Reactor Reax: Roundup of Nuclear Articles and Reports

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(WASHINGTON DC) - In the news this week, licensing for nuclear power facilities may grow more difficult; an anti-nuclear group's reasoning influenced the NRC, which will now have to sort out some of their problematic nuclear policies.

In related developments, a court threw out the NRC rule permitting licensing and re-licensing of nuclear reactors based on the supposition that the NRC will be able to find a way to dispose of spent reactor fuel some time in the future when it becomes 'necessary'.

An Uncertain Phase for Nuclear Power Licenses, New York Times, August 9, 2012. "In a rare action, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has acceded to a petition filed by anti-nuclear groups that it halt some licensing activities until the agency can sort out its troubled policy on nuclear waste."

NRC freezes new nuclear power plant licenses, license renewals, Power Engineering, August 7, 2012. "The NRC action was sought in a June 18, 2012 petition filed by 24 groups urging the NRC to respond to the court ruling by freezing final licensing decisions until it has completed a rulemaking action on the environmental impacts of radioactive nuclear waste in the form of spent, or 'used', reactor fuel storage and disposal. On June 8th, the court threw out the NRC rule that permitted licensing and re-licensing of nuclear reactors based on the supposition that the NRC will find a way to dispose of spent reactor fuel to be generated by reactors at some time in the future when it becomes 'necessary' and in the meantime, spent fuel can be stored safely at reactor sites."

A Glut of Natural Gas Leaves Nuclear Power Stalled, MIT Technology Review, August 9, 2012. "The nuclear renaissance is in danger of petering out before it has even begun, but not for the reasons most people once thought. Forget safety concerns, or the problem of where to store nuclear waste—the issue is simply cheap, abundant natural gas."

Senate Committee Revives Wind Energy Tax Credit; Nuclear-Fueled Exelon Seeks to Squash It, Clean Technica, August 4, 2012. "US wind energy industry participants, such as Denmark's Vestas, are cautiously encouraged by the PTC's revival, but some of the nation's largest utilities, including Chicago-based Exelon, are working to assure the tax credit extension doesn't make it through Congress."

For Nuclear Power This Summer, It's Too Darn Hot, Truthout, August 5, 2012. "But simply getting permission to suck in hotter water does not make the problem go away. When any thermoelectric plant (that includes nuclear, coal and some gas) has to use water warmer than design parameters, the cooling is less effective, and that loss of cooling potential means that plants need to dial down their output to keep from overheating and damaging core components."

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