Home
Energy Net's Library tagged → View Popular
Duke Energy won't do more MOX tests - Augusta Chronicle
Duke Energy says first two tests were sufficient, denies waning interest
Duke Energy, which has been testing French-made mixed-oxide nuclear fuels in its Catawba 1 reactor to gauge the suitability of similar fuels to be made at Savannah River Site, has exercised an option not to conduct a third 18-month testing cycle.
Sign up for breaking news alerts from The Chronicle
"It was used for two operating cycles and we made a decision that an additional cycle is not required," said Rita Sipe, a nuclear media relations spokeswoman for Duke Energy.
The reason, she said, is that the first two cycles provided sufficient data that will be analyzed as part of the evaluation process for MOX, which is made by blending plutonium from dismantled nuclear bombs with conventional reactor fuels.
Green groups slime Duke on MOX fuel
A rapid-fire exchange of press releases this week Friday, Nov 13 made short order of a claim [press release] by Friends of the Earth (FOE) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) that the end of testing of MOX fuel in a Duke Power reactor is a “huge setback” to the program.
Identical letters sent Nov 10 by Tom Clements representing both two green organizations to Energy Sec. Steven Chu and NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko claimed that a decision by Duke not to reload test bundles of MOX fuel at the Catawba reactor represents a “failure to demonstrate” the safety of the fuel in a conventional light water reactor.
The letter called the situation “an aborted test” and claimed that as a result the MOX fuel is unsafe for use in civilian nuclear reactors. The remainder of the letter is incendiary with claims that the MOX fuel program should not proceed as a result of the “decision” by Duke Energy.
Duke Energy eyes delay for Lee nuclear project - Charlotte Business Journal:
Duke Energy Carolinas is likely to delay construction of its proposed Lee Nuclear Station for up to three years.
Duke’s latest long-term plan, filed this week with N.C. regulators, says the startup date for generating power at the Gaffney, S.C., plant could be put off to 2021.
The delay is particularly likely if Duke can’t find a construction partner for the $11 billion plant. The utility is moving its target date as concerns mount regarding the project’s cost. Also, demand for power appears to be growing more slowly than in recent years.
Duke’s updated plans also call for delays in building the utility’s proposed Buck Steam Station and Dan River combined-cycle gas plants.
Janice Hager, head of Duke’s resource planning, says it appears that demand for electricity — not adjusted for the weather — has been flat the last four years. Duke’s new projections call for demand growth to return to an average 1.5% per year in the long term. But the company isn’t projecting a spurt in demand once the recession ends.
Duke official says lake levels to decline : Anderson Independent-Mail
Managing lake levels is a delicate balancing act at best, a Duke official said Thursday, but the general outlook calls for levels of some lakes to decline.
Lake Jocassee can expect to take the biggest hit, said George Galleher of Duke Energy hydroelectric operations, because of the lake’s part in the whole balancing act.
Galleher spoke at a forum on the overall health of the Duke Energy lakes and their watershed. The forum was sponsored by the Friends of Lake Keowee Society and held at Duke Energy’s World of Energy center north of Seneca.
Daily Journal: Duke plans for eventual reactor shutdowns
The companies that own almost half the nation's nuclear reactors are not setting aside enough money to dismantle them, and many may sit idle for decades an Associated Press (AP) investigation has found.
However, Duke Energy, which operates Oconee Nuclear Station (ONS) on Lake Keowee, is not among those companies.
Local Duke officials said this week that the firm has bankrolled $1.4 billion in a “decommissioning fund” and collects approximately $48 million annually under its current rate structure for this purpose. Duke began collecting the money in 1979, 15 years after it began operation at ONS.
Initially, ONS was granted a 40-year license. A 20-year extension has been obtained that will keep the unit 1 and unit 2 reactors on line until 2033, while the unit 3 reactor is scheduled for shutdown in 2034. Just this week, site manager Dave Baxter told community leaders that thought is being given to seeking another 20-year extension.
However, for now, Duke spokesperson Sandra Magee said ONS is operating from the premise that the reactors will go off-line in 2033 and 2034.
Plans unveiled for Ohio’s first nuclear reactor in 2 decades
In one of Ohio’s poorest regions, a jazz combo played “Pennies From Heaven.” Executives from bitterly competitive companies embraced. Politicians of the two parties declared esteem for one another. A Republican senator gave a shout-out to a union leader.
Americans even applauded the French.
The world didn’t come to an end, but there were many stars in alignment Thursday, June 18, as dignitaries announced plans to turn a contaminated Cold War-era atomic plant into America’s first “clean energy park,” home to Ohio’s first nuclear reactor in two decades.
The new Southern Ohio Clean Energy Park Alliance will prepare plans and licensing documents to locate at least one reactor on a 3,700-acre federal complex 100 miles southeast of Dayton.
Duke Energy, Areva teaming up on nuke project - MarketWatch
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Duke Energy, Areva, USEC Inc. and UniStar Nuclear Energy said Thursday they formed an alliance to build a nuclear power plant at a U.S. Department of Energy site in Piketon, Ohio. Dubbed as the Southern Ohio Clean Energy Park Alliance, the partnership will evaluate the site as a potential location for a new nuclear power plant, including preparing a plant siting study and licensing documents for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. UniStar is a joint alliance between France's EDF and Constellation Energy /quotes/comstock/13*!ceg/quotes/nls/ceg (CEG 26.32, -0.50, -1.86%) . The clean energy park comes after a DOE effort to convert former weapons sites for energy production. Duke will manage the project, provide project oversight and serve as the applicant for any NRC licensing applications.
Columbus Dispatch : Nuclear plant planned for state
A multibillion-dollar nuclear power plant proposed for southern Ohio would be the first started in the U.S. since before the Three Mile Island accident.
"I'm a big cheerleader for nuclear power, and I always have been," Gov. Ted Strickland told The Dispatch. "I'm excited about it."
Strickland and representatives from an alliance of energy companies will be in Piketon Thursday morning for the formal announcement by Duke Energy and the French nuclear energy company Areva. Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, also will be on hand.
Sources: Duke plans Ohio nuclear plant | Cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com
An announcement by Duke Energy and state and federal officials about plans for Ohio’s first nuclear power plant in more than 20 years is expected Thursday morning at the federal government’s uranium enrichment facility in Piketon in Pike County, according to reports.
Advertisement
Gov. Ted Strickland, Senator George Voinovich and Rep. Jean Schmidt along with executives from several energy companies are expected to participate in an announcement about a “new clean energy partnership” at the Piketon facility, according to an advisory from USEC Inc., which operates the Piketon facility and is building a uranium enrichment facility there.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, citing unnamed sources, reported Duke Energy , which operates three nuclear plants in its North and South Carolina service areas, will announce plans to build the nuclear facility.
Duke spokeswoman Johnna Reeder said Tuesday she couldn’t confirm details of the announcement.
Utilities deny Duke reports | GreenvilleOnline.com | The Greenville News
Utility officials on Thursday knocked down reports that Duke Energy could be joining in SCE&G’s expansion project at its Jenkinsville nuclear plant.
Advertisement
“We are not looking for other partners,” SCE&G spokesman Robert Yanity said.
Columbia-based South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. already is partnering with state-operated Santee Cooper on a $9.8 billion plan to add two 1,110-megawatt reactor units at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station.
Duke Energy exec: Lee nuclear project hinges on change in N.C. law - Charlotte Business Journal:
Duke Energy Corp. executives raised the ante on N.C. legislators and regulators Wednesday night, saying the company won’t build its $11 billion Lee Nuclear Station unless the state makes major changes in utility law.
The biggest change would be to allow utilities to charge customers for the costs of nuclear plants without a full state review of their rates. That would reverse the current practice in North Carolina. The state now conducts a general rate proceeding before letting a utility charge customers for any power plant.
FR: NRC: Oconee spent fuel storage license
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering an application dated January 30, 2008, from Duke Power Company LLC d/b/a Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, (Duke) for the renewal of its Special Nuclear Material (SNM) License SNM-2503, under the provisions of 10 CFR part 72, for the receipt, possession, storage and transfer of spent fuel and other radioactive materials associated with spent fuel storage at the Oconee Nuclear Station (ONS) Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), located at the ONS site in Oconee County, South Carolina. If granted, the renewed license will authorize Duke to continue to store spent fuel in a dry cask storage system at the ISFSI. Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 72.42, the renewal term of the license for an ISFSI is limited to 20 years. Duke, however, has also submitted an exemption request with its license renewal application, pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7, seeking a license renewal term of 40 years. In accordance with 10 CFR 72.34, Duke's renewal application included an Environmental Report (which is attached as Enclosure 3, Appendix E of Duke's application).
More nuclear plants in Ohio? | Cincinnati Enquirer | Cincinnati.Com
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland touched on a wide range of subjects in a 90-minute meeting with the Enquirer's editorial board - everything from the possibility of another nuclear power plant in Ohio to the Warren County commissioners' turning down federal stimulus money.
Advertisement
Strickland, who came to the board to talk about the education funding plan now making its way through the Ohio legislature, said that he talked recently with Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, saying Rogers talked about the possibility of the energy company putting a nuclear power plant somewhere in Ohio.
"We were talking nuclear," he said.
But not in Cincinnati, the governor said. Strickland said the two did not discuss any specific locations, just the possibility of Duke pursuing it in the future.
State regulators block Duke Energy's electricity plan
Duke Energy's bid to compete against other power companies for the largest and most lucrative electricity customers has been blocked by the N.C. Utilities Commission.
Duke, the state's biggest electric utility, had planned to sign a 10-year contract to sell electricity to the city of Orangeburg, S.C., which lies outside of Duke's regulated service area. The South Carolina city has been buying power from S.C. Electric & Gas since 1919 and is that utility's biggest single customer.
Study targets costs of Duke energy plans - Charlotte Business Journal:
A Durham environmental group says concentrating on conservation and cost-effective renewable energy would let Duke Energy Carolinas avoid costly new plants and soften steep rate increases.
The N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network’s new study says new-plant costs -- particularly for multi-billion nuclear plants -- will increase N.C. rates at least 50 percent by 2024.
Report coauthor John Runkle says the increases are likely to be even higher. Nuclear plant costs have increased significantly in recent years. The report used current estimates, but he thinks the plants will cost much more to complete. Prices, he says, could double if utilities go ahead with current plants.
Deal off with single buyer of MOX fuel - The Augusta Chronicle
Duke Energy, the only commercial nuclear power plant operator that had agreed to use mixed oxide fuels to be made at Savannah River Site, has ended its contract to use the material.
The U.S. Department of Energy's $4.86 billion MOX facility at SRS, scheduled to open in 2016, is designed to dispose of 34 metric tons of surplus, weapons-grade plutonium by using small amounts to make fuel for commercial reactors.
The termination of Duke's contract -- disclosed Feb. 27 in a company financial filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission -- raises questions about the government's ability to find power plants willing to use the fuel, said Tom Clements, the Southeast nuclear campaign coordinator for Friends of the Earth.
Duke to boost spending on nuclear plant - Charlotte Business Journal:
Duke Energy Corp. spent nearly $55 million last year for planning its proposed Lee Nuclear Station. And it could spend almost twice that much this year before asking S.C. regulators to authorize the project.
Duke expects the construction of two, 1,024-megawatt nuclear generators near Gaffney, S.C., to cost about $11 billion. That does not account for inflation between now and the utility’s 2018 target date for completion. Nor does it include financing, which could add $3 billion to $4 billion to the total cost.
ENERGY: Areva announces new Washington energy plants - | Tri-City Herald
ADAGE and Energy Northwest announced a partnership today that could bring several new power plants to the Pacific Northwest by the end of 2012.
The plants would be built by ADAGE, a joint venture by AREVA and Duke Energy, and would bring an estimated 2,000 construction jobs to the state.
ADAGE President Reed Wills said at a press conference announcing the partnership that the plants also would create 500 permanent “green” jobs for plant operations and wood waste collection.
The plants likely would be located in forested areas of western Washington.
AREVA President Jacques Besnainou said the plants would burn wood waste, such as bark or tree branches stripped from lumber, to generate power.
Wood waste is a renewable, carbon-neutral source that fits the state’s clean energy goals, he said.
Is America Ready to Quit Coal? | HeraldTribune.com | Sarasota Florida | Southwest Florida's Information Leader
Last May, protesters took over James E. Rogers’s front lawn in Charlotte, N.C., unfurling banners declaring “No new coal” and erecting a makeshift “green power plant” — which, they said in a press release, was fueled by “the previously unexplored energy source known as hot air, which has been found in large concentrations” at his home.
And so it goes for Mr. Rogers, the chief executive of Duke Energy. For three years, environmentalists have been battling to stop his company from building a large coal-fired power plant in southwestern North Carolina. They say it will spew six million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually, in addition to producing toxic gases and mountains of fly ash similar to the muck that engulfed a Tennessee community recently.
Duke contracts with DOE to dispose of new reactors' spent fuel
Duke Energy has signed a contract with the Department of Energy for the disposal of spent fuel generated by its proposed William States Lee III nuclear power plant in South Carolina. Duke's contract with the department is the first publicly announced for disposal of spent fuel from new reactors. In a November 10 press statement, Duke Energy Chief Nuclear Officer Dhiaa Jamil said the contract "is a vital step in supporting the timely licensing" of the station.
Selected Tags
Related Tags
Sponsored Links
Top Contributors
Groups interested in duke
-
Classic TV Shows
All About Classic TV Shows ...
Items: 20 | Visits: 18
Created by: Josh Steve
-
duke
Items: 1 | Visits: 4
Created by: li-chih tsou
-
Linguistics
duke univ phil of language
Items: 22 | Visits: 6
Created by: nancy boyle`
Highlighter, Sticky notes, Tagging, Groups and Network: integrated suite dramatically boosting research productivity. Learn more »
Join Diigo