Xcel Energy Inc. is a U.S. regulated electric utility and natural gas delivery company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving more than three million seven hundred thousand electric customers and two million natural gas customers across parts of eight states (Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and New Mexico).
    Xcel owns and operates the Monticello nuclear power plant in Monticello, Minnesota. The site, which began operating in 1971, has a single nuclear reactor (boiling water reactor) of the General Electric BWR-3 design generating 613 megawatts,
     Xcel Energy has reported that about four hundred thousand gallons of water which contains radioactive tritium leaked from a water pipe running between two building at its Monticello facility. Xcel said it is monitoring groundwater from two dozen wells in the area.
     Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen with two neutrons in the nucleus. It is a byproduct of producing electricity at nuclear power plants, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).
     Kirk Koudelka is a MPCA assistant commissioner for land and strategic initiatives. He said, “Our top priority is protecting residents and the environment, and the MPCA is working closely with other state agencies to oversee Xcel Energy’s monitoring data and cleanup activities. We are working to ensure this cleanup is concluded as thoroughly as possible with minimal or no risk to drinking water supplies.”
     When the leak was detected, the facility diverted water to an in-plant water treatment system to contain it and prevent additional water from leaving the plant. The MPCAS added that the leak has stopped. The contaminated water has not reached the Mississippi or contaminated drinking water sources.
      The MPCA said in a press release on Thursday that “There is no evidence at this time to indicate a risk to any drinking water wells in the vicinity of the plant.”
     Xcel Energy said that it completed a thorough inspection of all piping at the plant. It determined that no other areas of the facility are of concern. It will also be examining the pipe that leaked in the laboratory to determine why it happened.
     The contaminated water is contained in the grounds of the plant. It has not been detected beyond the facility or any local drinking water. Xcel is continuing to monitor groundwater from over two dozen wells on-site.
     An estimated twenty five percent of the leaked tritium water has been recovered. More of the water will be recovered over the course of next year. Xcel is considering options to store the recovered contaminated water. They are considering building above-ground storage tanks or a retention pool. Any new construction will be reviewed by the state agencies.
     Chris Clark is the President of Xcel Energy–Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. He said in a statement, “We have taken comprehensive measures to address this situation on-site at the plant. While this leak does not pose a risk to the public or the environment, we take this very seriously and are working to safely address the situation.”
      The MPCA is monitoring Xcel’s process of cleaning up the leak in coordination with the Minnesota Department of Health, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Ambient office = 131 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 98 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 95 nanosieverts per hour

Corn from Central Market = 70 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 103 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 88 nanosieverts per hour

     New Brunswick (NB) Power in Canada will soon apply to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) in preparation for small modular reactors (SMR) at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station in Charlotte County.
     Heather McKnight is an engineer with NB Power. She said that the provincial utility is currently in the “pre-project” phase. It will soon be submitting a license to prepare to the CNSC. This is the first step in a three-step process to bring generation-four SMRs to the Canadian province. She went on to say to the Saint Andrews town council that “It will prepare the site for construction that will begin years down the road.”  She added that it will run in conjunction with environmental assessments.
     NB power hopes to submit the license to prepare by the end of June. The license will be the official start for the project which could see New Brunswick become the first province to generate electricity via a generation-four reactor that is more advanced than the current widely used CANDU reactor technology.
     ARC Clean Energy Canada is committed to a 2029 launch date for its SMR at the Point Lepreau facility.  Moltex Energy is also planning to deploy its SMR at Point Lepreau facility within a similar time frame.
      McKnight said that as a scale of reference for comparison, each of these SMRs will be approximately half the size of the Costco warehouse on Saint John’s east side. She added that there is potential to add more nuclear reactors in northern New Brunswick. She said, “These reactors aren’t just targeted for power production.” They can also be used to provide steam heating for industrial purposes.
     NB Power is currently mandated to provide four gigawatts of power at any given time. Currently about half of that power comes from “clean” sources, including hydro, nuclear, wind, solar and biomass. Additional energy is imported from Quebec and New England. The other half of the power is currently supplied by Belledune’s coal plant, the Coleson Cove generator in Lorneville, Millbank in Miramichi, and the Bayside generator. The last three generators run off natural gas or oil.
     New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) committing them to SMR development. Don Morgan is Saskatchewan’s Minister of Crown Investment Corporations and minister responsible for SaskPower. SaskPower is the principal electric utility in Saskatchewan, Canada. Established in 1929 by the provincial government, it serves more than 538,000 customers and manages over $11.8 billion in assets. Morgan toured Point Lepreau last summer. He said that his prairie province was locking east for inspiration on how to develop nuclear energy.
     In 2021, the federal government passed the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. This legislation outlines the country’s commitment to net-zero emission by 2050. Net-zero can be achieved by both reducing energy emissions and offsetting any carbon emissions by purchasing renewable energy credits (RECs). These are used to procure renewable energy sources.
     SNC Lavalin’s Net Zero 2050 report includes oil and gas use decreasing by thirty percent. This was done in part due to SMRs replacing fossil fuels.

Ambient office = 92 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 106 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 106 nanosieverts per hour

Blueberry from Central Market = 90 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 106 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 83 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient office = 76 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 94 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 94 nanosieverts per hour

Asparagus from Central Market = 52 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 103 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 98 nanosieverts per hour

     Energy consultants Equilibrion and the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) just issued a report titled Synthetic Fuels: The Opportunity for Economy Scale Production of Synthetic Fuels from Nuclear Energy that said that large-scale production of nuclear derived net-zero synthetic fuels could help hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as aviation and shipping. The transport sector is responsible for twenty seven percent of global greenhouse emissions.
     Synthetic fuels are not derived from fossil fuels. They
rely on carbon dioxide obtained from the environment and low carbon hydrogen feedstock to synthesize hydrogen-based fuels that perform like fossil fuels but with no net release of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere”, according to the report. Synthetic fuel production can use CO2 from different sources including industrial emissions, direct air capture or seawater capture.
    The report adds, “The drawback is that synthetic fuel production routes are perceived as energy intensive and restricted in availability due to assessments which solely consider the use of renewable energy. This is where nuclear can deliver the solution needed … and unlock the path to far greater supply of synthetic fuels to the sectors which need it most, reducing emissions beyond what can be achieved with bio-fuel alternatives and even becoming carbon negative in the future.”
     The report goes on to say that heat and electricity generated by nuclear power plants can be used for all stages of the process. Seawater can be desalinated to produce pure water for hydrogen production. The report urges the U.K. government to recognize the potential role of nuclear power in its upcoming Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate. It also recommends that U.K. government and non-government net-zero modeling should include nuclear-derived synthetic fuels and that the government should “consider amendments to the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation to enable nuclear to be exploited for the production of fuels in the wider low carbon fuels market.”
     Some of these measures are set to be moved forward by the U.K. government’s Energy Security Bill which is currently being considered by the House of Lords. It suggests including nuclear-derived fuels under renewable transport fuel schemes such as the production of sustainable aviation fuel and hydrogen.
     The new report predicts a global synthetic fuels market of fifteen billion dollars  by 2030 and six hundred billion dollars by 2050.
     Tom Greatrex is the chief executive of NIA which is the trade association for the civil sector in the U.K. He said, “Nuclear energy can play a crucial role in providing the primary energy to support the decarbonization of sectors which are currently almost entirely reliant on fossil fuels. The UK must take this golden opportunity to be a global leader and we stand ready to provide the energy that the market needs.”
     Phil Rogers is director of Equilibrion, which says its purpose “is to work with businesses to fulfil the potential of nuclear energy to decarbonize our heat, transport and industrial sectors.” He said, “The transport sector is responsible for close to a third of UK emissions, so the ability to directly replace fossil fuels with zero carbon equivalents, particularly for aviation, shipping and heavy transport, could have a game-changing impact on our journey to net-zero.”