nuclear power Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

More Nuclear Energy Could Be Coming To Central Washington, As Grant County Explores Small-Scale

By Courtney Flatt May 29, 2021

An artist’s rendition of the NuScale nuclear power project planned for construction in Idaho. Courtesy of NuScale Power

Washington’s Grant County is exploring nuclear generation in an effort to generate more carbon-free electricity. The county’s Public Utility District recently signed a deal with Oregon-based NuScale Power to figure out if a partnership might work.Read More

Energy Secretary Rick Perry To Resign; President Trump Says He’s ‘Done A Fantastic Job’

By NPR News October 17, 2019

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry takes a seat before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on his nomination to be energy secretary on Jan. 19, 2017. CREDIT: Yuri Gripas/AFP/Getty Images

As the country's 14th secretary of energy, Perry leads an agency he once vowed to eliminate. He has emerged as a central figure in the impeachment inquiry of Trump.Read More

Federal Government Could Keep Three Mile Island Radioactive Waste In Idaho For 20 More Years

By NWPB News September 17, 2019

Radioactive waste shipped to Idaho from a Midwestern nuclear weapons facility during the Cold War has been compacted and sent out of state for permanent disposal. A U.S. Department of Energy contractor on Wednesday said nearly 26,000 cubic yards of waste contaminated with plutonium-238 has been sent to a storage facility in New Mexico. CREDIT: KEITH RIDLER/AP

The partially melted reactor core from the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history could remain in Idaho for another 20 years if regulators finalize a license extension sought by the U.S. Energy Department, officials said Monday.Read More

Northwest’s Only Nuclear Plant Dinged For Low-Level Infraction In Federal Inspection

By Anna King May 13, 2019

The Columbia Generating Station is the Northwest's only nuclear plant, located outside of Richland, Wash. CREDIT: ENERGY NORTHWEST

The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the green finding after an inspection. Essentially the agency found that Columbia Generating Station operators monitored but didn’t ultimately fix a low oil reading on a transformer for too long. Read More

Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant To Close, Latest Symbol Of Struggling Industry

By NPR News May 8, 2019

Entering the control room at Three Mile Island Unit 1 is like stepping back in time. Except for a few digital screens and new counters, much of the equipment is original to 1974, when the plant began generating electricity. Jeff Brady/NPR

The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, site of the nation's worst nuclear accident, will shut down by the end of September. Backers failed to secure subsidies to keep the plant operating. Read More

As Nuclear Waste Piles Up, Private Companies Pitch New Ways To Store It

By NPR News May 2, 2019

Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania is one of 80 sites around the country where some 80,000 metric tons of nuclear waste is stored. CREDIT: Olivia Sun/NPR

As nuclear and radioactive waste piles up, private companies are stepping in with their own solutions for the nation’s radioactive spent fuel. One is proposing a temporary storage site in New Mexico, and another is seeking a license for a site in Texas. But most experts agree that what’s needed is a permanent site, like Yucca Mountain, that doesn’t require humans to manage it.Read More

Small-Scale Nuclear Company Looks To Build First Plant In Idaho

By Cassandra Profita March 11, 2019

As coal plants retire across the country, Portland-based NuScale Power wants to replace some of that electricity with its small-scale nuclear plants. Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems wants to build a 720-megawatt nuclear plant at the Idaho National Laboratory site in Idaho Falls.Read More

The Northwest’s Only Nuclear Plant Racks Up Two ‘Green Findings’ From Federal Safety Regulator

By Anna King January 31, 2019

The federal government recently doled out two “green findings” to the Northwest’s only commercial nuclear reactor. The Columbia Generating Station, near Richland, is run by the utility Energy Northwest. Green findings are the lowest infractions for the nuclear industry, but it’s not the only time the plant’s been in trouble.Read More

Tri-Cities Nuclear Reactor Columbia Generating Station Shuts Down In Unplanned Event

By Anna King May 20, 2018

The Columbia Generating Station is the Northwest's only commercial nuclear power plant. Courtesy Energy Northwest

The Northwest’s only commercial nuclear reactor went offline Friday morning in an unplanned event. The Columbia Generating Station went offline around 7 a.m. when its main power transformers automatically disconnected from the grid.Read More