Total US nuclear electricity generation declined slightly for the second consecutive year in 2021, although nuclear's share of electricity generation has remained similar to its average share over the previous decade, according to figures from the US Energy Information Administration.
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19 May 2021
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The USA will need its existing nuclear power plants to help meet the Biden Administration s net zero by 2035 pledge, White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy said yesterday during a webinar held by Columbia University Centre on Global Energy Policy. Last month, President Joe Biden announced a target to cut US emissions by 50%-52% from 2005 levels by 2030.
White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told the House Appropriations subcommittee on 6 May that she was open to the idea of subsidies for nuclear plants. Asked about this topic, McCarthy said: In many areas, continuation of the existing nuclear, as long as it s environmentally sound and it s permitted, is going to be absolutely essential because we need the time to actually find a way to get renewable energy [to be] a bigger part of the [energy] mix.
17 May 2021
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The UN climate summit in November must be the COP that consigns coal power to history if the world is serious about achieving the 1.5 degree limit set by the Paris Agreement, COP26 President Alok Sharma said last week. In response, the UK s Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) said that nuclear energy is the best low-carbon baseload replacement for coal, while US Special Presidential Climate Envoy John Kerry highlighted the development of small modular reactors.
Sharma and Kerry at their meeting yesterday (Image: Twitter)
Sharma made the announcement in a speech titled
Pick the Planet that he delivered on 14 May at Whitelee Windfarm, near Glasgow - the host city for COP26. He noted that the UK has reduced its use of coal for electricity generation from 40% in 2012 to 2% currently, and plans to phase it out completely by 2024. It is also working directly with governments and through international organisations to end coal financing.
29 April 2021
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Entergy Corporation s Indian Point unit 3 will be shut down tomorrow after nearly 60 years of nuclear power generation at the site in New York state. The closure will bring to an end a world record-breaking run for the pressurised water reactor (PWR).
Indian Point (Image: Entergy)
Entergy announced in 2017 that it would shut down both operating PWRs at the Indian Point Energy Center, citing factors that include sustained low current and projected wholesale energy prices that have reduced revenues. Unit 2 was shut down as scheduled on 30 April 2020. Indian Point has been operated and maintained at the highest levels of reliability, safety and security for many years, and unit 3 has been online continuously since April 9, 2019 - setting a new world record for continuous days of operation, Entergy Chief Nuclear Officer Chris Bakken said. Indian Point s enduring legacy will be the thousands of men and women who operated the plant safely, reliably, and securel