Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 27 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Energy, Nuclear, Environment
Florida Power & Light officials told state regulators today that nuclear power should join solar and wind as a renewable energy source in Florida…
The definition of renewable energy in Florida statutes includes energy from ethanol, biodiesel, biomass, biogas, hydrogen fuel cells, ocean energy, hydrogen, solar, hydro, wind or geothermal. Nuclear power is not included.
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Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 25 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Nuclear, International, Environment
CNBC:
The huge numbers of fish sucked to their death by the cooling system at the Indian Point nuclear plant prove that the system harms the Hudson River environment, a New York state official has ruled.
The finding by J. Jared Snyder, assistant commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, is a victory for plant critics who claim that up to 1.2 billion fish and eggs are killed each year as the plant continuously draws in river water for use as a coolant.
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Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 06 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Energy, Nuclear, Environment
Senator John McCain toured a nuclear power plant in Michigan on Tuesday to highlight his support for the construction of 45 new nuclear power generators by 2030, a position that he said distinguished him from his Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama.
Mr. McCain, an Arizona Republican, portrayed his support of nuclear energy as part of an “all-of-the-above approach” to addressing the nation’s energy needs at a time of $4-a-gallon gasoline. He called it “safe, efficient, inexpensive and obviously a vital ingredient in the future of the economy of our nation and in our mission to eliminate over time our dependence on foreign oil.”
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 31 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Electric, Energy, Nuclear
AP via Yahoo! News:
State utility regulators were officially advised Wednesday about additional filings concerning a request by South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. to begin work on the site of two proposed nuclear reactors.
SCE&G, which is owned by Scana Corp., and state-owned utility Santee Cooper want to build and operate two additional reactors, estimated to cost about $10 billion, at their V.C. Summer Nuclear Station near Columbia to meet increased demand for power.
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 30 Jun 2008 | Tagged as: Energy, Nuclear
The U.S. nuclear industry believes that delays and cost overruns, which helped kill new plant construction in the late 1970s, are less likely today, thanks to now-standardized reactor designs and a streamlined U.S. government licensing process. That process has yet to be tested, though, and costs for new plants are climbing. Two years ago, the price of a 1,500-megawatt reactor was pegged at $2 billion to $3 billion. Now it’s up to $7 billion and rising, as the cost of concrete, steel, and other materials and labor soars. MidAmerican Energy Holdings (BRK), a gas and electric utility owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK), shelved its own nuke plan earlier this year, saying it no longer made economic sense. “The country badly needs new nuclear plants to deal with the climate issue,” says John W. Rowe, chief executive officer of Exelon (EXC), currently the largest nuke operator, and chairman of the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry’s trade group. “But they are very expensive, very high-risk projects.”
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 10 Jun 2008 | Tagged as: Electric, Energy, Nuclear
The York Daily Record (PA):
Aside from a security violation that involved guards sleeping on the job, both reactors at the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station operated last year in a manner that preserved public health and safety.
That’s what U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials concluded during a recent review of the plant’s reactor and radiation safety performance between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2007.
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 16 May 2008 | Tagged as: Nuclear
York Daily Record (PA):
The U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission will boost its number of inspections at Three Mile Island Unit 1 based on a security-related violation that occurred at the plant last summer.
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 07 May 2008 | Tagged as: Natural Gas, Electric, Energy, Nuclear
WSJ via MarketWatch:
Power prices are being pushed up across the U.S., with increases sometimes soaring into double digits, due to costlier coal and natural gas, the fuels used to make 70% of the nation’s electricity.
It usually takes awhile for fuel-price swings to show up in electricity bills because utilities typically buy most of what they need under long-term arrangements. As older contracts expire, though, utilities are facing the reality of higher costs.
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 01 May 2008 | Tagged as: General, Electric, Energy, Nuclear
A security officer at Three Mile Island was placed on suspension Tuesday for being inattentive, plant officials reported today.
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 30 Apr 2008 | Tagged as: Electric, Nuclear
Electricity generated by the Three Mile Island nuclear plant saves state consumers about $288 million a year on their electric bills.
That is the conclusion of a study performed for TMI owner Exelon Nuclear by a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm. TMI is seeking to extend the plant’s operating license by 20 years.
Without TMI, the state would need to generate more electricity with more costly coal and natural gas, the study said.
Welcome to Utility News, a law blog hosted by Saul Ewing LLP. Utility News is a source of information for individuals interested in public utilities and their regulation.
Edward G. Lanza, Editor
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