Nuclear Power
Entergy’s site assessment study of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station estimates the plant’s decommissioning cost at $1.24B, higher than previous estimates. On October 17, 2014, Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee (ENVY) released a site assessment study for decommissioning its Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station by 2014. The study – submitted to Vermont’s Public Service Department,…...
The third volume of NRC’s safety evaluation report on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository finds that DOE’s design meets its post-closure performance objectives. On October 16, 2014, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published Volume 3 of its Safety Evaluation Report (SER) on the Department of Energy’s (DOE) license application for the proposed underground geologic…...
According to EIA, the share of imports in U.S. energy consumption for the first half of 2014 reached the lowest level in 29 years. On October 10, 2014, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report showing that net U.S. energy imports as a share of consumption for the January-June 2014 period reached the lowest…...
ISO-NE’s eighth Forward Capacity Market Auction (FCA-8) rates became effective September 16, 2014, despite FERC being unable to reach agreement on whether the filing was “just and reasonable.” The final price for existing sources was set at the administrative price of $7.025/kW-month, a 123 percent increase from the FCA-7 clearing price. The Northeast Massachusetts (NEMA)/Boston…...
The Massachusetts Attorney General has sought DPU action to mitigate spikes in winter rates and extend the state’s Winter Moratorium by one month. On October 2, 2014, Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Martha Coakley wrote to the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) requesting an investigation into ways to mitigate National Grid’s winter rate spikes that will…...
The DOE has issued a draft solicitation for Advanced Nuclear Energy Projects to provide up to $12.6B in loan guarantees. On September 30, 2014, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a draft solicitation to provide up to $12.6B in loan guarantees for Advanced Nuclear Energy Projects, representing another step in DOE’s commitment to help overcome…...
On September 17, 2014, the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing entitled “Reforming America’s Outdated Energy Tax Code.” Retroactively extending tax provisions has significant impact on financial accounting for multiple energy industries, including wind and solar, and also small and mid-sized businesses such as commercial building owners, architects, engineers, contractors, and design-construction companies…....
On September 17, 2014, the Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing titled “Reforming America’s Outdated Energy Tax Code” to discuss possible reforms to the U.S. energy tax policy. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) underscored the need for predictable, level playing-field tax policy that puts renewables on the same footing as other…...
The New York Department of Public Service (DPS) staff has issued a Straw Proposal on achieving the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) Track One goals. The straw proposal reaffirms the initial April 24 proceeding which identified utilities’ role in managing a distributed system platform (DSP) and growing the state’s existing Distributed Energy Resource (DER) assets. Despite…...
On August 7, 2014, California and Quebec held a successful practice joint carbon emissions allowance auction in preparation for the first ever cross-border auction on November 2014. Despite varied participation levels in Quebec’s first four auctions, activity is expected to increase with program maturity and the upcoming 2015 compliance deadline.The programs – under the Western…...
The NRC has approved a final rule on spent nuclear fuel storage, ending its two-year suspension of final licensing decisions. On August 26, 2014, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved a final rule on continued storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in response a 2012 federal court decision, which vacated NRC’s 2010 revision of the…...
DOE has announced 83 projects aimed to advance nuclear energy research and infrastructure enhancements. On August 20, 2014, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced approximately $67M in funding for 83 projects focused on research and development (R&D) to advance nuclear energy technologies and infrastructure improvements. The projects were selected from across the U.S. based on…...