PNNL and four other national laboratories executed the Hydropower Value Study to examine hydropower operations in different regions of the United States.
Study says planners need to account for climate impacts on renewable energy during capacity development planning to fully understand investment implications to the power sector.
On the looming 10th anniversary of the Fukushima disaster at the Daiichi Power Station in Japan, PNNL looks back at the science and solidarity it has shared with Fukushima and its nuclear cleanup effort.
Innovative technology combines continuous, remote, real-time testing and monitoring of byproduct gasses, paving the way for faster advanced reactor development and testing.
PNNL has published a report that sets the foundation for modeling gaps and technical challenges in optimizing hydropower operations for both energy production and water management.
Magazine cover article—“Combating corrosion in the world’s nuclear reactors”—features PNNL research leaders Mark Nutt, Aaron Diaz, and Mychailo Toloczko.
PNNL has earned “Best Paper” at an international resilience conference for research on hydropower’s capabilities and constraints in the event of extreme events, like hurricanes and rolling blackouts.
An international team used PNNL microscopy to answer questions about how uranium dioxide—used in nuclear power plants—might behave in long-term storage.
Pumped-storage hydropower offers the most cost-effective storage option for shifting large volumes of energy. A PNNL-led team wrote a report comparing cost and performance factors for 10 storage technologies.
Researchers at PNNL used key metrics to develop visualizations that show how the combined effects of climate change on hydropower and load influence the frequency, duration, and severity of power shortfalls.
Steve Short, a nuclear engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has been selected as a fellow of the National Society of Professional Engineers.
On October 22, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)granted Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA's) Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station a 40-year operating license for its new Unit 2 reactor. This is the first nuclear reactor to be granted an operating license by the NRC in two decades.
Pressurized water nuclear reactors in the United States generate about 13 percent of U.S. electricity. Though efficient, these reactors face a unique challenge with stress corrosion cracking (SCC). This type of corrosion is one of the primary life-limiting degradation mechanisms of nickel-base alloy pressure boundary components, such as instrumentation and control rod nozzles, the welds that attach these nozzles to the reactor vessel, and welds that connect feedwater piping to the reactor vessel. As interest grows in a more sustainable and efficient fleet of nuclear reactors across the world, there is increasing interest in characterizing SCC initiation response.
