Two marquee events for the nuclear waste and energy industries were scheduled to begin next week in separate cities, with the Waste Management Symposia on the slate in Phoenix and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual Regulatory Information Conference set to kick off near agency headquarters in Rockville, Md.
Among others, Paul Murray, deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition at the Department of Energy, was scheduled to speak at the Waste Management Symposia. The remaining four NRC commissioners were set to address that agency’s Regulatory Information Conference.
Waste Management Symposia planned no remote access, but portions of the NRC’s Regulatory Information Conference were set to stream online.
The Virginia legislature this week approved a bill that would let utilities seek rate increases to offset the cost of installing small modular reactors.
The state Senate, where the bill originated, on Thursday agreed to accept amendments from the state House of Representatives, which on Wednesday approved the bill 52-44. The measure now heads to Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) for a signature.
The Department of Energy this week released a draft environmental impact statement about the agency’s plans to subsidize a new U.S. commercial uranium refining industry to produce high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) for commercial use.
DOE announced the arrival of the draft document Thursday in the Federal Register. The agency planned to begin a series of public forums about the review on Apr. 3. Members of the public may register online to attend the first forum via video.
The agency posted the draft environmental impact statement on its website in two volumes. There is also a summary.
Vistra Energy, Irving, Texas, last week completed its acquisition of Energy Harbor Corp., the former First Energy subsidiary that owned a pair of financially toubled power plants in Ohio that were the center of a huge bribery scandal in the Buckeye State.
Vistra announced the roughly $3-billion acquisition, pending for about a year, in a press release. The deal brings a total of four additional nuclear power plants into Vistra’s portfolio.
Ares Security Corp., Vienna, Va., said last week it got a contract form Holtec Decommissioning International to install a security computer and video management system at the shuttered Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Michigan.
The company did not specify the financial or performance terms of the award in its March 1 press release.
Holtec, Jupiter, Fla., is attempting to restart Palisades, which shut down in 2022. Pending a big Department of Energy loan, which media reported in February would come through but which as of Friday had not, Holtec thinks it can power Palisades back up in August 2025.
The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency will hold its first Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels on March 21.
The summit “will provide Heads of State and Government of participating countries the opportunity to share their vision on the key role of nuclear power in reaching net zero and promoting sustainable development,” the IAEA said on its website.
There will be political and scientific programs and side events, the IAEA said.
