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Wilmington, North Carolina once had a thriving Black middle class and an elected interracial government. In 1898 white supremacists used violence to overthrow that government, kill Black residents and drive many others from the city.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant (proposed, cancelled) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Salem Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates | 41°5′N 76°9′W / 41.083°N 76.150°W |
| Status | Cancelled |
| Operators | PP&L |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | PWR |
| Reactor supplier | AREVA |
| Power generation | |
| Units cancelled | 1 × 1600 MW US EPR |
The Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant was[1][2][3] a proposed nuclear power plant, which would have been built on the Bell Bend of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania adjacent to the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station.[4]
On October 10, 2008, PPL Bell Bend, LLC, a subsidiary of PPL submitted a Combined Construction and Operating License application (COL) for the plant with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)[5] — in time for the potential plant to qualify for production tax credits under the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005.[6]
The proposed nuclear power plant consisted of one European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) steam electric system designed by the French company AREVA. The rated core thermal power would be 4,590 MWt. The rated and design net electrical output was approximately 1,600 MWe.[7] A total of four plants using this technology were under construction in 2008 in Finland, France, and China.[8] The two units at Taishan nuclear power plant have since entered commercial operations while Olkiluoto 3 (the first EPR to start construction) reached first criticality in late 2021 whereas Flamanville 3 is still not finished as of 2022. The plant would have been built by PPL and UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint enterprise of Constellation and French energy giant EDF.
PPL spokesman Dan McCarthy said in 2008 that the plant would cost about $10 billion to develop, and seven to eight years to construct — beginning operation in 2016 or 2017.[8] A 2011 estimate gave costs as $13–15 billion and an operational starting date of 2018-20.[4] PPL filed an initial application for federal loan guarantees by the September 29, 2008 deadline.[9] PPL intended to submit the second part of the application by the December 19 deadline.[8] PPL Chief Operating Officer William Spence said, "Without federal loan guarantees, companies like PPL will not be able to secure financing for the substantial cost of building new, advanced-design nuclear energy plants that will help this country achieve challenging limits on carbon dioxide emissions, as well as energy independence".[10]
The license application was withdrawn on August 31, 2016.[1]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
The Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant was a proposed nuclear power plant, which would have been built on the Bell Bend of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania adjacent to the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station. On October 10, 2008, PPL Bell Bend, LLC, a subsidiary of PPL submitted a Combined Construction and Operating License application (COL) for the plant with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) — in time for the potential plant to qualify for production tax credits under the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005. The proposed nuclear power plant consisted of one European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) steam electric system designed by the French company AREVA. The rated core thermal power would be 4,590 MWt. The rated and design net electrical output was approximately 1,600 MWe. A total of four plants using this technology were under construction in 2008 in Finland, France, and China. The two units at Taishan nuclear power plant have since entered commercial operations while Olkiluoto 3 (the first EPR to start construction) reached first criticality in late 2021 whereas Flamanville 3 is still not finished as of 2022. The plant would have been built by PPL and UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint enterprise of Constellation and French energy giant EDF. PPL spokesman Dan McCarthy said in 2008 that the plant would cost about $10 billion to develop, and seven to eight years to construct — beginning operation in 2016 or 2017. A 2011 estimate gave costs as $13–15 billion and an operational starting date of 2018-20. PPL filed an initial application for federal loan guarantees by the September 29, 2008 deadline. PPL intended to submit the second part of the application by the December 19 deadline. PPL Chief Operating Officer William Spence said, "Without federal loan guarantees, companies like PPL will not be able to secure financing for the substantial cost of building new, advanced-design nuclear energy plants that will help this country achieve challenging limits on carbon dioxide emissions, as well as energy independence". The license application was withdrawn on August 31, 2016.
Nuclear power has been widely established in Pennsylvania since the 1950s and has grown to provide almost 25% of the energy produced in Pennsylvania. This is achieved through the four active reactors currently operating. There are five inactive reactors in Pennsylvania, including Three Mile Island, which had a partial meltdown and caused a reevaluation of nuclear reactor safety practices. Nuclear power has a significant history in Pennsylvania, beginning in 1954 with the establishment of the first commercial, peace-time plant in America, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station. Since the construction of the Shippingport plant, 8 new nuclear plants have been constructed, 5 of which having already been decommissioned. Despite these shutdowns, in 2019 the 4 remaining active reactors in Pennsylvania collectively ranked second in the nation in electricity generation from nuclear energy, producing approximately 255 million MWh.
UniStar Nuclear Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of EDF (Électricité de France), formed in 2007 to develop new nuclear energy facilities in the United States. UniStar has one project under development, Calvert Cliffs Unit 3 in Maryland - the reference plant for the Areva, U.S. EPR design. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is currently reviewing UniStar's Combined License (COL) application for this facility. UniStar is also assisting PPL Corporation with the development of their Bell Bend Unit 1 project, which is also a U.S. EPR design. Created in 2005 by Constellation Energy and Areva, UniStar Nuclear became UniStar Nuclear Energy in August 2007 - a joint venture by Constellation Energy and EDF. In 2010, EDF acquired 100 percent of UniStar Nuclear Energy. In 2008, UniStar also submitted a Combined Operating License Application for a new nuclear unit in Oswego NY, to be named Nine Mile Point Unit 3. UniStar failed to acquire the land rights from Constellation Energy (and other parties) and subsequently terminated the NMP3 project in 2013. In February 2014, after significant staff reductions the prior year, UniStar vacated its Baltimore MD office and moved remaining staff to the EDF North America Headquarters in Chevy Chase MD. UniStar continues to pursue a COL for the Calvert Cliffs Unit 3 project, however continued delays by AREVA to obtain the U.S. NRC approval of the U.S. EPR design (i.e. Design Certification) have delayed the project.
The late 1960s and early 1970s saw a rapid growth in the development of nuclear power in the United States. By 1976, however, many nuclear plant proposals were no longer viable due to a slower rate of growth in electricity demand, significant cost and time overruns, and more complex regulatory requirements. Also, there was considerable public opposition to nuclear power in the US by this time, which contributed to delays in licensing planned nuclear power stations, and further increased costs. By the end of the 1970s, it was clear that nuclear power would not grow nearly as dramatically as once believed. This was particularly due to the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. Eventually, more than 120 reactor orders were cancelled and the construction of new reactors ground to a halt. Al Gore commented on the historical record and reliability of nuclear power in the United States: Of the 253 nuclear power reactors originally ordered in the United States from 1953 to 2008, 48 percent were cancelled, 11 percent were prematurely shut down, 14 percent experienced at least a one-year-or-more outage, and 27 percent are operating without having a year-plus outage. Thus, only about one fourth of those ordered, or about half of those completed, are still operating and have proved relatively reliable. A cover story in the February 11, 1985, issue of Forbes commented on the overall management of the nuclear power program in the United States: The failure of the U.S. nuclear power program ranks as the largest managerial disaster in business history, a disaster on a monumental scale ... only the blind, or the biased, can now think that the money has been well spent. It is a defeat for the U.S. consumer and for the competitiveness of U.S. industry, for the utilities that undertook the program and for the private enterprise system that made it possible. During the 2000s, aging infrastructure, growing power use and fears of global climate change all prompted what was then called the "nuclear renaissance". Engineering companies noted that the commissioning process was a major barrier to further construction, and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission made changes to the system as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, along with new tax incentives and loan guarantees. As many as 30 new reactors were planned by 2009. As of February 2021, only two new reactors were still under construction, both at Vogtle. The project has announced significant delays and budget overruns. These two reactors started power generation in 2023 and 2024. By July 2026, several test reactors achieved zero-power criticality as part of the Department of Energy's Reactor Pilot Program. As of August 2026, several new reactors are under construction, including the Hermes 2 plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the Kemmerer Power Station in Wyoming, and Aurora-INL in Idaho.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →The Greenwood District.
