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☆ U.S. nuclear plants expect government decision on credits by year-end
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Two companies that have applied for funding to keep struggling nuclear power plants open said they expect to hear from the U.S. Department of Energy by the end of the year. Both power utility PG&E Corp (PCG.N) and Holtec International applied to the first phase of the $6 billion DOE Civil Nuclear Credit program to keep their reactors running. The Biden administration believes nuclear power is essential to fight climate change, but plants are struggling with costs and competition from natural gas plants and renewables. Poppe said PG&E is applying to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license allowing Diablo to continue operating. She said Diablo is also ordering more uranium fuel for the reactor, and dry casks for storing nuclear waste.

The U.S. Energy Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, aims to develop a dozen projects to recycle spent nuclear fuel. "I don't see many really looking seriously into reprocessing," Grossi told Reuters in an interview late on Wednesday at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter had halted reprocessing of nuclear waste in 1977, citing proliferation concerns. "Nobody will be doing reprocessing without the IAEA being involved," he said, noting that any nuclear waste recycling North Korea is undertaking is an exception. The United States has spent billions of dollars over decades on a project at Yucca Mountain in Nevada to store nuclear waste.

"Many countries faced with sharply rising energy costs and heightened security of supply concerns are turning to nuclear power," the IAEA said in a release announcing the exhibit. "We don't get to net zero by 2050 without nuclear power in the mix." The United States has already earmarked billions of dollars toward keeping existing nuclear power plants open as part of a broader strategy to decarbonize the economy and is hoping to encourage new projects. The nuclear power industry has had trouble raising money in recent years, having taken a huge public relations hit following the 2011 reactor meltdown at the Fukushima power plant in Japan. Even so, Hannah Fenwick, the co-lead of Nuclear for Climate which represents a network of 150 associations advocating for governments to embrace nuclear power, said her organization was lobbying policy-makers at COP27 to consider nuclear energy investments and was getting decent feedback.

☆ EDF Warns of Lower Output Across Its Nuclear Reactors in France
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Nick Kostov | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

EDF’s warning of lower expected nuclear-power output in France is a setback to the country’s efforts to ride out Europe’s energy crisis. PARIS— EDF SA warned of lower power generation this year across its nuclear reactors in France, dealing a setback to the country’s efforts to ride out Europe’s energy crisis amid a spell of unseasonably warm weather. EDF, the world’s largest owner of nuclear plants, said its French fleet of reactors are expected to produce between 275 and 285 terawatt-hours of energy in 2022, compared with a previous estimate of between 280 and 300 terawatt-hours.

☆ France’s EDF Warns of Lower Output Across Nuclear Fleet
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Nick Kostov | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS— EDF SA warned of lower power generation this year across its nuclear reactors in France, dealing a setback to the country’s efforts to ride out Europe’s energy crisis amid a spell of unseasonably warm weather. EDF, the world’s largest owner of nuclear plants, said its French fleet of reactors are expected to produce between 275 and 285 terawatt-hours of energy in 2022, compared with a previous estimate of between 280 and 300 terawatt-hours.

☆ EU gas emissions end post-COVID rise on cleaner supply, energy-saving-study
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Avi Asher-Schapiro | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Steam rises from the cooling towers of the coal power plant of RWE, one of Europe's biggest electricity and gas companies in Niederaussem, Germany, March 3, 2016. "The post-COVID rebound in the EU's fossil fuel use and emissions has come to an end in the past few months, due to the growth in clean energy supply led by solar power, and energy saving measures precipitated by the fossil fuel supply crunch," said CREA lead analyst Lauri Myllyvirta. "Clean energy investments and policies have expanded dramatically, which will lead to a sustained and accelerated fall in emissions in the next years." Hydropower generation is now closer to historical averages, and nuclear underperformance should recover, easing Europe's reliance on pollutants, it said. World leaders are expected to discuss increasing clean energy production facilities in emerging countries during the annual United Nations climate summit in Egypt from Sunday.

☆ U.S.-Mexico nuclear cooperation agreement enters into force
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, Nov 2 (Reuters) - A bilateral agreement on nuclear energy between the United States and Mexico entered into force, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday, adding that it will enhance cooperation on energy security. The agreement is the "first bilateral agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation" between the two countries, the department said in a statement. "This agreement will further strengthen the U.S.-Mexico relationship and deepen our cooperation on energy security," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Twitter. Mexico and the United States signed the agreement in 2018, but Mexico's Senate did not give its approval until March. Energy Minister Rocio Nahle has described nuclear energy as "clean, safe, constant and profitable."

☆ UAE and U.S. reach deal for $100 billion in clean energy projects
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ABU DHABI, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The United States and United Arab Emirates have reached an agreement to spend $100 billion on clean energy projects with a goal of adding 100 gigawatts globally by 2035, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday. The two governments signed a memorandum of understanding in Abu Dhabi setting out the framework of the deal, Blinken said in a statement. "This memorandum of understanding is an important step forward in our joint efforts to accelerate our collective movement toward clean energy," Blinken said. Under the initiative, the UAE, an OPEC oil producer, and the United States would provide technical, project management and funding assistance for commercially and environmentally sustainable energy projects in other countries. The statement said the partnership would "assemble and stimulate" private and public sector funding and support for clean energy innovation, carbon and methane management, advanced reactors including small modular reactors, and industrial and transport decarbonisation.

☆ UAE and U.S. to spur $100 bln in clean energy projects - WAM
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABU DHABI, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates and the United States have signed a partnership to spur $100 billion of investments in clean energy projects and add 100 gigawatts of clean energy globally by 2035, state news agency WAM reported on Tuesday. "Together, we will spur large-scale investment in new energy technologies, in our own countries, around the world and in emerging economies," U.S. energy envoy Amos Hochstein said a statement carried on WAM. The statement said the partnership would "assemble and stimulate" private and public sector funding and support for clean energy innovation, carbon and methane management, advanced reactors including small modular reactors, and industrial and transport decarbonisation. Under the initiative, the UAE, an OPEC oil producer, and the United States would provide technical, project management and funding assistance for commercially and environmentally sustainable energy projects in other countries. Reporting by Ahmed Tolba; Writing by Lina Najem and Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia's invasion of Ukraine has accelerated a nuclear renaissance. Europe's nuclear startups have raised a record $403 million in 2022.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Nuclear power has long been shunned by policymakers due to disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima. Rising energy costs caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have sparked a nuclear resurgence. For most, nuclear energy sparks memories of the large-scale disasters at Fukushima and Chernobyl. To generate energy via nuclear fusion, two atoms have to be combined – the same process that fuels the sun. Both are needed to fight climate change, according to Aneeqa Khan, a nuclear fusion research fellow at the Dalton Nuclear Institute.

☆ How Russia Pays for War
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Lazaro Gamio | Ana Swanson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

Invasion –84% Imports from Russia –20% Germany Current total trade $4.8 billion Since invasion –3% Exports to Russia Avg. Invasion –51% Imports from Russia +38% The Netherlands Current total trade $2 billion Since invasion +32% Exports to Russia Avg. Invasion –52% Imports from Russia +74% China Current total trade $15 billion Since invasion +64% Exports to Russia Avg. Invasion +24% Imports from Russia +98% India Current total trade $3.3 billion Since invasion +310% Exports to Russia Avg. Invasion –19% Imports from Russia +430% Turkey Current total trade $6.2 billion Since invasion +198% Exports to Russia Avg.

☆ Poland picks U.S. offer for its first nuclear power plant -PM
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WARSAW, Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. firm Westinghouse Electric Co will build Poland's first nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday, confirming a long-awaited decision aiming to reduce the country's carbon emissions and phase out coal. "We confirm our nuclear energy project will use the reliable, safe technology of @WECNuclear," Morawiecki said on Twitter. Westinghouse was competing with South Korea's state-owned Korea Hydro Nuclear Power, which submitted an offer in April. Warsaw had been seeking a partner to build 6-9 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear capacity and provide up to 49% equity financing for the project. Sources have said that Poland would choose the technology first, which would indicate who the partner would be, and discuss the details of the contract afterwards.

PARIS, Oct 27 (Reuters) - EDF (EDF.PA) is expecting a hit of around 32 billion euros ($32.18 billion) to its full-year core earnings from lower nuclear production, a bigger loss than previously estimated and its sixth profit warning this year. The group, which is in the process of being fully nationalised, confirmed nuclear output would come in at the lower end of a previously announced 280-300 terawatt-hours range - a 30-year low. In September, EDF had forecast a hit to its earnings of 29 billion euros due to lower production. The combination of lower output and capped electricity prices means EDF is set to end the year with a big loss. The company's core earnings or EBITDA in 2021 came in at 18 billion euros.

Some, like fossil fuel-burning Saskatchewan and Alberta, say the federal government's plan for a 2035 net-zero grid is unrealistic. The challenges Canada faces underline how difficult meeting net-zero electrification goals will be globally. Reuters GraphicsUnlike Canada, the United States has a federal electricity regulator and mostly delivers power through regionally integrated systems, which may make it more nimble to transform the grid. Provinces regulate Canada's electricity utilities, but the federal government has some jurisdiction over the environment. The Alberta Electric System Operator in June estimated it would cost an additional C$44 billion to C$52 billion ($38.18 billion) to meet Ottawa's 2035 net-zero mandate.

☆ TerraPower, PacifiCorp to study 5 more advanced nuclear reactors
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - TerraPower LLC, Bill Gates' advanced nuclear reactor company, and power company PacifiCorp said on Thursday they will undertake a study to evaluate deploying up to five additional Natrium reactors in the U.S. West by 2035. The Wyoming Natrium reactor, being developed by TerraPower and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, will get about half of its funding from the U.S. government. The joint study on the additional reactors will evaluate the potential for advanced reactors to be located near current fossil-fueled generation sites, enabling PacifiCorp to repurpose existing power generation and transmission assets in California, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho, the companies said. Some nonproliferation experts say the more highly enriched fuel expected to be used by advanced reactors could become an attractive target for militants looking to convert it for use in a crude nuclear weapon. Advanced reactor proponents say the plants are safer and create less waste.

☆ U.S. developing domestic uranium strategy -energy secretary
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The United States relies on Russia and its allies Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan for roughly half of the uranium powering its nuclear power plants. "The United States wants to be able to source its own fuel from ourselves and that's why we are developing a uranium strategy," Granholm told reporters at an International Atomic Energy Agency conference in Washington. In September, the White House asked Congress for another $1.5 billion in a temporary government funding bill to boost domestic supply of low enriched uranium and HALEU. The Department of Energy has supplies of heavily enriched uranium, from which it can downblend fuel for reactors. Some nuclear power proponents also want to boost U.S. mining and processing of uranium, practices many environmentalists want to limit.

☆ Canada backs nuclear power project with C$970 mln financing
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Ismail Shakil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The nuclear power project, which is being developed by utility Ontario Power Generation (OPG) in Darlington, will be the first commercial grid-scale SMR in the Group of Seven wealthy nations (G7), according to the minister's spokesperson. read more"We are doing this because nuclear energy – as a non-emitting source of energy – is critical to the achievement of Canada's and the world's climate goals," Wilkinson will say. "Nuclear power is one source that can help in reaching our climate targets while addressing growing future demand." About 15% of Canada's electricity comes from nuclear power, according to the World Nuclear Association. The reactors are designed by GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy, an alliance between General Electric Co (GE.N) and Japan's Hitachi Ltd , and could power about 300,000 homes after completion, OPG says.

☆ Investor Vinod Khosla says focusing on 2030 climate targets is the wrong approach
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Why Khosla thinks short-term goals are a mistakeFocusing on "short term goals will force us to deploy suboptimal technology," Khosla told CNBC. And if it doesn't do that, it's the wrong technology," Khosla told CNBC. Nuclear fusion is one example of the kind of breakthrough technology Khosla considers critical, but which will not be commercialized by 2030. "But I'm not interested in today's geothermal, because it is such a niche — it doesn't scale," Khosla told CNBC. And that's what we need," Khosla said.

☆ France’s Nuclear Reactors Malfunction as Energy Crisis Bites
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Matthew Dalton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—France is falling behind in its plans to return the country’s fleet of nuclear reactors to full power this winter after a rash of outages, raising fears that one of Europe’s key sources of electricity won’t be ramped up to counter Russia’s squeeze on the continent’s energy supplies. The nuclear fleet was designed to act as the front line of France’s energy security. Since Moscow cut the flow of natural gas to Europe—plunging the continent into its biggest energy crisis since the 1970s oil shock—France’s vaunted nuclear fleet has been about as effective as the Maginot Line, the French fortifications that did little to stop the German invasion during World War II.

Turkey Point sits on porous rock and underneath it is the Biscayne Aquifer – a primary source of drinking water. Nuclear plants have up to 60 years after they shut down to dispose of their nuclear waste. “FPL and the NRC regularly evaluate nuclear power plant operating conditions and physical infrastructure to ensure ongoing safe operations,” the company said. Electrical cables from Turkey Point Nuclear Power plant that power 1 million homes in South Florida. Alfonso Duran for NBC NewsNew homes under constructed near Turkey Point nuclear power plant in Miami in September.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine has renewed interest in nuclear power. But without a reliable source of the high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) the reactors need, developers worry they won't receive orders for their plants. But only TENEX, which is part of Russian state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom, sells HALEU commercially at the moment. And this chicken and egg conundrum is complicating the smooth development of HALEU supply. "A reliable HALEU supply is one of many factors under consideration," the company said in an emailed statement.

☆ Explainer: Strikes at French nuclear plants - what's at stake?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Forrest Crellin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterRolling strikes over wages by the FNME-CGT union at some plants have added to the problem. France is a net importer of electricity and the strikes will further boost power imports, particularly from Britain, the consultancy said. Power grid operator RTE warned on Tuesday that prolonged strikes further delaying the restart of reactors could have "heavy consequences" for electricity supply over the winter. Britain's National Grid has also cited maintenance issues at French nuclear reactors as a factor that could affect UK energy supplies this winter. read moreRTE still expects France's nuclear power production to rise to between 40 and 45 gigawatt (GW) a day in December and January, up from 25-30 GW at the end of October.

☆ Twenty French nuclear reactors affected by strike, union says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Strikes have affected work at nearly a third of France's nuclear reactors, an FNME-CGT power union representative said on Wednesday, delaying maintenance at many of them ahead of planned talks with operator EDF (EDF.PA). Three of the reactors lowered production by a total of 1.8 gigawatts (GW) by 0837 GMT, EDF data showed. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPower supply has been further hit in recent weeks as the FNME-CGT union has been staging rolling strikes over wages at some nuclear power plants. FNME-CGT representative Virginie Neumayer told Reuters 20 reactors out of a total of 56 had been affected by the strikes. The start of planned maintenance at the Gravelines 4 and Dampierre 3 sites have been pushed back due to the strikes, and now show their outage start date on Oct. 19.

☆ French petrol supply improving but Paris area still having problems - minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Oct 19 (Reuters) - There are signs of a general improvement in the supply of petrol to service stations in France, but the situation in the Paris/Ile-de-France area remains difficult, French Energy Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told French radio. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThose protests have disrupted the supply of petrol to service stations, leading to long lines of motorists queuing to fill up their cars and causing general public anger. Energy company EDF (EDF.PA), which the French government is in the process of fully nationalising, has also been affected by strikes at its nuclear reactors. France's national grid operator RTE warned on Tuesday that those prolonged strikes at EDF could have "heavy consequences" for the country's electricity supplies over the coming winter. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Jan Harvey and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

One in two trains were canceled on some suburban rail lines in Paris and Eurostar canceled four services between the French and British capitals on Tuesday and Wednesday, blaming strike action. French unions called for a nationwide strike on Tuesday, expanding a weeks-long refineries strike that has caused fuel shortages and miles-long lines at gas stations. “There will be as many ordered back to work as necessary,” to respond to the needs of French people, Veran told France 2 television. He criticized ongoing blockades at refineries by French union CGT, given that a majority of workers had now agreed to wage deals with ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies. While ExxonMobil workers agreed to end their blockade of the Fos-sur-Mer refinery and depot in southern France late last week following salary negotiations, strikes continue at TotalEnergies refineries.

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