Chevron Welcomes Shell to the Wheatstone Project

Chevron Corporation today announced the signing of agreements with Shell Development (Australia) Pty Ltd to bring Shell into the Chevron-operated Wheatstone Project as a natural gas supplier and equity participant. George Kirkland, vice chairman, Chevron Corporation, said, “Chevron is pleased to welcome another participant into the Wheatstone Project.... 

U.S. nuclear plant says shielded against Japan emergency

A U.S. nuclear plant in Alabama similar in design to the earthquake-hit Fukushima facility in Japan has multiple defenses to prevent and tackle the same kind of emergency, its operator said. Safety features at the Browns Ferry plant in northern Alabama are so superior to those at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant that even in the event of massive... 

U.S. nuclear agency plans safety review of reactors

The top U.S. nuclear regulator on Wednesday approved the launch of a safety review of U.S. nuclear reactors sought by President Barack Obama in response to the ongoing crisis at Japan’s Fukushima plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted to create an agency task force made up of current and former commission experts that will review the information... 

Japan radiation leak evokes Three Mile Island

The radiation leak in Japan immediately recalls memories of accidents at the Chernobyl and Three Mile Island power stations, and how it unfolds will be a critical test for international acceptance of nuclear energy. The Fukushima incident, brought on by the biggest earthquake ever recorded in Japan, took a turn for the worse on Saturday after a blast... 

Wall Street up on energy shares after Japan quake

Stocks rose on Friday, led by gains in energy shares after Japan’s biggest earthquake on record hurt the country’s oil refining capacity, but trade was choppy as investors tried to weigh the quake’s economic impact. The 8.9 magnitude quake that struck the northeast coast of Japan, the world’s third largest economy, triggered... 

Beaver Valley Unit 2 Begins Refueling

FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company announced its Beaver Valley Power Station Unit 2 in Shippingport, Pa., shut down earlier today for scheduled refueling and maintenance. While the unit is off line, 64 of the 157 fuel assemblies will be replaced and numerous safety inspections will be conducted. In addition, preventative maintenance to ensure continued... 

USEC to Webcast Conference Call on February 23 at 8:30 a.m. ET

USEC Inc. will broadcast its next quarterly conference call with shareholders and the financial community over the Internet on Wednesday, February 23, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Company will release its earnings for the fourth quarter and full year 2010, which ended December 31, 2010, on Tuesday, February 22 after the close of markets. The regularly... 

U.S. Leads Ranking of Top 25 Countries for Global Biofuels Production Capacity

The U.S. concluded 2010 as the top renewable ethanol producing country, according to the Global Biofuels Outlook to 2020, recently released from Hart Energy Consulting’s Global Biofuels Center (GBC). With more than 51 billion liters (13.47 billion gallons) of ethanol production capacity in operation, the U.S. is by far the leader, with South America’s... 

Progress Energy CEO Johnson Urges Flexibility and Customer Protection in Implementing EPA Rules

The U.S. electric utility industry faces an “unprecedented convergence of new federal environmental rules – unprecedented in scope of change and compression of deadlines,” Progress Energy Chairman, President and CEO Bill Johnson told utility regulators Monday in Washington. And the “current fragmented approach, coupled with rapid-compliance... 

Universal Lubricants Expands to Meet Growing Demand for Cleaner, Greener Re-Refined Oil

One of the country’s oldest lubricant manufacturing and distribution companies, Wichita’s Universal Lubricants (UL) established in 1929, is poised for double-digit growth for the foreseeable future thanks to a technologically advanced and highly capable re-refinery, and efficiencies gained through its environmentally-friendly closed-loop...