aug. 6 said new information about the Russian-Ukraine conflict at the site poses a “serious situation.” The information suggests that while there has been no damage to the 6-GW Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant’s six reactors and no radiological release, “there is damage elsewhere on the site,” he said.

Military action at Zaporizhzhya—Europe’s largest nuclear power plant—has ramped up in recent days. Russia occupied the plant, which is located in the southern part of Ukraine, in March—relatively early in its occupation of Ukraine. The nuclear plant continues to be operated by Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-owned entity. All 15 of Ukraine’s nuclear reactors are pressurized water reactors of Russian VVER design and are located at four plant sites.…

Group: EPA’s Coordinated Regulatory Assault on Coal Power Could Push Retirements Beyond 86 GW by 2030

August 5, 2022

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is readying a regulatory sweep targeting more stringent limits on traditional pollutants that could accelerate coal power plant closures. A coal trade group estimates that even without new rules, 86 GW of coal generation is slated to retire by 2030.

While the U.S. Supreme Court in June curtailed the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon emissions from existing power plants, the EPA is working on other rules in “an integrated and coordinated approach” that will allow the agency to tackle “threats” posed by power plants to clean air, safe water, and healthy land, EPA Administrator Michael Regan has said.

The EPA chief recently told Reuters the agency remains undeterred by the Supreme Court’s constraints. “We want to present the industry with a suite of regulations so that they can make the best long-term investments possible,” the news agency quoted Regan as saying on July 29. “The power sector will … look at the cost benefit of complying with those and more than likely stay with the conclusion that … clean energy is more cost effective for them and for their customers,” he reportedly said.…

Rosatom Picks New EPC Lead for Turkey’s First Nuclear Power Plant

August 1, 2022

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A new contractor has been named to finish construction of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant. Russia’s state-owned energy giant Rosatom on July 30 said it had chosen TSM Enerji, a company owned by three Russian groups and incorporated in Turkey, as the project’s new engineering, procurement, and construction lead.

The Turkish government has said it wants to begin operating the first of four reactors at the 4,800-MW Akkuyu facility next year. “All works under current subcontracts will be transferred to TSM … similar new contracts will be signed between TSM and subcontractors,” Akkuyu Nuclear said in a statement on Saturday. The group did not say specifically why the previous EPC deal with IC Ictas, a Turkish company, had been ended.

IC Ictas on August 1 said it planned legal action against Rosatom’s move. Bloomberg News reported that IC Ictas said annulment of its contract was unlawful, and could result in a delay in the project. IC Ictas in a statement Monday said TSM Enerji, the new contractor, is a limited liability company that may not be able to complete the project.…

Southern CEO Fanning Set to Step Down

July 30, 2022

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Longtime Southern Co. CEO Tom Fanning plans to announce his retirement, perhaps by the end of this year, stepping down after leading the company since 2010.

A Bloomberg report on July 29, citing “people familiar with the matter,” said the U.S. utility giant already has launched a search to find Fanning’s replacement. Bloomberg reported that a Southern Co. spokesperson said a decision has not been made with regard to the timing of Fanning’s exit.

Tom Fanning, CEO of Southern Co. since 2010, is preparing to announce his retirement. Source: Southern Co.

Fanning turned 65 in March of this year. Southern has a mandatory retirement age of 65 for its executives, though Bloomberg reported that the company has extended that age limit for Fanning as he oversees the continued construction of a two-unit expansion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant.

Fanning in a call with investors on July 28 said both of the new units at Vogtle should enter commercial operation in 2023, after years of delays and cost overruns for what energy analysts now say is $ 30 billion-plus project, more than double the expansion’s original cost estimates.…

Vogtle Expansion Cost Jumps Again; In-Service Dates Set for 2023

July 28, 2022

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Southern Co. on July 28 increased its cost estimate for Georgia Power’s share of the two-unit expansion of the Vogtle nuclear plant.

Southern, during an investor presentation of the company’s second-quarter financial results, said Georgia Power’s share of capital costs for the project has risen by $ 52 million, to about $ 10.5 billion in total. Georgia Power, the largest of four utilities owned by Southern Co., owns 45.7% of the project. The construction of Units 3 and 4 at Vogtle is years behind schedule, and the project’s price tag has ballooned to more than $ 30 billion, according to energy industry analysts.

The Vogtle expansion is adding two 1,117-MW Westinghouse AP1000 reactors to two existing units at the site in Waynesboro, Georgia. The project, when initially approved in 2009, was expected to cost about $ 14 billion, with the new reactors coming online in 2016 and 2017. Myriad issues have contributed to delays for the project, including the bankruptcy of Westinghouse and the coronavirus pandemic.…

Putting AI to Work for Better ESG Data

July 26, 2022

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Environment, social, and governance (ESG) reporting has never been easy—and with pressures rising from investors, corporate leaders, and the government, organizations are struggling to meet the needs of all stakeholders.

Facility managers must grapple with reaching and documenting progress toward ESG goals that align with the desires of sustainability-minded investors while boards and corporate leaders argue that ESG is expensive, ineffectual, and not worth the effort.

COMMENTARY

All the while, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is working harder than ever to promote more transparency in ESG reporting, with new rules that require at least 80% of assets in funds labeled for ESG to be used for that purpose.

The Problem with ESG Reporting

Despite the controversy ESG reporting begets, it is an important way for stakeholders to hold organizations accountable to the sustainability goals they set, especially as the climate crisis continues to worsen. The World Economic Forum explains that ESG reporting “provides evidence of the commitment to ESG targets and values by documenting carbon footprint, energy efficiency, pollution, human rights, and diversity and inclusion, within the organization and across the supply chain.”…