Third Construction Experience Synthesis Report

This report analyses 36 events that regulators have observed during the construction of new nuclear power reactors, from siting to licensing and oversight. The database is part of the Construction Experience (ConEx) program, which was established in 2007 by the Working Group on the Regulation of New Reactors (WGRNR) of NEA Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA). The aim is to find common themes among the events and to disseminate the identified lessons learned. Based on the analysis, recommendations for regulatory oversight programs and for the ConEx program were formulated.

The events included all those submitted to the ConEx database …

Why Local Energy Ownership Matters

ILSR’s new report, Advantage Local: Why Local Energy Ownership Matters, finds that local ownership of clean energy can address many of the most pressing challenges faced today, from the climate crisis to economic inequality to corporate exploitation. The report details how local clean energy ownership — as distinct from local siting — can boost the economic impacts of clean energy, cut through public opposition to project development, and put power back in the hands of people instead of polluting utility monopolies.

As shown in the report, local ownership of clean energy, such as rooftop solar panels and shared solar gardens, …

The Nuclear Sector’s Response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic was a global crisis of exceptional impact and duration that tested the ability of organizations and people to adapt to rapidly changing conditions and to learn and improve in real time.

The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) stressed since the beginning of the pandemic the importance of learning from this historical event. When the world was in the middle of the crisis, it was clear that its ultimate impact on the nuclear sector would only be visible some years later, when the disease was brought under control.

These considerations prompted the NEA to launch a new activity under …

Measurement, Reporting, and Verification for Novel Carbon Dioxide Removal in US Federal Policy

This paper discusses the current landscape of measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) effort for novel carbon dioxide removal (CDR) approaches within U.S. federal policy. The analysis finds that MRV is present to some extent in current and proposed U.S. federal policies supporting CDR, but its role and requirements are not consistent or comprehensive. The authors recommend that the U.S. government play a role in setting MRV standards for CDR that apply across federal policies and include seven principles for consideration within this proposed federal MRV function.…

Billions in Benefits: A Path for Expanding Transmission Between MISO and PJM

America’s two largest Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs), the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and the PJM Interconnection (PJM), share a long and tangled border across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Kentucky. Transmission constraints between MISO and PJM annually cost consumers in both regions billions of dollars, and those costs will only increase as decarbonization of electricity supply and electrification of electricity demand increase the value of moving power across regions. Because the regions’ combined footprint stretches from the Dakotas to the East Coast, expanded transmission ties between MISO and PJM offer considerable opportunity to balance the different timing of their peak …

Thermal Energy Storage at Herkkumaa Food Manufacturing Facility

Herkkumaa Oy, a Finnish food manufacturer, partnered with RTC Solutions Provider Elstor Oy to deploy a 10 MWh thermal energy storage (TES) system to decarbonize its steam production. Implemented in 2023, this system converts electricity into thermal energy and stores it for on-demand use, replacing the burning of light fuel oil. The TES system provides up to 3,000 MWh of steam annually, fully eliminating emissions from process heating and reducing annual energy costs by $140,000. The Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) model used for this project minimizes upfront costs and financial risks for Herkkumaa while stabilizing energy costs and enabling participation in grid …

Critical Minerals & National Security

OurEnergyPolicy and The Earthshot Foundation are excited to present our first white paper of the Critical Minerals “Minologues” series. “Critical Minerals & National Security” delves into the interconnection between energy security and national security. While critical minerals are most often discussed in terms of their use in energy and smart technology, they are also essential components in defense systems.  This white paper is the first chapter in our series to illustrate the importance of these minerals from a geopolitical perspective and provide recommendations for how we can improve both energy and national security.…

Virtual Power Plant Flipbook

Virtual power plants (VPPs) — grid-integrated aggregations of distributed energy resources such as batteries, electric vehicles, smart thermostats, and other connected devices — can help balance electrical loads and provide several grid and community benefits, such as supplying critical grid services (including capacity, energy, ancillary services, and resilience), alleviating stressed transmission and distribution systems, and integrating more renewables for a cleaner energy supply.

Utilities and their regulators are increasingly turning toward VPPs as a key tool, alongside traditional infrastructure investment, to ensure safe, reliable, resilient, and affordable power in the face of near-term challenges created by load growth, extreme weather, …

NEA PKL-4 Project Summary Report

In continuation of the NEA-guided experimental programs at the PKL test facility in Germany operated by Framatome GmbH, the fourth phase of the NEA PKL project was conducted between June 2016 and September 2020. The topics of the experimental investigation had been defined in collaboration with the project partners and were considered of high interest. On certain topics, the PKL experiments were complemented by experiments at the PWR PACTEL test facility (operated by Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology, LUT, Finland) and the PMK-2 test facility (operated by Centre for Energy Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary). The report provides an introduction …

Benchmark on External Events Hazard Frequency and Magnitude Statistical Modelling

At its 61st meeting, the CSNI approved the recommended task on the benchmark on external events hazard frequency and magnitude statistical modeling, to be pursued by the WGEV. Modeling of these external events is a common practice in hazard and risk assessments in many countries. Having a valid statistical approach to model these hazards is important. However, current practice indicates a wide variety of approaches being used and a lack of appreciation of the uncertainties inherent to these types of statistical models. The objective of this activity is to provide a benchmark suitable to explore the application of typical approaches …