nuclear-news

Nuclear power saw multiple gains in 2022, but economic and other questions remain

The first new nuclear units in the U.S. in more than 30 years moved closer to operation while the sector is receiving a boost from the Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law.

Larry Pearl, Utility Dive, Senior Editor, 3 Jan 2023,

Southern Company’s Vogtle units 3 and 4 moved closer to commercial operation in 2022 while existing nuclear plants are receiving a boost from the Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law.

………… the sector has been buffeted in recent years by competition from renewables and natural gas.

PG&E’s Diablo Canyon units 1 and 2, scheduled to be decommissioned in 2024 and 2025, respectively, are in line to receive $1.1 billion from the Department of Energy to stay in operation, part of the agency’s $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit Program.

Meanwhile, small modular reactor developers NuScale and X-energy moved to go public while the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced in July that it had directed its staff to issue a final rule certifying NuScale’s small modular reactor design in the United States – the first SMR design to receive such approval in the U.S.

But rising material prices and interest rates are spurring questions about the cost of NuScale’s planned 462-MW SMR project in Utah………………. https://www.utilitydive.com/news/nuclear-power-saw-multiple-gains-in-2022-but-economic-and-other-questions/639459/

January 4, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized