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Archive for the ‘Nuclear’ Category

South Texas (Nuclear) Project gets a new partner

Posted in Nuclear, tagged , , , , , , on November 30, 2010 |

Seal of the United States Atomic Energy Commis...

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 The Shaw Group is increasing its bet on nuclear power, announcing a role in the proposed 2,700-megawatt South Texas project making it the largest nuclear construction project in Shaw’s history.

Toshiba, the Japanese company, and NRG Energy Inc. jointly own Nuclear Innovation North America, which is developing the South Texas plant.

The Shaw Power Group will get the initial engineering, procurement and construction contract for the two-reactor expansion proposed at South Texas. But Shaw will be more than the contractor. It will be a partner with Toshiba in the project.

As part of its new agreement with Toshiba, Shaw has agreed to invest up to $250 million in nuclear projects. Of that, $100 million will initially be a loan guarantee for NINA for South Texas. If the project wins its combined operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, that loan guarantee will be converted into an equity investment in the project.

The Shaw Power Group strategy is not without risks. There have been questions in recent months about whether the “nuclear renaissance” in the United States will actually occur. And there have been specific questions about the South Texas project, much of them through the SEED Coalition and Public Citizen interventions in the licensing process.

South Texas still on the hunt for partners

South Texas would be a merchant energy plant and they believe they are in line for federal loan guarantees. But another merchant plant, Calvert Cliffs in Maryland, ran into trouble when Constellation Energy pulled out. Constellation said the loan-guarantee conditions were too onerous and made the project financially untenable.

Every proposed nuclear expansion has come with the caveat that these projects are too expensive (and risky) to move forward without the federal loan guarantees.  Yet when the federal government tries to mitigate its own risk, the industry has protested.   

NINA has been looking for partners for the South Texas project since San Antonio’s municipal power company, CPS Energy, went from being a 50% partner to taking just a 7.6 percent ownership in the project.

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STOP TEXAS FROM BECOMING THE NATION’S RADIOACTIVE WASTE DUMP!

Posted in Nuclear, Radiation, Radioactive Waste, tagged , on November 29, 2010 |

Texas is at risk of becoming the nation’s radioactive dumping ground. 

The new proposed rules were posted in the Texas Register on Friday, November 24th and the public comment period is through December 26th.  In the meantime, the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission (TLLRWCC) has scheduled a public hearing on the import/export Rule on December 9th (Thursday) at 10 am.  The meeting will be on the TCEQ campus at 12100 Park 35 Circle, Building E, Room 201 in Austin. (more…)

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Radioactive Waste Dump Ruling Comment Period Through Dec. 26th

Posted in Nuclear, Radiation, Radioactive Waste, Texas Legislature, tagged , , on November 29, 2010 |

People will have through Dec. 26 to provide feedback to a rule published by the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission (the Commission) this weekend that could allow radioactive waste to be shipped from around the country to Andrews County for storage.

As proposed, the rule would give up to 36 states the ability to apply for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste at the Waste Control Specialists site in Andrews County. Presently the guidelines allow only Texas and Vermont — both states part of the compact that was initially established in 1998 — to ship waste there.

On Nov. 13 the Commission voted to allow for the publishing of the rule.  The rule was published in the Texas Register for public review on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  Comments being submitted on the document must be e-mailed or postmarked by midnight on Dec. 26, said Margaret Henderson, interim executive director of the commission.

Public Citizen believes the rule puts Texans in danger. The comment period should be longer than 30 days and the adoption of the rules should be put on hold at least until the Legislature convenes in January.

The comment period taking place now is the last step before the rule is accepted.

We will post additional information on how to comment with some suggested topics later this week.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Deadline for the opportunity for public intervention in Victoria County’s early site permit application for new nuclear plant

Posted in Nuclear, tagged , , , , on November 23, 2010 |

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission today announced the opportunity for public participation in a hearing on an Early Site Permit (ESP) application for a site in Victoria County, Texas.

Exelon submitted its ESP application on March 25, seeking the NRC’s determination on whether the site is suitable for a nuclear power facility, contingent on the approval of an additional application for a construction permit or combined license. An ESP is valid for 10 to 20 years and can potentially be renewed for an additional 10 to 20 years. The Exelon application, minus proprietary and security-related details, is available on the NRC website at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/esp/victoria.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 requests for additional information as the review proceeds; nor does it indicate whether the Commission will issue the permit. The docket number established for this application is 52-042.

The NRC has issued in the Federal Register a notice of opportunity for the public to intervene inthe proceeding on the application (http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-29481.pdf), and the deadline for requesting a hearing is Jan. 24, 2011. 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 15 public information session in Victoria, Texas.

A petition to intervene must be electronically submitted in a timely manner to the NRC’s Electronic Information Exchange (EIE) system. The petition to intervene must be filed in accordance with the NRC’s E-Filing Rule that appeared in the Federal Register on Aug. 28, 2007

(http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-16898.pdf). Additional guidance and instructions regarding electronic submissions to the NRC EIE system is available on the NRC web pages at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.

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Texas “Low-level” Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission votes to publish new rules opening up Texas to waste from around the country

Posted in Radioactive Waste, tagged , , , , on November 22, 2010 |

Capping and sealing low-level waste

A commission overseeing low-level radioactive waste disposal in Texas voted Saturday to publish proposed rules that would guide the importation of nuclear waste from across the country for burial near the New Mexico line.

The Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission voted 5-2 to publish  revised rules that would guide the importation of nuclear waste from across the country for burial in Andrews County, Texas near the New Mexico line.  The proposed rules, once published in the Texas Registry, will allow for a 30-day comment period.

The vote took place without any public input.  In fact, when Public Citizen’s Texas office director, Tom “Smitty” Smith tried to speak he was told he was out of order and asked to sit down.  Much later, he was allowed to give comment, but the deed had already been done.

(more…)

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G.O.P. Gains on Capitol Hill May Not Advance Nuclear Power

Posted in Nuclear, tagged , , , on November 21, 2010 |

In an article by New York Times reporter,  MATTHEW L. WALD  he writes, the outspoken supporters of nuclear power are mostly Republicans, and the Republicans are about to take control of the House of Representatives and gain six seats in the Senate. Is this good news for nuclear power?

Maybe. But the outlook for a new wave of reactors is still mixed at best.

To read the rest of the article, click here.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Radiation in Houston’s Tap Water Compounded by TCEQ ‘lowballing’ radiation scores in drinking water throughout Texas

Posted in Radiation, tagged , , , , on November 17, 2010 |

In a three part story, KHOU-TV reports on a four-month investigation into radioactive contaminants in the Houston area drinking water. Revelations that came to light shows hundreds of water providers around the Gulf Coast region are providing their customers with drinking water that contains radioactive contaminants that raise health risks, according to state lab results and public health scientists. The data, from thousands of state laboratory tests from water providers across Texas, provided by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), ranged from 2004 to the present.

Watch part one of this investigative report.
Radiation in Houston’s Tap Water

The radiation was first discovered as a part of required testing, under federal regulations, of all drinking water provided by community water systems in America. (more…)

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STP Outage extended – what will be the cost to Austin and San Antonio?

Posted in Energy, Nuclear, tagged , , , , , , , on November 16, 2010 |

A couple of weeks ago an outage at South Texas (Nuclear) Project (STP) occurred when unit 2 automatically shutdown due to an “equipment failure”.  This outage triggered a reliability deployment of LaaRs (Load Acting as a Resource) event at ERCOT.  This shifting of load to cover an unexpected event can be quite expensive and the retail electric providers who purchase their electricity from STP will bear the brunt of that cost.

South Texas Nuclear Plant entrance from NRC.gov

One of these two reactors isn't working. And they call renewable energy unreliable!

South Texas Project has since announced it will extend its Unit 2 outage to repair a seal-housing gasket on a reactor coolant pump, which moves water through the steam generator.   The company has decided that, while the gasket’s condition is within operating criteria, STP will make the needed repairs, while they also continue to run unit 1.

A repair schedule is being finalized and restoration of the unit is projected to be completed sometime in November, but we here wonder if it won’t be even into December before it is repaired.

In the meantime, Austin Energy, which gets 27% of its energy from STP, and San Antonio’s CPS, which gets 38% of its energy from STP will be purchasing energy from other sources to make up for the loss from the STP outage.  Let’s hope we don’t have a major cold front come in before STP unit 2 is back online, or these energy companies could be looking at a lowered earnings projection for their final quarter.

This continues a banner few weeks for the nuke industry, who had to shut down Vermont Yankee because of a radioactive water leak and an unexplained transformer explosion at Indian Point 2, a reactor just 24 miles north of New York City, a known secondary target of terrorists on 9/11.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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A SIMMERING WATER WAR – special from Jim Hightower

Posted in Air Quality, Coal, Energy, green jobs, Nuclear, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 12, 2010 |

Originally posted at jimhightower.com

Here in my home state of Texas, we’re suffering from withdrawal pains.

This is not caused by our addiction to alcohol or drugs – but to plain water. And to make our pain worse, it’s not the people of Texas who are hooked on a destructive water habit – it’s the boneheaded executives and greedheaded investors in coal-fired and nuclear-powered plants that generate electricity. (more…)

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STP Nuclear Plant (Units 1 & 2) up for renewal

Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Nuclear, Toxics, tagged , , , , , on November 5, 2010 |

NRC ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION FOR SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

The 22 year old South Texas Project (STP) Units 1 and 2 are up for renewal and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced today that an application for a 20-year renewal of the operating licenses is available for public review.

The plant’s current operating licenses for Units 1 and 2 will expire on Aug. 20, 2027, and Dec. 15, 2028, respectively.  A 20 year license extension would have the two units in production well past their initial life expectancy, and the onsite spent fuel rod storage, well – that’s a whole other can of worms.

South Texas Project Units 1 and 2 are both pressurized-water nuclear reactors, located 12 miles southwest of Bay City, Texas.  When they were built, these plants were projected to have a 30 to 40 year life expectancy and STP says it has enough underwater storage capacity on site to safely store spent fuel for the licensed life of the plant.  Since it is up for a 20 year renewal, let’s hope that that means they have enough spent fuel storage capacity for at least that long.  They haven’t been very forthcoming about what their hoped for expansion would mean for their spent fuel storage capacity, continuing to hold forth the promise of a long-term storage solution (Yucca Mountain being the most frequently touted option). But with the development of Yucca Mountain in limbo, and the NRC extending the period for onsite storage past the production life of a plant, it seems likely that an off site long term storage solution is unlikely anytime soon.

The licensee, STP Nuclear Operating Co., submitted the renewal application Oct. 26. The application is available on the NRC website at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/south-texas-project.html. The NRC staff is currently conducting an initial review of the application to determine whether it contains enough information for the required formal review. If the application has sufficient information, the NRC will formally “docket,” or file, the application and will announce an opportunity to request a public hearing.

For further information, contact Carmen Fells or Tam Tran at the Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop O11-F1, Washington, D.C. 20555; telephone (301) 415-6337 for Carmen Fells and telephone (301) 415-3617 for Tam Tran.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Hearing to reconsider allowing radioactive waste shipments from around the country into Texas scheduled November 13th

Posted in Nuclear, Toxics, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 4, 2010 |

The Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission TLLRWDCC will meet in Midland, Texas a week from Saturday (November 13th) to reconsider adopting a rule that was withdrawn in July that would allow for export of low-level radioactive waste for management and disposal from facilities outside of the Texas Compact, this will be followed by a host of generator petitions to ship low-level radioactive waste to Texas facilities.  For those that have been following our blogs on this, that means to the Waste Control Specialists (WCS) facility in Andrews County out in West Texas.  The Compact Commission will receive public comment, discuss and take formal action, as appropriate, on items on the agenda below until it adjourns.

November 13, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.

University of Texas of the Permian Basin
Center for Energy and Economic Diversification
1400 Farm-To-Market Road 1788 N
Midland, Texas.

To see the proposed rule, click here.
To see the proposed additions to the draft rule from Compact Commision chair, Mike Ford, click here.

TEXAS LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL COMPACT COMMISSION AGENDA (more…)

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A Brave New Republican Energy Future?

Posted in Air Quality, Energy, Global Warming, Nuclear, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 3, 2010 |

According to Bloomberg, electricity producers such as NRG Energy Inc. and Southern Co. will benefit as the new house Republican majority promotes nuclear power as part of clean-energy legislation.  They go on to point out that cap-and-trade was denounced in ads by candidates of both parties, and they expect a fight over plans by the Environmental Protection Agency to impose its own restrictions on carbon emissions.

They also anticipate that renewable-energy legislation next year would encourage construction of nuclear and “clean- coal” plants.

For those close to the Barnett Shale, House Republicans will probably resist efforts to limit hydraulic fracturing, a technique used in drilling for natural gas in which chemically treated water is pumped underground to loosen rock and let gas flow, and a process that has been of significant concern to Texans in the Dallas-Fort Worth air shed.  The EPA is currently conducting a study of potential environmental impacts of the practice.

The Republican takeover of the House also puts Representative Doc Hastings of Washington state, an opponent of new restrictions on offshore oil and gas drilling, in line to take over the Natural Resources Committee. Hastings denounced a measure, that would have removed a $75 million cap on liability for leaks, and would bar BP (the company responsible for the Gulf of Mexico deep water oil spill off the coast of Louisiana) from new U.S. leases.

I’m sure you can see where this could be taking U.S. energy and environmental policy.  If you are concerned, consider making a donation to Public Citizen as we head into a new political era.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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U.S. nuclear loan-guarantee program is testing how much risk the US government is willing to take

Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Nuclear, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 12, 2010 |

Constellation Energy Group Inc. said last week it was pulling out of talks on a $7.5 billion loan guarantee to build a reactor at its Calvert Cliffs facility in Maryland.  Constellation Energy Group’s Chief Operating Officer Michael Wallace told the Energy Department that they felt the estimated $880 million the company would have to pay the Treasury Department was “shockingly high”.

Still, that’s only 12% of the loan guarantee, and only 7% of the estimated (pre-financed) cost of building a nuclear plant.  Compare that to low-risk lender qualifications for buying a home in this country and it doesn’t seem so shockingly high.  Traditionally lenders required a down payment of at least 20% of the home’s purchase price for a home mortgage, and to qualify for owner-builder construction loans, the down payment can be up to 30 percent of the requested loan amount.  Seems to me the industry is getting a better break than the American public right now.

A senior energy and environment analyst for a Milwaukee-based brokerage whined that the administration is offering terms no better than Constellation could get from private investors, yet we are not seeing private investors lining up to get a piece of this action-especially considering that these projects are projected to have a 50% loan default rate.

If the administration must support a nuclear renaissance, it is irresponsible of them to not consider limiting the risk that taxpayers will be stuck with should a nuclear utility default, and the Office of Management and Budget is doing just that by requiring these fees.

Constellation’s decision probably places NRG Energy Inc., a Princeton, New Jersey-based power producer, in the lead for the next loan-guarantee award.  However, if the fees are this large, it might be a victory that NRG and its partners will also not necessarily want, dooming that project too.

NRG is seeking a guarantee to add two units at its South Texas power plant in Matagorda County.  The company is also seeking to secure Japanese government financing, but that is also contingent upon the project securing the US loan guarantee.  Perhaps this is a project that needs to be doomed.  Clearly the building of nuclear plants are so high risk that the private sector appears unwilling to take on that risk, without the US government (read US taxpayer) bearing the brunt of the risk.  If they put it up to a vote, I certainly wouldn’t vote to put my money into such a high risk project, would you?

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Radioactive waste dump owner forks over another quarter million dollars to Perry

Posted in Nuclear, tagged , , , , , , , on October 6, 2010 |

Rick Perry’s latest campaign cash report shows Harold Simmons has just given Perry another $250,000 at the same time that he’s seeking permission to expand his Andrews County radioactive waste dump so 36 other states can dump their “low-level” radioactive waste right here in Texas.  This brings Simmons’ contributions to Perry up to almost $900,000.

WCS and a political money trailSimmons’ company (WCS or Waste Control Specialists) is currently waiting for a decision from the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission (TLLRWDCC, even their acronym is a mouthful) as to whether or not they can bring in radioactive waste from 36 states and dump it. The Commission, comprised of 8 members, 6 of whom are Perry appointees and 2 of whom are appointed by Vermont (the other state in the compact), was set to rule earlier this year but now has delayed its ruling until after the election.

If this isn’t influence pedaling, it sure has the appearance of “paying to get your way”.

For more information about the WCS dump and to see the request for investigation that the Sierra Club and Public Citizen filed with the NRC and EPA, go to www.nukefreetexas.org.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Power Plants Suck… (lots and lots of water)

Posted in Air Quality, Coal, Energy, Global Warming, Nuclear, Renewables, tagged , on October 1, 2010 |

In 2009, a drought nearly emptied Lake Travis. People living and working in the surrounding communities remember businesses closing up as the economic activity around the lake ground to a halt. In 2010, a new threat to lake levels and local businesses has emerged.

Photograph by Bill Smotrilla

Despite rising temperatures and projections of less and less available water in our state, 3 unneeded power plants have been proposed that would suck more water – billions of gallons of water – out of the Colorado River. Fortunately, Public Citizen has joined forces with ReEnergize Texas, SEED Coalition, and the Lonestar Chapter of the Sierra Club to stop these plants from ever seeing the light of day.

On October 10th a new campaign will be launched, not with an activist rally or press conference on the steps of the capitol (both of which are fine ways to start a campaign), but with people enjoying good food and live music while watching the sun go down over Lake Travis. We’ll be entertained by such musicians as the legendary Mr. Butch Hancock, the Richard Jessee Project, Tommy Elskes & Lisa Marshall and David Komie. You’re invited to join us.

 
About the Issue (more…)

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