Notice of Meeting with Constellation Energy Generation, LLC

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https://www.energy-northwest.com/whoweare/news-and-info/Pages/Amazon-and-Energy-Northwest-announce-plans-to-develop--advanced-nuclear-technology-in-Washington.aspx

Amazon and Energy Northwest announce plans to develop advanced nuclear technology in Washington

10/16/2024

News Release

RICHLAND, Wash. – Amazon (Nasdaq; AMZN) and Energy Northwest, a public power agency leading in the development of next-generation nuclear technologies, today announced an agreement to fund efforts to move toward development and deployment of small modular reactor (SMR) technology in Washington state to advance reliable energy across the Northwest.

As the demand for energy resources continue to rise, Energy Northwest and Amazon recognize the urgent need to develop advanced technologies in the Pacific Northwest that provide reliable, carbon-free and sustainable energy generation. SMRs offer a promising solution to that need through scalable and flexible energy output.

Through the agreement, Amazon will fund the initial feasibility phase of an SMR project, which is planned to be sited near Energy Northwest's Columbia Generating Station nuclear energy facility in Richland, Washington.

“As a member of Washington's business community, Amazon is committed to investing in new nuclear energy technologies that can help power our operations and provide net-new, safe sources of carbon-free energy to the grid," said Kevin Miller, Amazon's Vice President of Global Data Centers. “We're proud to be working with Energy Northwest, a utility company that's also thinking big about meeting society's growing energy demands while addressing climate change. This new SMR project is a significant step toward Amazon's Climate Pledge commitment to reach net-zero carbon across our operations by 2040, and signifies our continued dedication to becoming a more sustainable company."

“We are excited about this collaboration with Amazon and are impressed with their vision for helping develop new nuclear technologies and their desire to also make this resource available to utilities in the future," said Greg Cullen, Vice President for Energy Services & Development at Energy Northwest. “We've been working for years to develop this project at the urging of our members, and have found that taking this first, bold step is difficult for utilities, especially those that provide electricity to ratepayers at the cost of production. We applaud Amazon for being willing to use their financial strength, need for power and know-how to lead the way to a reliable, carbon-free power future for the region."

The SMRs will be the Xe-100 design, a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor developed by X-energy, a global leader in advanced nuclear reactor and fuel technology. Each Xe-100 module can provide 80 megawatts of full-time electricity. Energy Northwest and X-energy have engaged extensively on plans for an Xe-100 facility since 2020.
Under the agreement, Amazon will have the right to purchase electricity from the first project (four modules), which is expected to generate 320 megawatts (MW) of energy capacity. Energy Northwest has the option to further build out the site by adding up to eight additional modules (640 MWs) resulting in a total project generating capacity of up to 960 MWs. This additional power will be available to Amazon and northwest utilities to power homes and businesses.

As the owner and operator of Columbia Generating Station, the Pacifi​c Northwest's only nuclear generating facility, and as a developer and operator of additional clean energy and storage resources, Energy Northwest is well-equipped to develop this project.

This collaboration between Energy Northwest and Amazon demonstrates the power of public-private partnerships in driving innovation and accelerating the progression of sustainable energy solutions. It also paves the way for public power entities to develop and build future SMRs to help meet the region's growing energy demands.

Amazon press release

X-energy press release 

Media Kit 
 
Additional Attributable Quotes

"One of the greatest concerns for community-owned electric utilities is having access to reliable sources of electricity that fulfill carbon-free energy mandates. Advanced nuclear fits the bill. This bold partnership between Energy Northwest and Amazon will help pave the way for additional nuclear development in our region and represents a critical step toward achieving a clean and dependable electric grid."
-Kurt Miller, Executive Director, Northwest Public Power Association
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“It is essential that American energy, American technology and American innovation continues to set the standard for the rest of the world. Our community is poised to become the center of that innovation, for everything from information, energy and agricultural technologies. These opportunities will positively shape the future of our nation, our state and our families' lives. 

However, without the electricity to attract industry and grow our communities, our collective goals will never be realized. Investments like these, where end-users, government and industry step up to the plate and help build the critical infrastructure that will propel us all into the future is an investment that cannot be understated. 

The Central Washington Building Trades Unions have worked tirelessly to grow and train the skilled workforce of the next generation. The future of our community will be built by talented Building Trades Union members and their families that live here.

The way I see it we must have two things, the people to build the future and the energy to power it. The Central Washington Building Trades is committed to supply the next generation of skilled crafts to build the future and this investment represents an important commitment to power it."
-Nickolas A. Bumpaous, President Central Washington Building Trades and Business Manager for UA Plumbers & Steamfitters Local Union 598
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“The Pacific Northwest region will need a remarkable amount of electricity to meet a projected increase in demand due to data center development, high-tech manufacturing growth and the continued trend toward electrification. At the same time, the region is on a path to reducing carbon emissions to address the disastrous effects of climate change. The path must include many solutions, like dependable generation that can back-up variable wind and solar power resources to assure an adequate, reliable power supply. Energy Northwest's pro-active decision making and partnership with Amazon makes substantial progress toward modernizing and decarbonizing the region's power system."
-Crystal Ball, Executive Director Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee
---------

"Amazon's announced investment in small modular reactors gives me hope for the future of the Northwest power grid. Under 100% non-emitting electricity requirements, nuclear power is the only technology capable of reliably delivering the massive amounts of around-the-clock energy our society needs, while also positioning utilities to meet aggressive electrification goals. I am ecstatic and deeply grateful to Amazon for their bold and visionary leadership."
-Rick Dunn, General Manager, Benton Public Utility District

Media contacts:

Energy Northwest:

Kelly Rae

Corporate Communications

klrae@energy-northwest.com

 

Amazon:

Erika Reynoso

Corporate Communications

ermreyno@amazon.com

About Energy Northwest       
Energy Northwest is a Washington state public power joint operating agency and a premier provider of carbon-free electricity. Energy Northwest comprises 29 public power member utilities, serving more than 1.5 million customers, and provides its members and regional customers with safe, reliable, cost-effective, responsible power generation and innovative energy and business solutions. The agency owns and operates hydroelectric, solar, battery storage, wind and the Northwest's only nuclear power facility. Energy Northwest also actively supports transportation electrification and new generation projects to the benefit of public power. www.energy-northwest.com.        

About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth's Best Employer, and Earth's Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.​

Google inks nuclear deal for next-generation reactors - The Verge

https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/15/24270645/google-nuclear-energy-deal-small-modular-reactor-kairos/ 

Google inks nuclear deal for next-generation reactors

Google has signed a first-of-its-kind deal to purchase nuclear energy for its data centers

​​​​​​​By Justine Calma, a senior science reporter covering energy and the environment with more than a decade of experience. She is also the host of Hell or High Water: When Disaster Hits Home, a podcast from Vox Media and Audible Originals.

Oct 15, 2024, 9:39 PM GMT+8

Illustration: The Verge

Google plans to buy electricity from next-generation nuclear reactors. It announced the deal yesterday, which it says is the world’s first corporate agreement to purchase electricity from advanced small modular reactors (SMRs) that are still under development.

Google inked the deal with engineering company Kairos Power, which plans to get its first SMR up and running by 2030. Google agreed to purchase electricity from “multiple” reactors that would be built through 2035.

Google needs a lot more clean energy to meet its climate goals while pursuing its AI ambitions. New nuclear technologies are still unproven at scale, but the hope is that they can provide carbon pollution-free electricity while solving some of the problems that come with traditional nuclear power plants.

Back in 2020, Google set a goal of running on carbon-free energy around the clock by 2030. It also committed to slashing its planet-heating pollution in half by 2030 compared to a 2019 baseline. And yet, since 2019, its total greenhouse gas emissions have grown by 48 percent, according to its latest environmental report.

“Obviously, the trajectory of AI investments has added to the scale of the task needed,” CEO Sundar Pichai said in an interview with Nikkei earlier this month. “We are now looking at additional investments, be it solar, and evaluating technologies like small modular nuclear reactors, etc.”

Other big tech companies with climate goals are trying to solve the same problem with nuclear energy. In March, Amazon Web Services announced its purchase of a data center campus powered by a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. Microsoft signed an agreement in September to help revive and purchase power from the shuttered Three Mile Island plant. 

What sets Google apart with this deal is that it’s turning to next-generation reactors rather than traditional nuclear power plants. SMRs are roughly one-tenth to one-quarter the size in comparison. Their size and modular design are supposed to make them cheaper and easier to build and site than their larger predecessors. And unlike solar and wind energy, which fluctuate with the weather and time of day, nuclear power plants can generate electricity around the clock. Even with new reactor designs, however, there are still environmental and health concerns when it comes to mining and enriching uranium for reactors and storing radioactive waste.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission certified a design for a small modular reactor for the first time last year. Experts tell The Verge they expect the first SMRs to connect to US power grids in the early 2030s at the earliest, and big tech’s interest in nuclear energy seems to be giving the industry a boost.

Google says its deal with Kairos Power would eventually help bring up to 500MW of carbon-free energy to power grids in the US. Kairos broke ground on its first demonstration reactor in Tennessee in July.

“Having an agreement for multiple deployments is important to accelerate the commercialization of advanced nuclear energy by demonstrating the technical and market viability,” Jeff Olson, Kairos Power vice president of business development and finance, said in a press release.

NRC ignores government climate warnings on nukes

 

Beyond Nuclear Bulletin October 10, 2024 NRC RELICENSING IN COURT  GEIS ignores climate change On October 7, 2024, Beyond Nuclear and Sierra Club filed a Petition for Review to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia challenging the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) new final rule to restrict environmental review standards for Initial License Renewal of 40 to 60 years and an additional 20-year license extension under the Subsequent License Renewal process for 60 to 80 years of operation. The Petitioners contend that under the National Environmental Policy Act and Administrative Procedures Act, NRC may not lawfully apply their conclusions for a mandatory Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) in the NRC license renewal proceedings because they are irrational, unreasonable, incomplete, unsupported, and arbitrary and capricious, particularly by ignoring climate change impacts (see story below). Read More SCOTUS CERT. Appeals on CISFs continue On October 4, the Supreme Court of the U.S. granted certiorari on appeals brought by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), DOJ, and both dump companies targeting Texas and New Mexico for highly radioactive waste consolidated interim storage facilities. These Petitioners are challenging a ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which vacated NRC's license approvals for Interim Storage Partners, and Holtec.  Beyond Nuclear and environmental allies have consistently lost their appeals at the D.C. Circuit. The State of NM likewise lost at the 10th Circuit based in Denver. But Fasken Land and Minerals, and the State of TX, have won rulings at the 5th since August 2023. Oral arguments will likely be in early 2025. Read More NRC SNUBS GAO REPORT Ignores climate warning On September 27, 2024, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) Chairman Christopher Hanson dismissed the findings of an April 02, 2024 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report [GAO-24-106326], "Nuclear Power Plants: NRC Should Take Actions to Fully Consider the Potential Effects of Climate Change.” The government report warns the NRC to incorporate climate data projections into its licensing and factor climate crisis impacts on reactor safety. The Chairman concluded that the agency does not need to additionally project climate impacts in its current day-to-day oversight and licensing of reactor operations. In fact, NRC's environmental review process only looks at carbon emissions impacts of reactor operations on climate and not climate impacts on reactor safety as a consequence of more severe and frequent climate driven events. Read More ZOMBIE NUKES?! Coalition intervenes against MI nuke restart By the October 7 deadline, five environmental groups petitioned to intervene and requested a hearing in their effort to block Holtec's application to restart the closed for good Palisades atomic reactor, located on southwest Michigan's Great Lakes shore. The scheme is unprecedented, unneeded, extremely high risk for health, safety, and the environment, and insanely expensive for the public.  The coalition includes Beyond Nuclear, Don't Waste MI, MI Safe Energy Future, Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS), and Three Mile Island Alert (TMIA).NEIS points out Palisades threatens Lake Michigan, the drinking water supply for 16 million people, including the City of Chicago. TMIA hopes to nip zombie reactors in the bud, as Three Mile Island Unit 1 is next in line. Read More Beyond Nuclear | 301.270.2209 | www.BeyondNuclear.org Donate

 

NRC Names New Deputy Executive Director for Operations and New Director, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release

No: 24-076 October 10, 2024

CONTACT: Office of Public Affairs, 301-415-8200

NRC Names New Deputy Executive Director for Operations and New Director, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission today announced Robert Lewis as Deputy Executive Director for Operations, in the areas of materials, waste, research, state, tribal, compliance, administration, and human capital programs, and Craig Erlanger as Director of the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response. Both are effective Oct. 20, 2024.

 

Lewis has 32 years of experience at the NRC, including specialization in waste management, nuclear fuel cycles, risk assessment, transportation, and emergency preparedness and response. Since 2019, he has served as Deputy Director of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

 

Prior to that, he served as the Assistant for Operations in the Office of the Executive Director for Operations, where he led many aspects of NRC’s recent efforts to modernize and transform its business practices and represented the United States on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Commission on Safety Standards. He has also served as Director of the Division of Preparedness and Response, in NSIR, where he oversaw post-Fukushima changes to NRC and licensee emergency management programs and improved integration of NRC activities into the national response framework.

 

A graduate of the NRC’s Technical Intern Program, Leadership Potential Program and Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, Lewis earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from the State University of New York at Fredonia, and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Arizona. He is a graduate of the Executive Leaders Program of the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security.

 

Erlanger joined the NRC in 2004 as a security specialist. He has held numerous positions throughout the NRC since, including serving as an NSIR Branch Chief, where he was a key contributor to implementation of risk-informed, performance-based cyber security for reactors, and managed integrated response and fuel cycle and transportation security. Among his most notable contributions to the NRC mission were his efforts during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency where he led integral elements of the agency’s comprehensive regulatory response to the global pandemic.

 

Since joining the Senior Executive Service in 2014, he has served as both the Deputy Director and Director of the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards and Environmental Review in NMSS and head of the Division of Operating Reactor Licensing in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. Most recently, he was the Deputy Director and Acting Director of NSIR.

 

Prior to joining the NRC, Erlanger worked in the private sector for a consulting firm focusing on physical security vulnerability assessments and business continuity programs. He also served more than 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps in both active and reserve duty roles.

 

Erlanger earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master’s degree in business administration from American University. He is a graduate of the NRC’s Leadership Potential Program and SES Candidate Development Program, and a recent graduate of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security Executive Leaders Program at the Naval Post Graduate School.

24-076.pdf

NRC Seeks Presentation Proposals for Virtual Workshop on Storage and Transportation of Spent Fuels for Advanced Reactors

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release

No: 24-075 October 10, 2024

CONTACT: David McIntyre, 301-415-8200

NRC Seeks Presentation Proposals for Virtual Workshop on Storage and Transportation of Spent Fuels for Advanced Reactors

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking presentation proposals for a public virtual workshop to be held Dec. 3-5 on storage and transportation of spent nuclear fuels for advanced reactor designs now under development.

 

The workshop is being held in coordination with the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy and the Electric Power Research Institute, with assistance from the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses of San Antonio, Texas. The deadline for submitting proposed presentations is Nov. 7.

 

With the nuclear industry developing advanced reactor designs with new fuels, the workshop will explore how these new fuels will meet the NRC’s requirements for safe storage and transportation of spent fuel once they are removed from a reactor. Specific topics on the agenda include physical behavior of fuel and containers (structural integrity, materials performance); nuclear physics; and current regulations and guidance.

 

Instructions for submitting proposed presentations and for registering for the 2024 Workshop on Storage and Transportation of TRISO and Metal Spent Fuels can be found in a brochure on the NRC website and on the workshop website.

24-075.pdf

24-075.pdf

Holtec knew of problems with Palisades' steam generator tubes before $1.52B loan finalized

https://www.toledoblade.com/business/energy/2024/10/05/holtec-knew-palisades-problems-steam-generator-tubes/stories/20241005060

Holtec knew of problems with Palisades' steam generator tubes before $1.52B loan finalized

Tom Henry

The Blade

thenry@theblade.com

Oct 5, 2024

3:28 PM

Two days after the Biden Administration finalized a $1.52 billion federal loan to Holtec International in support of its historic effort to restart the mothballed Palisades nuclear plant, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission released a document that shows the company had conceded almost a month earlier that the number of cracks and flaws on the plant’s steam generator tubes “far exceeded estimates.”

The newly released document, made public by the NRC on Wednesday, is a summary of a Sept. 3 conference call between the federal regulator overseeing the nuclear plant and Holtec, the company that purchased it with hopes of making it the first in nuclear history to be put back into service after decommissioning had begun.

The document states that inspections to date have revealed some 1,417 indications of tiny cracks or flaws in the tubes. It states that 701 tubes in one steam generator and 248 in another are candidates for repairs or plugging.

Nick Culp, Holtec Palisades senior manager of government affairs and communications, told The Blade in a telephone interview Friday morning and in a follow-up email afterward that the company is committed to making all necessary repairs to ensure safety and that the latest information will not derail it from its timetable of getting Palisades back in operation by the fall of 2025.

Tubes that require maintenance “will get plugged or sleeved,” he said.

“Each one is unique,” Mr. Culp said of the flaws.

The company’s email emphasizes collaborations with “outside industry-leading partners” to ensure the most appropriate corrective actions are taken.

“We expected to find areas requiring additional maintenance activities during our proactive inspections and planned for this contingency,” the email states. “These findings are being addressed as part of our comprehensive restart maintenance strategy, which will require further inspections, testing, and repairs.”

But Alan Blind, who was the engineering director at Palisades from May of 2006 through February of 2013 when it was owned by Entergy, told The Blade he knows the NRC well enough to believe that the regulator won’t stand for an unlimited number of repairs.

At some point, Holtec will likely learn that its best path toward getting the NRC’s authorization for a restart would be by replacing the steam generators, a project that would cost as much as $500 million and delay restart efforts by about two years, Mr. Blind said.

He said he experienced the dilemma after he left Palisades and became a site vice president at the former Indian Point nuclear plant complex in New York. That facility eventually replaced its steam generators after trying to repair them for years.

“We’re not there yet,” Mr. Culp said when asked what it would take to make that kind of a decision at Palisades.

The NRC knows that the failure rate for steam generator tubes can increase exponentially in a short period of time, Mr. Blind said.

“It’s the rate of degradation,” he said. “You can’t prove it.”

The Sept. 3 call summary “provides a snapshot of Holtec’s findings at that time,” said Viktoria Mitlyng, NRC spokesman.

Regardless what action Holtec takes, the “stress corrosion crack indications must be appropriately addressed to maintain the generator’s pressure boundary,” she said.

“We expect to receive an analysis of the Holtec’s steam generator inspection results and a path forward to address the analyzed condition of the steam generators tubes,” Ms. Mitlyng said.

Palisades was shut down and put in its decommissioning phase in May, 2022, after more than 51 years of operation.

No plant has ever been put back into service after decommissioning began.

Holtec was hired by the plant’s previous owner, Entergy, to decommission it.

It began doing that, then switched gears and bought the plant with the intention of trying to put it back into service. Holtec applied to the U.S. Department of Energy a year ago this month for a loan to restart Palisades. It was notified last March that the Biden Administration was offering $1.52 billion and closed on the deal Monday.

Holtec has never operated a nuclear plant.

Palisades is along the Lake Michigan shoreline, about 200 miles from Toledo.

On Sept. 20, Constellation Energy Co. announced it has made a deal with Microsoft to attempt a restart of the mothballed Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear plant in eastern Pennsylvania. That project follows Palisades as the second effort to put a mothballed nuclear plant back into service.

In related news, the NRC staff has scheduled a 90-minute meeting for Oct. 24 with Holtec Decommissioning International to discuss resolution of an outstanding issue at Palisades. The public can view it online or in person at the NRC’s headquarters in Rockville, Md.

First Published October 5, 2024, 3:28 p.m.