Three PA nuclear plants dealing with COVID-19 and March refueling outages at Beaver Valley, Limerick and Susquehanna

Planned Nuclear Refueling Outages in 2020

In 2020, 56 of the nation’s 58 nuclear reactors in 21 states—including several that have issued lockdown measures—planned to undergo refueling outages. At least 31 of the 58 plants had scheduled outages between mid-February and early May. The remaining 25 planned refueling outages between late August and late October. 

The average U.S. refueling outage times have shortened in recent years—decreasing from an average of 46 days in 2012 to 32 days in 2019—owing in part to improved and planning and execution practices for refueling outages over the years, NEI told POWER. Of significant note is that the 2020 season is poised to be especially busy in part because planned nuclear generation outages are generally timed to coincide with a plant’s refueling cycle, it said. 

Table. Expected U.S. Nuclear Plant Refueling Outages in 2020. Courtesy: NEI

	Plant	City	State	Company	Approx. Start
1	Browns Ferry	Athens	AL	Tennessee Valley Authority	Mid February
2	Grand Gulf	Port Gibson	MS	Entergy	Mid February
3	Brunswick	Southport	NC	Duke Energy Progress	late February
4	Davis Besse	Oak Harbor	OH	First Energy	Late February
5	Byron	Byron	IL	Exelon	Early March
6	Nine Mile	Oswego	NY	Exelon	Early March
7	Vogtle	Augusta	GA	Southern Nuclear Operating Co.	Early March
8	South Texas Project	Wadsworth	TX	STP Nuclear Operating Co.	Early March
9	Arkansas Nuclear One	Russellville	AR	Entergy	Early March
10	Point Beach	Two Rivers	WI	NextEra (FPL)	Early March
11	Salem	Hancocks Bridge	NJ	PSEG	Early March
12	Fermi	Frenchtown Charter Twp.	MI	DTE Energy	Mid March
13	McGuire	Huntersville	NC	Duke Energy	Mid March
14	Susquehanna	Berwick	PA	Talen Energy	Mid March
15	Sequoyah	Soddy Daisy	TN	Tennessee Valley Authority	Late March
16	Beaver Valley	Shippingport	PA	FirstEnergy	Late March
17	Limerick	Pottstown	PA	Exelon	Late March
18	Quad Cities	Cordova	IL	Exelon	Late March
19	Turkey Point	Florida City	FL	Florida Power & Light	Late March
20	Seabrook	Seabrook	NH	NextEra Energy	Early April
21	Salem	Hancocks Bridge	NJ	PSEG	Early April
22	Palo Verde	Tonopah	AZ	Arizona Public Service Company	Early April
23	Comanche Peak	Glen Rose	TX	Luminant	Early April
24	Ginna	Ontario	NY	Exelon	Early April
25	Oconee	Seneca	SC	Duke Energy	Early April
26	VC Summer	Jenkinsville	SC	Dominion Energy	Early April
27	Millstone	Waterford	CT	Dominion Energy	Early April
28	Braidwood	Braceville	IL	Exelon	Mid April
29	Watts Bar	Spring City	TN	Tennessee Valley Authority	Mid April
30	Catawba	York	SC	Duke Energy	Early May
31	Surry	Surry	VA	Dominion Energy	Early May
32	Indian Point	Buchanan	NY	Entergy	Early May
33	Palisades	Covert	MI	Entergy	Late August
34	North Anna	Mineral	VA	Dominion Energy	Early September
35	Robinson	Hartsville	SC	Duke Energy Progress	Early September
36	Vogtle	Augusta	GA	Southern Nuclear Operating Co.	Early September
37	Fitzpatrick	Oswego	NY	Exelon	Early September
38	Prairie Island	Welch	MN	Northern States Power	Early September
39	DC Cook	Bridgman	MI	AEP	Mid September
40	McGuire	Huntersville	NC	Duke Energy	Mid September
41	Cooper	Brownville	NE	Nebraska Public Power District	Mid September
42	Waterford	Killona	LA	Entergy	Mid September
43	Point Beach	Two Rivers	WI	NextEra (FPL)	Early October
44	Salem	Hancocks Bridge	NJ	PSEG	Early October
45	Palo Verde	Tonopah	AZ	Arizona Public Service Company	Early October
46	Browns Ferry	Athens	AL	Tennessee Valley Authority	Early October
47	Diablo Canyon	Avila Beach	CA	Pacific Gas & Electric	Early October
48	Callaway	Fulton	MO	Ameren	Early October
49	Byron	Byron	IL	Exelon	Early October
50	Turkey Point	Florida City	FL	Florida Power & Light	Early October
51	Farley	Dothan	AL	Southern Nuclear Operating Co.	Early October
52	Comanche Peak	Glen Rose	TX	Luminant	Early October
53	Peach Bottom	Delta	PA	Exelon	Mid October
54	Millstone	Waterford	CT	Dominion Energy	Mid October
55	Watts Bar	Spring City	TN	Tennessee Valley Authority	Mid October
56	Duane Arnold	Palo	IA	NextEra Energy	Late October

As of March 25, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), 13 of the U.S.’s 96 commercial nuclear reactors were offline for refueling outages: Indian Point 3, Nine Mile Point 1, Susquehanna 2, Browns Ferry 2, Brunswick 2, McGuire 1, North Anna 2, Turkey Point 4, Vogtle 2, D.C. Cook 1, Perry 1, Point Beach 1, and Quad Cities 1. At least five others were coasting down in preparation for refueling outages: Limerick 2, Salem 1, Byron 2, 

Monticello, and Comanche Peak 1. 

The Energy Information Administration (EIA), which compiles data from the NRC into a useful interactive map that shows the status of U.S. nuclear outages, noted that 16.9% of total U.S. nuclear capacity—about 17 GW of the total 100 GW—was offline as of March 25.

NRC Makes Oklo Advanced Reactor Application Publicly Available

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release

No: 20-019 March 27, 2020

CONTACT: Scott Burnell, 301-415-8200

NRC Makes Oklo Advanced Reactor Application Publicly Available

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received an application from Oklo Power LLC for a license to build and operate the company's Aurora compact fast reactor in Idaho. The application is now available for public review on the NRC website.

Oklo filed the application on March 11, seeking NRC approval of an advanced reactor cooled by a substance other than water. The proposed Aurora design would use heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core to a power conversion system, which then would be used to generate electricity. The NRC staff began pre-application discussions with Oklo in November 2016.

The NRC staff is determining whether the application has sufficient information to complete the agency’s review. If the application is determined to be complete, the staff will docket it and publish an opportunity to request a hearing on the Combined License portion of the application. Information about Combined Licenses is available on the NRC website.

 20-019.pdf

Full steam ahead - TMI - 2: FRN - Consideration of Approval of Transfer

Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2; Consideration of Approval of Transfer of License and Conforming Amendment
by the  Nuclear Regulatory Commission on  03/26/2020

… 6721; email: Ted.Smith@ nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I … for Docket ID  NRC-2020-0082. •  NRC's Agencywide Documents … evidence, consistent with the  NRC's regulations, policies, … All documents filed in NRC …

NRC Approves License Renewal for Honeywell Uranium Conversion Facility

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release

No: 20-018 March 25, 2020

CONTACT: David McIntyre, 301-415-8200

 

NRC Approves License Renewal for Honeywell Uranium Conversion Facility

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating license of Honeywell International’s uranium conversion plant in Metropolis, Ill., for an additional 40 years. The new license expires on March 24, 2060.

 

Uranium conversion is an important step in the nuclear fuel cycle. Honeywell receives uranium oxide from mills and in-situ recovery facilities and converts it to uranium hexafluoride. The UF6 is then transported to other facilities, where it is enriched and subsequently made into fuel for use in commercial nuclear power reactors.

 

Honeywell submitted its license renewal application in February 2017. In its review, the NRC staff focused on Honeywell’s decommissioning funding, the environmental effects of the facility for the duration of the license, facility changes and safety basis, and the controls to monitor material degradation and aging for the duration of a license term. The staff concluded that renewing the license would not pose an undue risk to public health and safety and would not significantly affect the quality of the environment. The staff’s review is documented in a final safety evaluation report, published this month, and an environmental assessment published in October 2019.

 

The facility is currently in a “ready-idle” status with a reduced amount of material on site.

 

20-018.pdf

Request for an Anniversary Message on March 28

Dear Friends of Three Miles Island,

I hope that you are doing well at this critical moment. One year has already passed and the 41-year anniversary of the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster is coming soon. I am amazed at myself to be in a completely different landscape from the last year when I met you at the TMI 40th anniversary. In the sense of invisible fear, I feel here in New York City, it might be some similarity what happened 41 years ago at the Three Mile Island. 

This month, due to the effects of the coronavirus, internal events were no longer possible, and we planed the outside memorial gatherings of Fukushima and Three Mile Island nuclear accidents. We managed to hold the Fukushima memorial gathering. Unfortunately, Three Mile Island memorial gathering is not possible due to the coronavirus curfew. 

I thought that the lessons learned from the experience of the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster could help us understand the current fear of coronavirus, and think about our environmental issues with empathy. We made our Facebook page “Voices from the heart”. Please email me your message yasuyotanaka@yahoo.com and let other survivors and related people know about it. We will post your message on March 28th and pray together.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/629996441155181/

"Voices from the Heart” signals strength in unity from the perspectives of many.  It means seeking out and amplifying our most honest voices from within by sharing collective experiences, knowledge, and information, thereby creating and nurturing the common ground for our expression. Our goal is to connect individuals and communities to learn from the past and present and to explore the next steps to achieving a sustainable world together.

I was not good at Facebook, but I will do it from now to stay connected with you and learn from each other. I hope that the current difficult situation will give us the opportunity to review and improve our society and the world.

Thank you,

Yasuyo Tanaka

NRC Schedules Virtual Meeting to Discuss Performance of URENCO USA Facility

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Press Release

No: II-20-003 March 23, 2020

Contact: Roger Hannah, 404-997-4417 Joey Ledford, 404-997-4416

 

NRC Schedules Virtual Meeting to Discuss Performance of URENCO USA Facility

 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will discuss the results of a performance review of the URENCO USA uranium enrichment facility in Eunice, N.M., during a virtual meeting scheduled for March 30.

 

The session will be held from 3-5 p.m. Eastern Time (1-3 p.m. Mountain Time) with NRC officials from the Region II office in Atlanta and URENCO officials from the Eunice facility. The meeting can be accessed by the public and media via Skype. NRC officials will be available following the formal portion of the meeting to answer questions. For individuals without access to Skype, a telephone conference number will also be available.

 

The NRC staff assessed performance of the URENCO facility during the period beginning Jan. 1, 2018, and ending Dec. 31, 2019, in safety operations, safeguards, radiological controls, facility support and other areas. Although the safeguards, or security-related, area was assessed, that information is not publicly available due to its sensitive nature. The NRC staff review determined that URENCO continued to conduct its activities safely and securely, protecting public health and the environment.

 

The review found that none of the program areas needed improvement, thus the NRC will continue its normal inspection program for such facilities. The NRC does not have resident inspectors at the Eunice facility, but fuel facility inspectors from its Atlanta regional office conduct periodic inspections of various aspects of the operation.

 

A copy of the NRC letter to the company regarding the performance review is publicly available on the NRC website.

 

For virtual meeting access or telephone call-in information, contact either Brannen J. Adkins at 404-997-4620 (email: Brannen.Adkins@nrc.gov) or Lindsey Cooke at 404-997-4836 (email: Lindsey.Cooke@nrc.gov).

 

20-003.ii_.pdf

NRC Meeting with Nuclear Industry to Discuss COVID-19 Regulatory Impacts

See the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) meeting announcement,linked here, and reproduced below:

Title: [NRC] Meeting with Nuclear Industry to Discuss COVID-19 Regulatory Impacts.

Dates and Times: March 20, 2020, 02:00 PM to 03:30 PM Eastern Time

Teleconference: Bridge Number (888) 469-2187; Pass Code9610583

Category: This is a Category 2 meeting. The public is invited to participate in this meeting by discussing regulatory issues with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) at designated points identified on the agenda.

Purpose: The purpose of the meeting is to discuss with the nuclear industry regulatory impacts due to COVID-19.

Contact: NRC staffers -- Ed Miller, 301-415-2481, Ed.Miller@nrc.gov; Mike Mahoney, 301-415-3867, Michael.Manoney@nrc.gov.

Participants: NRC staff listed above, plus external industry participants -- Nuclear Energy Institute; Entergy; NextEra.

Here is an audio recording of today's NRC teleconference meeting:
https://lhalevy.audioacrobat.com/download/lhalevy-20200320144127-5648.mp3

Thank you to Libbe HaLevy, Producer/Host, Nuclear Hotseat, for making this recording.

ML20079D897.pdf

TMI - "Amended Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report"

TMI2LicenseTransferApplication.11-12-2019.pdf

Amended Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report

ML20066F494

https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML20066F494 

Document Title:	Three Mile Island, Unit 2 - Notification of Revision of Commitment for "Amended Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report" (PSDAR) for Three Mile Island, Unit 2 in Accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(7).
Document Type:	Letter Schedule and Calendars
Document Date:	03/02/2020

ML19325C600

https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML19325C600 

Document Title:	Three Mile Island, Unit 2, Application for Order Approving License Transfer and Conforming License Amendments
Document Type:	Letter License-Application for Facility Operating License (Amend/Renewal) DKT 50
Document Date:	11/12/2019

ML20013E535

https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML20013E535 

Document Title:	Notification of "Amended Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report" (PSDAR) for Three Mile Island, Unit 2 in Accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(7).
Document Type:	Decommissioning Funding Plan DKTs 30, 40, 50, 70 Legal-Affidavit Letter
Document Date:	12/12/2019

 

Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 - Request for Additional Information - RR (EPID L-2019-LLR-0103)

Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 - Request for Additional Information - RR (EPID L-2019-LLR-0103)

ADAMS Accession No.: ML20070R228

PeachBottom_ML20070R228.pdf

Response to Request for Additional Information Related to License Amendment Request for Proposed Changes to the Three Mile Island Nuclear Station Permanently Defueled Emergency Plan and Emergency Action Level Scheme

Response to Request for Additional Information Related to License Amendment Request for Proposed Changes to the Three Mile Island Nuclear Station Permanently Defueled Emergency Plan and Emergency Action Level Scheme

ADAMS Accession No.: ML20050N441

ML20050N441.pdf

Photo of NRC Commissioners at Senate Hearing last Wednesday

Photo of NRC Commissioners at Senate Hearing last Wednesday

NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki (left), with her colleagues, left to right, Commissioners Jeff Baran, Annie Caputo and David Wright, testify about the agency budget, ongoing activities and new initiatives before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.