Group items tagged

EXPERTS TO WARN THAT BILLIONS IN TAXPAYER-BACKED LOAN GUARANTEES FOR NEW REACTORS ARE IMPRUDENT IN WAKE OF NRC'S MAJOR OBJECTIONS TO AP-1000 DESIGN NRC Action Throws Into Question Future of 14 of 31 Proposed New U.S. Reactors; Forward Path Now Unclear for Proposed Reactors in NC, SC, GA, FL, AL - Including AP-1000 Reactors in GA and SC on DOE Loan Guarantee Short List.

EXPERTS TO WARN THAT BILLIONS IN TAXPAYER-BACKED LOAN GUARANTEES FOR NEW REACTORS ARE IMPRUDENT IN WAKE OF NRC'S MAJOR OBJECTIONS TO AP-1000 DESIGN NRC Action Throws Into Question Future of 14 of 31 Proposed New U.S. Reactors; Forward Path Now Unclear for Proposed Reactors in NC, SC, GA, FL, AL - Including AP-1000 Reactors in GA and SC on DOE Loan Guarantee Short List.

"The Public Service Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to require Florida Power & Light Co. to refund $13.9 million, including interest, to customers for costs related to a 2008 outage that left as many as 3 million Floridians without electricity. That will offset fuel costs for customers next year by about 14 cents a month for those who use about 1,000 kilowatt hours. About 950,000 Florida homes and businesses, including 596,000 FPL customers, lost power Feb. 26, 2008. The outage lasted several hours and was blamed on an FPL engineer, whose actions accidentally triggered the blackout. The incident tripped off two nuclear units at the Turkey Point plant near Miami, as they are designed to do for safety reasons."

Progress Energy cleared one of its last hurdles Monday when the Florida Department of Environmental Protection gave the utility permission to continue with its plans for a 2,200 megawatt nuclear power plant in Levy County. The "conditions of certification" report by FDEP was one of the final steps Progress Energy had to clear before starting the $17 billion project. The plant, which is slated for completion in 2017, will generate enough power to serve an estimated 1.4 million Florida homes. Progress Energy already has about 1.7 million Florida customers, with about 62,000 in Marion County and 4,700 in Alachua County. The Levy County plant will pump about 122 million gallons of water per day from the Cross Florida Barge Canal to cool steam created in the process of making electricity.

The Florida Public Service Commission on Wednesday granted Progress Energy an increase in its average monthly rates to cover its increasing fuel expenses and make environmental improvements to its existing power plants. The request, which raises the average power customer's bill $15.87 a month, follows an earlier PSC meeting this fall when the five-member panel approved another Progress Energy hike of $11.42 to begin paying the cost of building its proposed Levy County nuclear power plant.

There was standing room only at the Rainbow Springs Country Club Tuesday morning to listen to what Progress Energy Florida had to say about a rail line the company is proposing to build through Dunnellon to a planned nuclear plant in Levy County.

OCALA - As Progress Energy awaits news from the Florida Department of Community Affairs on whether it can continue with plans to build two nuclear reactors in Levy County, opportunity for public input is dwindling fast. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week held a public meeting in Crystal River, telling about 150 people that they could see the first Levy County reactor on line by 2016. DCA's decision is expected by late July.

The sideshow at the Public Service Commission is overtaking the historic consideration of a rate increase for Florida Power & Light. Today, PSC chairman Matthew Carter took the unusual step of offering a press release proclaiming his independence from utility lobbyists. It seems unusual for a commissioner who is considering a rate increase from a utility to specifically note his votes against that utility in the past. Here is Carter's statement, (and see below for FPL comment): Assertions have been made that the Florida Public Service Commission is too "cozy" with regulated utilities, FPL in particular. To the extent that these criticisms are directed toward me, I take great offense because they are false. An examination of the record, not some special interest's characterizations, demonstrates my independence and freedom from external bias. In nearly every high-profile issue that FPL has brought before this Commission, I have voted to deny or severely limit the company's request.

People are conserving energy and GRU revenues are declining, except during periods of extreme weather conditions. However, electric battery-charged cars are on the horizon. They will likely take up any slack in energy use, and then some. Progress Energy is looking ahead to increasing energy use. Their plans are to build two new nuclear power plants. However, electric customers beware, excessive cost overruns (and defects and deficiencies) at a Finnish power plant have been reported in the New York Times. If Progress Energy experiences similar problems, utility customers should brace for a double-cost whammy in their electric bills.

Chairman and CEO of Progress Energy Jeff Lyash acknowledges that we must address America's power demands as they pertain to economic and environmental issues. His solution is clean coal and more nuclear power. Fossil fuels should be short term bridge to clean, renewable energy sources. But make no mistake, there is no such thing as clean coal and nuclear power is neither clean nor cheap.

Progress Energy's road to building its proposed nuclear power plant in Levy County northwest of Dunnellon is becoming anything but smooth. On Wednesday, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board - an arm of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission - ruled that the Green Party of Florida and two other environmental groups could challenge the utility company's plan for two new nuclear reactors and had successfully raised major concerns about the plant's potential environmental impact. That means Progress Energy will have to argue its case about those environmental issues during a legal hearing, including in oral arguments, or change some of its construction plans.

Progress Energy continues to investigate what caused a 2-inch wide and at least 30-foot-long crack in the containment wall of its Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant. It expects to have answers within the next few weeks. Once the cause is determined, the utility will decide how it will repair the containment wall, said Jessica Lambert, Progress Energy spokeswoman. The containment facility ensures that radiation doesn't escape in the event of a radioactive leak or accident within the reactor. Also unknown is how much it will cost to repair the crack, which is about 9 inches deep inside the 42-inch-thick wall.

Progress Energy continues to investigate what caused a 2-inch wide and at least 30-foot-long crack in the containment wall of its Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant. It expects to have answers within the next few weeks. Once the cause is determined, the utility will decide how it will repair the containment wall, said Jessica Lambert, Progress Energy spokeswoman. The containment facility ensures that radiation doesn't escape in the event of a radioactive leak or accident within the reactor. Also unknown is how much it will cost to repair the crack, which is about 9 inches deep inside the 42-inch-thick wall.

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has called a special meeting next week to discuss three apparent violations involving a spent fuel pool at Turkey Point - a critical issue as the long-held plans for storing waste in Nevada have completely collapsed. Technically, the meeting in Atlanta on Wednesday involves the degradation of "a neutron-absorbing material called Boraflex in the Unit 3 spent fuel pool." Used nuclear fuel has been building up at Turkey Point for the 35 years of its operation. The degradation involves systems intended to cram more spent fuel into the pools, according to Lawrence King, a former NRC inspector. More than two million pounds of waste now sit at the South Miami-Dade site in pools of water - although Florida Power & Light Co. spokesman Michael Waldron says it's more accurate to think of the spent rods as occupying a 16-foot cube if bunched together."

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is citing Florida Power & Light Co. for three violations and has proposed a $70,000 civil penalty against the company for an issue with the Unit 3 spent fuel pool racks at the Turkey Point nuclear power plant near Homestead, Fla., about 20 miles south of Miami. In December 2009, the NRC became aware that the neutron-absorbing material called Boraflex in the Unit 3 spent fuel pool had degraded below the levels spelled out in the plant's design basis documents. Although FPL had taken compensatory measures including the addition of soluble boron, the regulatory requirements that ensure the spent fuel pool remains safe were not met. The company's actions ensured the pool's condition did not pose an immediate safety concern, but the NRC found that FPL did not promptly identify and correct the condition. The NRC issued the civil penalty because the agency felt the company did not report the condition in a timely fashion. The NRC has determined that the issue has low to moderate safety significance and may result in additional inspections. The NRC staff held a regulatory and enforcement conference with FPL in April, and the company disagreed with some aspects of the NRC's evaluation. After considering information provided by FPL, the NRC staff issued its final determination including the three violations and $70,000 fine."

"An environmental group lost the latest round in a court fight over a disputed water permit for North Anna Power Station. The Virginia Court of Appeals ruled this week that the State Water Control Board's 2007 renewal of a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit was appropriate. In February, Richmond Circuit Court Judge Margaret Spencer sided with the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League's contention that the plant's waste heat treatment facility should be subject to the federal Clean Water Act. Since the plant began operating in the late 1970s, Dominion has contended that the lagoon, where heated water from the plant's two reactors is cooled, is a waste facility and not a water impoundment. The lagoon, ringed by houses and boat docks, is also known as the lake's hot side. Water from the hot side eventually drains back into the main lake through a dike."

"A judge heard the closing arguments Friday on whether a lawsuit against Lockheed Martin Corp. should be expanded into a class action. Circuit Court Judge Jannette Dunnigan said she will rule at a later date on the request of the four plaintiffs who are asking her to establish a medical monitoring system and to open it up to a class action lawsuit. The case heard Thursday is one of several lawsuits filed against Lockheed claiming personal injury and property damage from the exposure to the chemical beryllium. Lockheed purchased the former Loral American Beryllium plant at 1600 Tallevast Road and the lawsuits claim the corporation is responsible for damages."

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission today announced the opportunity for public participation in a hearing on a Combined License (COL) application for two new reactors at the Turkey Point site near Homestead, Fla. Florida Power & Light submitted the COL application June 30, 2009, seeking approval to build and operate two AP1000 reactors at the site, approximately 40 miles south of Miami. The Turkey Point application, minus proprietary or security-related details, is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/turkey-point.html. The NRC staff has determined that the application contains sufficient information for the agency to formally "docket," or file, the application and begin its technical review. Docketing the application does not preclude additional requests for information as the review proceeds; nor does it indicate whether the Commission will issue the license. The docket numbers established for this application are 52-040 and 52-041. The NRC has issued in the Federal Register a notice of opportunity to intervene in the proceeding on the application, and the deadline for requesting a hearing is Aug. 17. Petitions may be filed by anyone whose interest may be affected by the proposed license, who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding, and who meets criteria set out in the NRC's regulations. Background information regarding the hearing process was provided by NRC staff to members of the public during an April 2009 meeting in Homestead."

Florida's utility regulators have crafted their vision of Florida's green energy future without answering the billion-dollar question: What is green energy? Months of intense lobbying and public hearings on how and when Florida's energy companies should go green ended on Jan. 9 with the state's Public Service Commission deciding not to decide whether nuclear power is green enough to be part of the state's mandate to reduce greenhouse gases. The issue - raised by Florida Power & Light, the state's largest producer of nuclear power - was the only issue the commission did not decide. The prickly question now goes to the legislature, where FPL is a major political player.

Progress Energy Florida has asked federal regulators to extend the life of its nuclear plant in Crystal River another 20 years. The plant's 40-year operating license is set to expire in 2016, but the St. Petersburg-based utility filed an application for a 20-year renewal with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday.

Westinghouse Electric Co. said Monday it signed a $7.65 billion deal to build two nuclear reactors in Florida -- its third such contract in nine months. The agreement, which Westinghouse and partner The Shaw Group signed with Progress Energy Florida, is an engineering, procurement and construction contract to build two AP1000 reactors in Levy County, along the state's northern Gulf Coast. Shaw, of Baton Rouge, La., is a 20 percent owner of Westinghouse.

fossil fuels. Applications for new and extended reactor licenses are snowballing. Yet progress on a national nuclear dump site is virtually paralyzed. Late last month, California and Nevada filed a litany of challenges against a proposed nuclear-waste repository near Las Vegas, delivering another in a series of setbacks to this mega-billion dollar plan.