All articles by James Varley
James Varley
What Is AI — and Why Everyone’s Talking About It
What is the role of AI in the nuclear industry? In one example, Palantir
is exploring using its AI to help nuclear operators write safety cases more quickly and more reliably. Janet Wood spoke to the company’s Nick Prettejohn
U.S. Bans Russian LEU Imports
In the wake of the Biden administration’s recent ban on US imports of Russian low-enriched uranium, NEI spoke with companies across the nuclear fuel cycle to find out how the ban has affected their current plans and outlook for the future
Eren Enerji’s Clean Growth Strategy: Cutting CO2 from Turkey’s Coal Fleet
Poor combustion and less than optimum boiler efficiency were among the problems being encountered at an Eren Enerji 615 MW supercritical power plant at Zonguldak on the Black Sea. Following extensive analysis and CFD modelling, the solution saw extensive modification of the entire burner and
combustion system, while retaining as many “non-performance critical” components as possible, to reduce costs. By John Goldring Managing Director Steve Billett Director of Sales, RJM International (www.rjm-international.com)
Bridging the Nuclear Divide: Towards Equitable Access for All
Truly sustainable development is crucial to all of the world’s population and nuclear is widely acknowledged as a key technology to achieve that. But the stark economic division between the global North and the South is also reflected in the division of access to nuclear technology. That needs to change
Hanford Waste Treatment Plant: Vitrification Targeted for 2026
Clean-up operations at the huge Hanford site in the US state of Washington are set to move into a new phase, in which long-lived waste will be vitrified in a new Waste Treatment Plant.
Fukushima-Era Shutdowns Ease as Japan Restarts Two Reactors
During 2024, Japanese utilities restarted two additional nuclear reactors that had been suspended from operations in response to the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident, taking the total number of restarted reactors to 14 since the accident. Tohoku Electric Power Co restarted its 796 MW Onagawa unit 2 reactor in November, and in December Chugoku Electric Power Co restarted Shimane unit 2 (789 MW). Onagawa is the nuclear power plant located closest to the epicentre of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Adapting Tactics for Nuclear: Embracing Resilience in a Changing Climate
The climate crisis has prompted a reappraisal of nuclear generation with its low- carbon credentials but to deliver on this promise means a robust approach to embracing resilience too. Nuclear has inherent capabilities to address growing climate risk – the industry needs to make sure that the message is getting through
Delivering Eraring: Wärtsilä to Add 700 MWh in Australia’s Largest Battery Project
Wärtsilä has been selected by Origin Energy to deliver the third stage of the Eraring battery facility at Origin’s Eraring 4 x 720 MW coal fired power station site in New South Wales, Australia. Under this agreement, Wärtsilä will add a further 700 MWh of energy storage capacity, taking the Eraring battery facility to 700 MW / 2 800 MWh, once completed. This makes it the largest battery project in Australia and one of the largest in the world.
mtu 20V 4000 L64 FNER Gas Genset Installation for WOTECH — Beheira, Egypt
Rolls-Royce has commissioned ten mtu 20V 4000 L64 FNER gas-fuelled gensets in the Beheira province in northern Egypt to supply the Egyptian Wood Technology Company’s (WOTECH) production plant with electricity. Since there is no access to the public grid, WOTECH relies entirely on the ten 20-cylinder mtu gas gensets, which together have a total output of 25 MW.