EnergyOnline
Services

RSS FEED

EnergyOnline.com rss

News

NuScale Power Achieves Standard Design Approval from NRC for 77 MW SMR

LCG, May 30, 2025--NuScale Power Corporation (NuScale), a leading provider of advanced small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear technology, yesterday announced that it has received design approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its uprated 77 MW power modules. NuScale states that it remains the only SMR technology company with design approval from the NRC, and the company remains on track for deployment by 2030, with 50- and 77-MW SMR options.

Read more

EIA Presents Analysis of California's Solar and Wind Power Curtailment Challenges

LCG, May 29, 2025--The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released an analysis yesterday showing that the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the grid operator for most of the state, is increasing its curtailment of the rapidly growing solar- and wind-powered generation facilities in order to balance electricity supply and demand, which is necessary to maintain a stable electric system.

Read more

Industry News

Guilty Pleas in Japan's Worst Nuclear Accident

LCG, April 23, 2001A Japanese uranium processing company and six of its staff pleaded guilty today to charges of negligence in connection with Japan's worst-ever nuclear accident, in which two workers died.

The pleas were entered at the initial hearing at the Mito District Court in Ibaraki Prefecture, about 62 miles northwest of Tokyo.

Entering a guilty plea on behalf of his company, Tomoyuki Inami, president of JCO Co., said "I know it's too late for regret. I can only pray sincerely for the souls of the dead."

The accident occurred in September 1999 at a JCO plant in Tokaimura, about 90 miles northeast of Tokyo, when three workers started an uncontrolled, uncontained nuclear chain reaction by using ordinary buckets to transfer unmeasured quantities of uranium oxide to a tank of acid. Two of the workers perished.

The unorthodox procedure was in violation of government nuclear safety regulations, but was permitted by a company operating manual which had been issued without government approval. Operators of nuclear facilities are required by law to obtain approval from the prime minister before changing production methods.

Among the six staff who pleaded guilty was Kenzo Koshijima, 54, the former head of JCO Co. plant who, along with other company officials, allegedly made the changes in operating procedures in 1995 and codified them in an unauthorized operating manual the following year.

JCO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd., still exists although it no longer operates having lost its uranium fuel processing license in March last year.

Though there were fears that the JCO accident would put a permanent damper on Japan's nuclear energy industry, that appears not to be the case. A new two-reactor nuclear power plant received a conditional green light this morning from Yamaguchi Prefecture governor Sekinari Nii.

With the governor's approval, an advisory panel for Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will thrash out details for the plant in meetings next month with Chugoku Electric Power Co. Pending approvals, Chugoku plans to put the first reactor into operation in 2012 and the second in 2015.

Copyright © 2025 LCG Consulting. All rights reserved. Terms and Copyright
UPLAN-NPM
The Locational Marginal Price Model (LMP) Network Power Model
Uniform Storage Model
A Battery Simulation Model
UPLAN-ACE
Day Ahead and Real Time Market Simulation
UPLAN-G
The Gas Procurement and Competitive Analysis System
PLATO
Database of Plants, Loads, Assets, Transmission...
CAISO CRR Auctions
Monthly Price and Congestion Forecasting Service