Nuclear

Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) have gone to war over failed steam generators from the Japanese industrial titan that caused the closure in June of SCE’s San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) along the Pacific Coast in north San Diego County.

The United States could produce 5 million b/d from shale oil deposits by 2017 and may become the world’s largest oil producer — reaching up to 16 million b/d in just a few years by combining shale with conventional oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and biofuels, according to a researcher at Harvard Kennedy School.

The Marcellus Shale is a “solidly economic” shale play that could play a big role in the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States to Europe and Asia, but regulatory hurdles, stiff competition and market forces are all significant obstacles, according to two energy industry experts.

While President Obama pledged to support domestic oil and natural gas development, he said he “will not let oil companies write this country’s energy plan.”

In the heart of coal-fired and nuclear generation, the southeastern United States, natural gas is moving up fast in the power generation fuel mix, according to Southern Cos. CEO Thomas Fanning, who heads one of the region’s largest utilities.

In the heart of coal-fired and nuclear generation, the southeastern United States, natural gas is moving up fast in the power generation fuel mix, according to the third quarter earnings conference call for one of the region’s major utilities, Southern Cos.

Xcel Energy’s 550 MW Unit 1 at its Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant in Minnesota began a planned four- to six-week refueling outage late last Friday, meaning the multi-state utility holding company will be drawing on added supplies from its other generation sources or purchasing more power in the wholesale market. The refueling comes after more than 500 days of continuous operation of the unit, Xcel said. The unit is one of two at the 1,100 MW plant in Red Wing, MN. One of the reactors typically is refueled every 18 months.

Surrounded by disruptions of the Middle East oil supply and nuclear devastation in Japan, President Obama finally recognized the virtues of home-grown natural gas last week, labeling it “first” among the options available to shore up U.S. energy policy.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hanford nuclear compound in Washington state is in the very early stages of planning to run a six-inch diameter natural gas pipeline under the Columbia River to supply a massive wastewater treatment plant during the next eight years. The 28.5-mile, $22 million project would be facilitated with the local utility Cascade Natural Gas Co., tying into its existing pipeline system on the Oregon side of the river and then connecting to the still-to-be-built water treatment facility. The plant was originally planned to operate with diesel, but the proposed pipeline would permit it to have dual fuel capability, operating mostly on natural gas, a Hanford facility spokesperson said. The gas line would provide more cost savings and environmental advantages, greatly reducing the proposed plant’s greenhouse gas emissions. “The gas also can help support steam generation for [onsite] electricity and also heat for 11 different facilities,” he said. Plans call for the pipeline to be permitted and built during the next four years, and the wastewater plant to begin operation in 2019, turning high-level waste into glass. “It’s really a glass-making plant,” the spokesperson said.