Progress Energy Files Nuclear Power Application with NRC tells that Progress Energy has submitted a nuclear power application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for two new nuclear reactors in Levy County, Florida. The construction will be just slightly north of Tampa, Florida. (Levy County is bordered on the north by the Suwanee River.)
The article explains that Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors are the preliminary choice for the powerplant. The first four units wll be installed in China with first operation in 2013. The Wiki article tells that the construction of power plant facilities has been improved, with fuel loading only 36 months after the first concrete is poured. It features a new design that is not dependent upon pumps for reactor core safety.
Westinghouse Electric creates new senior VP job tells that Westinghouse is on a roll, having won nuclear power reactor contracts for South Carolina and Georgia earlier this year. The new VP is to capture the exploding (maybe not a good adjective) market for nuclear power. China, Westinghouse start on reactor explains that Westinghouse and France's Areva SA are in competition to build as many as 26 reactors in China by the end of the next decade.
Expect a shortage of uranium with all of this nuclear power generation. The current price is $64.50 a pound for U308 (unprocessed) uranium according to TradeTech. I'll give an update on Yucca Mountain tomorrow. The U.S. needs to develop a nuclear waste disposal strategy.
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