Inside these posts: Nuclear power

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U.S. nuclear output slips as Exelon slows reactor

From Bloomberg News | U.S. nuclear-power output slipped for a second day as Scana Corp. slowed its Summer reactor in South Carolina and Exelon Corp. slowed the 1,152-megawatt Braidwood 2 reactor in Illinois to 91 percent of capacity from 97 percent yesterday.

Officials doubted nuclear safety plans: Watchdog

A private U.S. nuclear safety group disclosed a batch of internal emails from the nation’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it said undercuts officials’ recent assertions that U.S. nuclear reactors are prepared for a Fukushima-scale disaster. Get the full story »

Exelon unable to quantify quake costs

The U.S. nuclear industry will see a “significant” increase in operating and regulatory costs following the Japanese nuclear emergency, but the magnitude won’t be known for several months, the head of the largest fleet of U.S. nuclear reactors said on Thursday. Get the full story »

U.S. plans more nuclear inspections after Japan

U.S. nuclear regulators are launching additional inspections and considering a 90-day review of the country’s 104 nuclear reactors in the wake of Japan’s nuclear crisis, officials said Monday. Get the full story »

Exelon plans 22% growth in capacity

Exelon Corp., the largest U.S. nuclear power plant operator, expects to invest 22 percent more this year, giving an outlook on Wednesday for 2011 capital expenditure of $4.05 billion. Get the full story »

U.S. nuclear output falls; Exelon slows reactor

From Bloomberg News | Chicago-based Exelon Corp. slowed its 1,134-megawatt Limerick 1 reactor located 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia to 90 percent of capacity from full power yesterday, with the 1,134-megawatt Limerick 2 now at 99 percent of capacity. The move came as total U.S. nuclear-power output fell 1.1 percent after PPL Corp. slowed its Susquehanna 1 reactor in Pennsylvania on Thursday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.

Exelon beats expectations in 4Q

Exelon Corp.’s fourth-quarter profitability beat Wall Street estimates, as the Chicago-based utility company reported Wednesday that it earned $631 million, or 96 cents a share during the quarter, compared with $610 million, or 92 cents in the year-ago period. Get the full story »

Duke creates largest U.S. utility with Progress deal

Duke Energy said Monday it agreed to buy Progress Energy Inc for $13.7 billion in stock, creating the largest U.S. power company.

The transaction would create an industry giant with approximately 7.1 million electricity customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, and 57,000 megawatts of generating capacity. Get the full story »

Exelon nuclear plant must replace new transformer

Exelon’s Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in New Jersey, the nation’s oldest, will have to replace a brand-new $16 million electrical component that did not work properly.

Exelon nuclear plant closing 10 years early

The nation’s oldest nuclear power plant will close in 2019 — 10 years earlier than planned — but will not have to build costly cooling towers, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.

The people, who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the plans ahead of an announcement expected Thursday, said the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in the Forked River section of Lacey Township will close a decade earlier than called for under its current license.

In return, the aging plant, owned by Chicago-based Exelon Corp., will not be required to build one or more cooling towers to replace its current technology, which draws 1.4 billion gallons of water a day from Barnegat Bay, killing billions of aquatic creatures each year. Get the full story »

Exelon plans to invest $5B in clean energy by 2015

Exelon Corp. said it plans to invest nearly $5 billion in clean-energy products by 2015, part of a broader plan to cut its carbon footprint.

The biggest owner of nuclear plants in the U.S. by number of reactors said it plans to begin investments this year in projects such as energy-efficiency programs, renewable-energy investments and increased output at its nuclear plants. Get the full story »

Exelon considers bid for troubled nuclear plant

Power utility Entergy Corp. said it was exploring the sale of its 605-megawatt nuclear plant in Vermont, months after the state Senate voted to shut it in 2012 due to pollution issues.

Vermont politics could, however, complicate any potential sale. Earlier this year, the state Senate voted overwhelmingly to shut the reactor and the person heading that effort is now the unofficial Governor-elect Peter Shumlin, a Democrat.

Analyst Brian Chin said the likely bidders could include other nuclear operators like Exelon Corp., NextEra Energy Inc. and Constellation Energy Group Inc. Get the full story »

Exelon Braidwood reactor back online

Braidwood Station Unit 1 returned to service this morning at 5:43 a.m., when operators connected the plant’s turbine generator to the regional power grid. Get the full story »

Exelon begins $4.6B in Illinois projects

Exelon Corp. announced a “massive spending program” Monday that will invest $4.6 billion in Illinois nuclear projects, beginning with the 10-year decommissioning of Zion Nuclear Power Station in September.

The investment is well above the company’s usual expenditures for refueling operations. Get the full story »

NRC sends special inspection team to Braidwood

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday that a special inspection team has been sent to the Braidwood Nuclear Power Plant to review the circumstances surrounding dual reactor shutdowns that occurred on Aug. 16.

The reactors at the Exelon Generating Company LLC-owned plant have remained shut down since the incidents occurred at the plant, which is located in Braceville, Ill., 20 miles southwest of Joliet.

“The purpose of the special inspection is to better understand the sequence of both reactor events and the apparent unexpected system interactions,” NRC Region III Administrator Mark Satorius said in a statement. Get the full story »