Nuclear energy, new contribution stories

NUCLEAR ENERGY HAS THE ADVANTAGE OF PRODUCING A LOW ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, WHICH MAKES IT A SUSTAINABLE SOURCE THAT SUPPORTS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S ECOLOGICAL COMMITMENT.

The Biden administration's Bipartisan Infrastructure and Inflation Reduction Act is boosting every sector in the country. In particular, the nuclear power sector made great strides in 20and that momentum is expected to continue this year.

There is an estimate made by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that carbon emissions are assessed to be reduced by one million metric tons in 2030 due to these laws. Also, there is a more significant push for clean energy technologies such as nuclear power by supporting the current and future fleet of reactors.

The momentum brought to nuclear is creating change and new stories within the segment. Here is some critical nuclear power news to watch out for in 2023.

After 20 years, a new commercial reactor will be connected to the power grid in the country. The first is the grid connection of unit #3 of the Vogtle power plant. The Vogtle power plant in Waynesboro, Georgia, expects to start unit three in the first quarter of the year while continuing work on the fourth reactor.

The two new units will be the first U.S. reactors to use the AP1000 technology developed by Westinghouse. In addition, both have passive solid safety features, which can be shut down without operator action or an external power source. This will allow them to provide more than 1000 MWe of clean electricity generation at the facility. When the two units begin generating clean energy, the Vogtle plant will be the largest generator in the country.

The establishment of domestic low-enriched uranium (HALEU) production is the second piece of news to watch. DOE plans to support several advanced reactor demonstration projects through its HALEU Availability Program. The Biden administration's Reduction Act will provide $500 million to help jump-start the acquisition program to have sufficient quantities of HALEU to support reactor development, demonstration, and deployment.

The HALEU will qualify new fuel types, test new reactor designs and help fuel the initial cores of the two demonstration reactors funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and supported by DOE's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.

The third story is about New York's Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant will demonstrate its first production of clean hydrogen by low-temperature electrolysis. The plant will use the hydrogen it produces to cool the facility. That plant is one of four nuclear-fueled hydrogen demonstration projects supported by DOE.

In addition, TerraPower and X-energy are making significant progress on their construction permit applications and plan to submit them to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the coming months. Achieving these milestones will be a crucial step in moving forward the country's two major advanced reactor demonstration projects supported through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and DOE's ARDP.

The NRC is also expected to release the final safety assessment report and environmental impact statement for Hermes, a low-power reactor developed by Kairos Power that will serve as the basis for designing the company's high-temperature fluoride saltcooled reactor.

And finally, DOE plans to support extended operations of nuclear power plants at risk of closure due to economic factors. The Civil Nuclear Appropriations Program is funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. The first to get appropriations went to Diablo Canyon, which managed to keep operating for five more years and retain many jobs in California.