GE Vernova to Build Service Center for Small Reactors in Ontario
GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy has committed C$70 million ($51 million) to build an engineering and service center outside Toronto for small modular reactors. The announcement comes less than two months after Ontario gave the green light to a C$20.9 billion project to build such reactors.
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Forbes
23 minutes ago
- Forbes
NRC Eyes New Accident Tolerant Nuclear Fuels For Commercial Use
Part of a nuclear reactor fuel rod element. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed a study of advanced, better performing accident tolerant fuels being developed by three U.S. companies as it prepares to handle licensing demand for new commercial nuclear power reactors. Accident tolerant fuels may offer important technological advances to increase the safety of U.S. nuclear power plants. ATFs are being studied to determine their potential to perform better in normal operations and during transportation as well as in nuclear power plant accidents. The NRC's Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research recently released the report prepared by the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The Richland, Wash.-based PNNL is providing technical assistance about the proposed nuclear fuel and new fuel cladding designs that may replace current nuclear fuel rods made with zirconium-based alloys. The 91-page highly technical report is called 'Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation of Accident Tolerant Fuel Concepts' and outlines the latest information on fuel material properties and performance associated with storing and transporting spent nuclear fuel. The federal government is evaluating the performance of nuclear power systems containing ATF. The NRC says the same performance requirements are being sought with irradiated ATF fuel as mandated for conventional zirconium alloy cladded uranium dioxide fuel. The new report explores the current activities of the following companies in their developments with ATFs and fuel cladding designs: The DOE is working on its Advanced Fuels Campaign with teams of researchers seeking new nuclear power plant fuels at five of its national laboratories. The federal collaborations are centered at the PNNL, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Advanced Fuels Campaign national laboratories are located in many regions of the U.S. According to DOE, ATFs offer several advantages over conventional nuclear energy fuel. ATFs are being developed to improve nuclear reactor safety 'by maintaining structural integrity and reactor cooling for a longer duration during severe accident conditions,' DOE says. ATFs The main objective of the Advanced Fuels Campaign is to develop and use ATFs to significantly increase nuclear power performance and safety. Researchers lower a test train into the Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory. The NRC report also discussed whether its current regulations would apply to ATF storage and transportation. While it advised companies applying for licenses to provide justification data to support their applications, the NRC noted the federal government's current regulatory framework for storing and transporting spent nuclear fuel would generally cover apply to ATFs. These findings would appear to pave the way for greater interest by companies in turning to nuclear power to meet their energy demands.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
U.S. slaps 20.56% anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber
The U.S. Commerce Department has decided to hike anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood to 20.56 per cent, with B.C. lumber organizations calling them unjustified, punitive and protectionist. The hiked softwood lumber duties come amid the growing trade war between Canada and the U.S., and represent the latest blow to B.C.'s beleaguered forestry industry. B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar described the long-awaited rate hike as a "gut punch" for B.C.'s forestry industry which has seen thousands of workers laid off over the last few years. "U.S. President Donald Trump has made it his mission to destroy Canada's economy, and there is no sector that has faced more of that than the forestry sector," he told CBC News. "This is a big deal for our workers. This is going to have a significant impact. It will lead to curtailments," he added. The B.C. government has been urging the federal government to prioritize the softwood lumber industry in trade discussions with the U.S., and Parmar said the hiked duties would also impact U.S. homeowners needing lumber to rebuild or renovate their homes. "This is going to mean that Americans, in particular middle-class Americans, are going to be paying more to the tune of $15,000 to $20,000 more USD to purchase or to build a home." The B.C. Lumber Trade Council says in a statement that if the U.S. department's pending review on countervailing duties is in line with its preliminary results, the combined rate against Canadian softwood shipped to the United States will be well over 30 per cent. In April, the preliminary combined rate on Canadian softwood lumber was reported to be 34.45 per cent, up from the previous 14.54 per cent. Friday's decision is a final determination, with Parmar saying it would go into effect in the U.S. Federal Register shortly.U.S. lumber producers have long maintained that Canadian stumpage fees, for harvesting on Crown land, are an unfair government subsidy. B.C.'s Independent Wood Processors Association says in a statement that the U.S. Commerce Department's decision this week to raise duties also includes a requirement for Canadian companies to retroactively remit duties for products shipped to the United States since Jan.1, 2023. WATCH | B.C. premier urges feds to prioritze lumber deal: Association chair Andy Rielly says in a statement that the requirement to pay duties on products shipped in the last 31 months could not only force small B.C. producers to shut down, but may also threaten operators' personal assets as they may have to risk using their homes as collateral to secure bonds to pay. Prime Minister Mark Carney said earlier this month that a future trade agreement with the United States could include quotas on softwood lumber, an area that has caused friction between the two countries for years before the latest trade war. Producer urges province to change conditions The United States has long been the single largest market for B.C. lumber exports, representing over half the market for the approximately $10-billion industry. But amid a series of challenges for the province's forestry industry — including a mountain pine beetle infestation that has killed hundreds of thousands of trees — mills have been closing around the province in recent years, and major forestry companies are opening up new mills in the United States. In 2023, numbers from Statistics Canada showed B.C. had lost more than 40,000 forest-sector jobs since the early 1990s. Kim Haakstad, the CEO of the B.C. Council of Forest Industries, said the B.C. government should work to improve the production environment in the province to prevent future mill closures. In a statement, the council said that by activating timber sales, fast-tracking permits and cutting through regulatory gridlock, the province could send a signal that it is serious about rebuilding a sustainable forest argued that if the industry could get production levels back to historic levels, it could help keep forestry-dependent communities vibrant into the future. "That will bring more than $300 million to the provincial government, as well, to help address the deficit situation we're in," Haakstad said. Kurt Niquidet, the president of the B.C. Lumber Trade Council, highlighted that Trump also has initiated a federal investigation into the U.S. imports of lumber and timber citing "national security," which could further impact B.C.'s forestry industry when combined with the tariffs. "Softwood lumber is quite important for the United States. They can only supply about 70 per cent of their softwood lumber demand, and they're importing 30 per cent from elsewhere," he told CBC News. "25 per cent of that's really coming from Canada, and British Columbia is the largest softwood lumber producer within Canada."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
B.C.'s independent wood manufacturers decry retroactive U.S. softwood duties
VANCOUVER — British Columbia's independent wood product makers say hundreds of small- and medium-sized manufacturers may be forced to shut down in light of the latest decision from the United States to raise anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood. The province's Independent Wood Processors Association says in a release that the U.S. Commerce Department's decision this week to raise duties also includes a requirement for Canadian companies to retroactively remit duties for products shipped to the United States since Jan.1, 2023. Association chair Andy Rielly says in a statement that the requirement to pay duties on products shipped in the last 31 months could not only force small B.C. producers to shut down, but may also threaten operators' personal assets as they may have to risk using their homes as collateral to secure bonds to pay. Rielly is urging the Canadian government to create support programs to make sure B.C.'s independent wood processors can keep workers employed and their companies running. The U.S. Commerce Department said earlier in the week it will raise anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood to 20.56 per cent, drawing the ire of several B.C. industry groups such as the B.C. Council of Forest Industries and the B.C. Lumber Trade Council. The Independent Wood Processors Association says the the "all-others" rate affecting its members will be raised from 14.4 per cent to 27.3 per cent, with the possibly of another increase "in the coming weeks" potentially pushing the duties for their products to as high as 35 per cent. 'Until the Canadian government can negotiate a settlement to this long-festering dispute, we need a government support program to keep our workers employed,' Rielly says, adding an overall duty of 35-per-cent would force members to pay retroactive duties of 27 per cent on products already shipped. Association executive director Brian Menzies describes independent wood product producers as "collateral damage" in the trade war, and says the only hope they have of avoiding the hit is either "a favourable appeal from the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement" or "pursuing a bilateral negotiated resolution." 'We should not face export taxes or quotas," Menzies says. "Our raw materials are not subsidized, and we are too small to 'dump' our products in the U.S. market. "We acquire logs and lumber at 'arm's length' from various suppliers on the open market, just like claims made by members of the U.S. Lumber Coalition, and yet our Canadian companies along with U.S. consumers must pay these unfair and costly duties.' Prime Minister Mark Carney had previously said that a future U.S.-Canada trade deal could include softwood lumber quotas. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2025. Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
