Nuclear News

Entergy to Close, Decommission Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station

Entergy plans to close and decommission its Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon, Vt. The station is expected to cease power production after its current fuel cycle and move to safe shutdown in the fourth quarter of 2014. The station will remain under the oversight of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission throughout the decommissioning process. Vermont Yankee, a single unit boiling water reactor, began commercial operation in 1972. Entergy acquired the plant from Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation in 2002.

SCE Serves Formal Notice of Dispute to Mitsubishi over Defective Steam Generators at SONGS

Southern California Edison (SCE) served a formal notice of dispute on Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy Systems (together, Mitsubishi) which seeks to hold Mitsubishi accountable for designing and manufacturing defective replacement steam generators (RSGs) at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). Although Mitsubishi warranted the generators would operate reliably for 20 years, SCE was required to take SONGS offline in January 2012 when one of the Mitsubishi RSGs experienced a radioactive coolant leak after less than a year of operation.

CPUC Revises DSM Programs on Extended SONGS Outage

The California Public Utilities Commission has approved a series of revisions to the demand-side management (DSM) programs administered by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE). The authorized changes are aimed at increasing DSM contributions to help the utilities mitigate the effects of ongoing outages at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).

Court to NRC: Skip Additional Post-Fukushima Review for Vogtle

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) wasn’t required to undertake a supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) with respect to the proposed expansion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia, despite the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown in 2011. The court stated that most of the lessons learned from the Fukushima experience pertained to public safety matters, which it said were clearly distinguishable from the environmental issues that EIS procedures are intended to address.

Georgia Power Pours Concrete for New Vogtle Reactor

Georgia Power completed placing basemat structural concrete for the nuclear island at its Vogtle Unit 3 nuclear project. The utility is building two new reactors at the Plant Vogtle site near Waynesboro, Ga. The full outlines of both nuclear islands have been completed to grade level. The first components for erecting the Unit 3 containment vessel are completed and staged for installation once the basemat concrete has cured, including the Unit 3 containment vessel bottom head.  

B&W, TVA Plan Small Modular Reactor

Babcock & Wilcox mPower (B&W mPower) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) signed a contract to prepare and support nuclear regulatory commission (NRC) review of a construction permit application for a B&W mPower small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear plant at TVA’s Clinch River Site in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The DOE awarded a cost-sharing grant to B&W mPower in November 2012. Preliminary work at the Clinch River site is expected to begin once B&W mPower and the DOE sign a cooperative agreement for the grant funds.

Progress Energy Florida to retire Crystal River nuclear plant

Progress Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, will retire the Crystal River nuclear plant in Citrus County, Fla. The company is reviewing alternatives to replace the power produced by the unit, including the potential construction of a new natural gas-fueled plant. The nuclear unit, which began operating in 1977, was shut down in the fall of 2009 for refueling and replacement of its steam generators when a delamination was discovered in the outer layer of the containment building’s concrete wall.