Part 1 of 3 Parts
     In 2022 the U.S. nuclear industry continued to have serious difficulties caused by regulatory, technical and financial problems. It did enjoy solid support from the federal government.
     The global nuclear scene faced similar problems. There were plant closings and construction delays that have resulted in the nuclear share of global power generation falling to about ten percent. This was its lowest level since the 1980s, according to the World Nuclear Industry 2022 annual report.
     The U.S. generated more nuclear power than any other country on the globe last year. This amounted to about ninety-five gigawatts of capacity. China generated the next highest amount of nuclear power. Construction of new plants has been impeded by cost overruns and schedule delays. Nuclear power generation has been unable to match the plunging costs of natural gas and renewable energy sources. Nuclear power provides a critical twenty percent of U.S. electricity from the ninety-two light-water reactors that were constructed in a construction binge in the 1970s and 1980s.
     Some of these plants are struggling financially, many of them are approaching their scheduled decommission dates. The only new large reactors being constructed today are at Plant Vogtle in Georgia. There has been reports of huge cost overruns as well as incompetence and even fraud.
     Here are some of the outstanding highs and lows for the U.S. nuclear industry during 2022.
Diablo Canyon
     Diablo Canyon is California’s last remaining nuclear plant. It was granted about one billion dollars in support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) last November. This funding may permit the two-reactor plant to remain in business.
    The nuclear plant had been scheduled to close permanently in 2025. However, there were serious concerns about both greenhouse gas emissions and a potential lack of generating capacity in the state of California. This spurred California legislators to pass a bill in September with overwhelming support to try to extend the life of the plant through 2030. Diablo Canyon supplies approximately nine percent of California’s electricity.
     The Brattle Group carried out a study which indicated that keeping the nuclear power plant running could reduce carbon emissions in the state by about forty million metric tons over its extended lifetime. This would supplant power generation that would otherwise most likely be generated by fossil-gas plants.
     However, Diablo Canyon faces a reckoning with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commissions with respect to its license. The plant is also faced with years of deferred maintenance in the run-up to its anticipated retirement.
Plant Vogtle
    On October 17, Georgia Power reported that the loading of fuel into the Plant Vogtle Unit 3 reactor core had been completed. This marked an overdue milestone in the bumpy journey to construct and put into operation the two new reactors. During the reported loading of the fuel, technicians, and operators transferred scores of fuel assemblies one by one to the Unit 3 reactor.
     The California Power utility issued a press release that read, “Startup testing will begin next and is designed to demonstrate the integrated operation of the primary coolant system and steam supply system at design temperature and pressure with fuel inside the reactor. Operators will also bring the plant from cold shutdown to initial criticality, synchronize the unit to the electric grid and systematically raise power to 100%.” Vogtle Unit 3 is projected to become operational in the first quarter of 2023.
     On December 7th, Vogtle’s Unit 4 reactor completed cold hydro testing. This is the penultimate step before hot function testing which is scheduled to begin early in 2023.
     The two new Vogtle reactors are the first new nuclear units to be built in the U.S. in more than three decades. Their publicized problems have not been particularly beneficial to the reputation of nuclear power. The project is six years past the original scheduled completion date, and it will cost utility customer over thirty billion dollars which is twice of the original estimated cost. The DoE’s Loan Program Office provided over twelve billion dollars in loan guarantees to help complete the construction of Vogtle’s two new reactors.
Please read Part 2 next

Doomsday warnings for 2023: Risk of nuclear war is at its ‘highest ever’ and the planet is on a ‘highway to climate hell’ dailymail.co.uk

Lapid: Israel will use force to prevent Iran from going nuclear clevelandjewishnews.com

Poland looks to nuclear power to guarantee its energy independence ft.com

Top Putin aide visits Ukraine’s Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant reuters.com

Ambient office = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 113 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 114 nanosieverts per hour

Blueberry from Central Market = 111 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 106 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 88 nanosieverts per hour

Israel fears Biden still wants Iran nuclear deal foxnews.com

US, Europe will ‘shortly’ return to JCPOA talks, says Iranian official jns.org

Large nuclear power stations cannot be made safe enough heraldscotland.com

South Korea Must Respond to North Korea Despite Its Nuclear Arms  usnews.com

 

Ambient office = 138 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 91 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 89 nanosieverts per hour

Avocado from Central Market = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 120 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 112 nanosieverts per hour

Israeli Officials Fear U.S. Still Keen on Iran Nuclear Deal Haaretz.com

Israel must do what it can to end Iran’s nuclear program and the regime jpost.com

Putin readies world’s ‘most powerful’ Satan II nuclear missile for ‘combat duty’ foxnews.com

Nuclear chief: IAEA officials to visit Iran soon ifpnews.com

 

Ambient office = 115 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 98 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Tomato from Central Market = 102 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 105 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 97 nanosieverts per hour

Dover Sole from Central = 111 nanosieverts per hour

     Rolls-Royce SMR has chosen three sites in the U.K. for its shortlist of sites to host its first factory for producing components for a fleet of small modular reactors (SMRs). The new factory will manufacture heavy pressure vessels for the SMRs. The final choice of a location for the factory is expected to be announced early next year.
     The three sites on the short list are the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) in Sunderland, South Tyneside in Northeast England; Teesworks, Redcar, in Teesside also in Northeast England, and Gateway, Deeside, in North Wales.
     Rolls-Royce SMR said that the selection of the three potentials sites was made following a series of visits and further assessment of each of the sites’ suitably to host the factory for the heavy pressure vessels.
     The factory is expected to be around two hundred and fifty thousand square feet. It is expected to create two hundred permanent jobs. The estimated cost of the factory will be between one hundred and twenty million dollars and two hundred and forty-two million dollars.
     Tom Samson is the CEO of Rolls-Royce SMR. He said, “This is part of the process to build the first of at least three factories that will manufacture components for a fleet of small modular reactors and will present an incredible opportunity for a region of the UK. Our power stations will be built in British factories situated in the north of England or Wales and will generate tens of thousands of long-term highly skilled jobs – accelerating regional economic growth.”
     Last July, Roll-Royce SMR announced six possible sites for their planned factories. The six sites select were chosen from over one hundred submissions from local enterprise partnerships and development agencies. The six original short list choices were Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, Richmond in North Yorkshire, Deeside in Wales, Ferrybridge in Yorkshire, Stallingborough in Lincolnshire and Carlisle in Cumbria. In October, Deeside and Teesworks were added after the sites met the shortlist criteria. 
     The company will decide on the locations early next year after final evaluations and detailed assessments are made against the requirements and criteria for the factory. The factory will manufacture and assemble some of the largest and more complex components of the Rolls-Royce SMR power plant.
     The company added that they wanted “To ensure commercial processes move in parallel, negotiations will be initiated when Rolls-Royce SMR has entered formal discussions on deployment with the government.”
     The other two factories being planned will manufacture civils modules and mechanical and plumbing (MEP) modules. These modules will be transported to sites and assembled into an operational nuclear power plant.
     Rolls-Royce SMR said, “All of the initial responses will be retained, and separate selection processes will be run for the following two factory locations (civils modules and MEP modules).”
     The Rolls-Royce SMR design was accepted for Generic Design Assessment review in March. The U.K.’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy asked the Office for Nuclear Regulation along with the environmental regulators for England and Wales to begin the process.
     To minimize the construction phase of the program, the Rolls-Royce SMR is fully modularized with the fifty foot by thirteen foot reactor able to be transported by road, sea or rail. They are hoping for construction to be completed in about five hundred days. The company says that this concept minimizes the onsite time and effort required to construct the plant. About ninety percent of the manufacturing and assembly activities will be carried out in factor conditions.
      Last November, Rolls-Royce SMR announced that a siting review had identified a variety of existing nuclear power plant sites in the U.K. that could potentially host its SMRs. Four of these sites are owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and are prioritized.

25% of EU electricity production from nuclear sources ec.europa.eu

Iran: Medicines, drugs and peaceful use of nuclear energy plenglis.com

Finnish EPR set to resume test operation world-nuclear-news.com

Israel’s readiness to attack Iran’s nuclear sites improved jpost.com

Ambient office = 130 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 78 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 86 nanosieverts per hour

Roma tomato from Central Market = 80 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 133 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 123 nanosieverts per hour