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From the Huffington Post:

In a quiet shift from the past two years, President Barack Obama's 2013 budget includes no new money for the Department of Energy loan guarantee program, the same program that House Republicans have scrutinized for losing more than $500 million in taxpayer dollars to the now-defunct solar power company, Solyndra.

Obama has regularly included huge increases to the program's loan guarantee authority in his budget, though Congress has not approved his proposals. He provided a $36 billion increase for nuclear reactors in his 2011 budget, and again in his 2012 budget. He also included $200 million in credit subsidies for renewable and energy efficiency projects in his 2012 budget. This year, he provided nothing.

Meg Reilly, a spokeswoman for the Office of Management and Budget, said in an email that Obama opted not to put new money toward the loan guarantee program this time because the administration is waiting on the results of an evaluation of the Energy Department's loan portfolio. Reilly also said the program still has "a significant amount of remaining resources" from prior years and that the focus will be on putting those funds to use. There's about $10 billion in its reserves.

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From the Press and Journal:

Nuclear watchdog groups, including Three Mile Island Alert, are asking the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to vastly expand the emergency evacuation zones around commercial nuclear reactors from 10 miles to 25.

The petition also seeks changes in emergency planning, and more scrutiny for food contamination.

In the wake of the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant in Japan last March, a 10-mile emergency zone is not large enough to protect public health and safety, the groups said.

“The accident at Fukushima, added to the experience of the Chernobyl disaster, demonstrates that ... severe accidents are clearly more likely than any government previously has estimated ... ,” said the petition, spearheaded by the anti-nuclear Nuclear Information and Resource Service, and signed by 37 clean energy groups.

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From the Huffington Post:

In a quiet shift from the past two years, President Barack Obama's 2013 budget includes no new money for the Department of Energy loan guarantee program, the same program that House Republicans have scrutinized for losing more than $500 million in taxpayer dollars to the now-defunct solar power company, Solyndra.

Obama has regularly included huge increases to the program's loan guarantee authority in his budget, though Congress has not approved his proposals. He provided a $36 billion increase for nuclear reactors in his 2011 budget, and again in his 2012 budget. He also included $200 million in credit subsidies for renewable and energy efficiency projects in his 2012 budget. This year, he provided nothing.

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SUMMARY OF JANUARY 26,2012, MEETING WITH EXELON AND ENTERGY TO DISCUSS RECENT ONCE-THROUGH STEAM GENERATOR INSERVICE INSPECTION RESULTS (TAC NOS. ME7700 AND ME7701)

Download ML120270416

THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 - CORRECTION TO SUMMARY OF CONFERENCE CALLS WITH EXELON GENERATION COMPANY, LLC TO DISCUSS 2011 STEAM GENERATOR TUBE INSPECTIONS (TAC NO. ME7229)

Download ML120300547

THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 - SUMMARY OF CONFERENCE CALLS WITH EXELON GENERATION COMPANY, LLC TO DISCUSS 2011 STEAM GENERATOR TUBE INSPECTIONS
(TAC NO. ME7229)

Download ML113550167

From boston.com:

Disputes over funding of local emergency preparations to deal with a nuclear accident reveal a patchwork of agreements between the Pilgrim nuclear plant’s owner and the five communities closest to the Plymouth facility. Some town officials say the system is working well for them, but others complain they’re getting the short end of the stick.

Under federal law, the Pilgrim plant’s owner, Entergy, is required to provide funding to offset the costs of emergency response preparation to the towns that fall within the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone: Carver, Duxbury, Kingston, Marshfield, and Plymouth. But how much funding is a matter the law leaves up to negotiations between the plant owner and the individual towns.

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From the Brattleboro Reformer:

Entergy wants the state to pay it "in excess of" $4.62 million.

In a filing submitted to the United States District Court for the District of Vermont, Entergy, which owns and operates Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, stated it is entitled to be reimbursed for the money it spent presenting its case in Entergy v. Shumlin et al.

"(The $4.62 million) amount is likely to increase if the fee petition is extensively litigated and/or Defendants appeal the Judgment," wrote Entergy's attorneys.

On Jan. 20, Federal District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha ruled in favor of Entergy, finding the state Senate had overstepped its bounds when it prohibited the Public Service Board from issuing a certificate of public good for the continued operation of Yankee. Though the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved Yankee's relicensing, allowing it to operate for another 20 years past its original license expiration date of March 21, 2012, Entergy must still receive a CPG from the state to keep the plant operating. After his ruling, Murtha reaffirmed the PSB's role in deciding whether the plant should receive a certificate.

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