NRC INVESTIGATION REPORT NOS. 1-2012-012, 1-2012-043, 1-2011-030, AND
NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 05000387;388/2013013; AND NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Download ML13269A254
Monday, September 30, 2013
Nuclear Costs; Dangers
High Repair Costs and Lower Power Prices Drive Nuclear Retirements:
U.S. Energy Information Administration, September 23, 2013
http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/update
Since October 2012, electric power companies have announced the retirement of five nuclear reactors at four power plants. The five reactors have a combined capacity of nearly 4,200 megawatts. The recent retirements are the first since 1998. Decisions to retire the units involved concerns over maintenance and repair costs and declining profitability. Units that operated as merchant generators, meaning that the costs associated with running and maintaining the plants cannot be recovered through regulated cost-of-service rates, have been particularly sensitive to declining profitability. Low wholesale electricity prices, driven in part by lower natural gas prices, have been cited more often in the retirement decisions of these plants while repair costs have been drivers of retirements at nuclear power plants owned by utilities. The recent reactor retirements will decrease the total number of operating nuclear reactors to 99 and will reduce total U.S nuclear net summer capacity by almost 4%.
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More Than 36 GW of U.S. Nuclear Capacity in Hurricane Zones:
Power Engineering, September 23, 2013
http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2013/09/more-than-36-gw-of-us-nuclear-capacity-in-hurricane-zones.html
A report from SNL Energy says that 36,471 MW of nuclear capacity could be at risk from hurricanes in the continental United States. The report uses hurricane hazard zones defined by the American Red Cross stretching from Maine and down the coast to Texas. The report says two nuclear plants are at the highest risk due to proximity to hurricane zones: the 2,032 MW St. Lucie plant in Florida, which is majority owned by NextEra Energy Inc. and the 1,928 MW Brunhswick plant in North Carolina, owned by Duke Energy.
U.S. Energy Information Administration, September 23, 2013
http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/update
Since October 2012, electric power companies have announced the retirement of five nuclear reactors at four power plants. The five reactors have a combined capacity of nearly 4,200 megawatts. The recent retirements are the first since 1998. Decisions to retire the units involved concerns over maintenance and repair costs and declining profitability. Units that operated as merchant generators, meaning that the costs associated with running and maintaining the plants cannot be recovered through regulated cost-of-service rates, have been particularly sensitive to declining profitability. Low wholesale electricity prices, driven in part by lower natural gas prices, have been cited more often in the retirement decisions of these plants while repair costs have been drivers of retirements at nuclear power plants owned by utilities. The recent reactor retirements will decrease the total number of operating nuclear reactors to 99 and will reduce total U.S nuclear net summer capacity by almost 4%.
====================================
More Than 36 GW of U.S. Nuclear Capacity in Hurricane Zones:
Power Engineering, September 23, 2013
http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2013/09/more-than-36-gw-of-us-nuclear-capacity-in-hurricane-zones.html
A report from SNL Energy says that 36,471 MW of nuclear capacity could be at risk from hurricanes in the continental United States. The report uses hurricane hazard zones defined by the American Red Cross stretching from Maine and down the coast to Texas. The report says two nuclear plants are at the highest risk due to proximity to hurricane zones: the 2,032 MW St. Lucie plant in Florida, which is majority owned by NextEra Energy Inc. and the 1,928 MW Brunhswick plant in North Carolina, owned by Duke Energy.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 - Request for Additional Information Regarding License Amendment Request for Extended Power Uprate (TAC Nos. ME9631 and ME9632)
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 - Request for
Additional Information Regarding License Amendment Request for Extended
Power Uprate (TAC Nos. ME9631 and ME9632)
Download ML13253A416
Download ML13253A416
Monday, September 16, 2013
California Energy Bill Passes, Awaits Gov. Brown's Signature
Lawmakers in the California state legislature granted their final
approval to a package of energy legislation. The bill, AB 327, will now
head to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk. It passed the state Senate September 9
with a vote of 33-5 after passing the Assembly in May by wide margins.
The bill's centerpiece would essentially remove the "cap" from California's renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS), which is already one of the most aggressive in the nation.
California state law requires power companies to generate 33 percent of their electricity from renewable sources. AB 327, once signed into law, will empower the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to raise that percentage without the need for legislative action.
"This is a banner day in California. Once again, state lawmakers have set the bar high when it comes to the adoption of renewable energy. AB 327 provides a clear pathway for the continued growth of solar generation in California, which ranks No. 1 in the nation in total installed solar capacity with 3,761 MW," said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
The bill allows for adjustments to the state's net metering program, which lets customers who generate their own electricity via rooftop solar to be compensated for energy that flows back onto the grid from such distributed generation sources.
The bill would allow the CPUC to redesign utility billing rates, potentially cutting monthly bills for end users living in the hotter interior parts of California. Large investor-owned utilities, such as Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) would collectively bargain among themselves for sought-after billing changes.
The assembly also passed SB 4, a law that would require energy companies to publicly disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracking, as well as require permits for fracking as well as acidizing — techniques used to extract oil from shale rock deposits like California's Montgomery Shale reserves.
Read Article
The bill's centerpiece would essentially remove the "cap" from California's renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS), which is already one of the most aggressive in the nation.
California state law requires power companies to generate 33 percent of their electricity from renewable sources. AB 327, once signed into law, will empower the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to raise that percentage without the need for legislative action.
"This is a banner day in California. Once again, state lawmakers have set the bar high when it comes to the adoption of renewable energy. AB 327 provides a clear pathway for the continued growth of solar generation in California, which ranks No. 1 in the nation in total installed solar capacity with 3,761 MW," said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
The bill allows for adjustments to the state's net metering program, which lets customers who generate their own electricity via rooftop solar to be compensated for energy that flows back onto the grid from such distributed generation sources.
The bill would allow the CPUC to redesign utility billing rates, potentially cutting monthly bills for end users living in the hotter interior parts of California. Large investor-owned utilities, such as Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) would collectively bargain among themselves for sought-after billing changes.
The assembly also passed SB 4, a law that would require energy companies to publicly disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracking, as well as require permits for fracking as well as acidizing — techniques used to extract oil from shale rock deposits like California's Montgomery Shale reserves.
Read Article
PJM Emergency
PJM Sets Record Sept. Peak Power Use
Weather and Local Grid Conditions Require Load Reductions PJM Monitoring Grid Closely Today as Power Supplies Remain Tight
(Valley Forge, Pa. – Sept. 11, 2013) – Due to unseasonably hot weather, PJM Interconnection, the electricity grid operator for 13 states and the District of Columbia, set a new record for September peak power use yesterday by meeting the demand for 144,370 megawatts. By comparison, the 2012 September peak demand was 129, 959 MW, and the PJM peak demand in July of this year was 157,509 MW. The hot weather continues in many areas today and electricity supplies remain tight.
PJM is responsible for keeping the grid running safely and reliably. Tuesday’s unusual, extreme heat combined with local equipment problems to create emergency conditions in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. PJM was forced to direct local utilities in those areas to immediately and temporarily cut electricity to some customers to avoid the possibility of an uncontrolled blackout over a larger area that would have affected many more people. Continued heat in some areas today will require load reductions through demand response, but PJM and its members are working to prevent additional emergency customer curtailments.
Download PDF
Weather and Local Grid Conditions Require Load Reductions PJM Monitoring Grid Closely Today as Power Supplies Remain Tight
(Valley Forge, Pa. – Sept. 11, 2013) – Due to unseasonably hot weather, PJM Interconnection, the electricity grid operator for 13 states and the District of Columbia, set a new record for September peak power use yesterday by meeting the demand for 144,370 megawatts. By comparison, the 2012 September peak demand was 129, 959 MW, and the PJM peak demand in July of this year was 157,509 MW. The hot weather continues in many areas today and electricity supplies remain tight.
PJM is responsible for keeping the grid running safely and reliably. Tuesday’s unusual, extreme heat combined with local equipment problems to create emergency conditions in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. PJM was forced to direct local utilities in those areas to immediately and temporarily cut electricity to some customers to avoid the possibility of an uncontrolled blackout over a larger area that would have affected many more people. Continued heat in some areas today will require load reductions through demand response, but PJM and its members are working to prevent additional emergency customer curtailments.
Download PDF
EPA Documents Raise Doubts Over Intent of New Nuclear-Response Guide
Destroyed unit 3 reactor building of Tokyo Electric Power
Co.'s tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is seen in
Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Monday, Feb. 20, 2012. Japan
next month marks one year since the March 11 tsunami and earthquake,
which triggered the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.
(AP Photo/Issei Kato, Pool)
WASHINGTON -- Newly obtained government documents are prompting concern among critics that Environmental Protection Agency officials are seeking to use the organization’s new guide for nuclear-incident response to relax public health standards, but the agency is denying the claim.
Douglas P. Guarino
Senior Reporter
National Journal Group
Global Security Newswire
Read Article
Monday, September 9, 2013
PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER STATION: NRC EVALUATION OF CHANGES, TESTS, AND EXPERIMENTS AND PERMANENT MODIFICATIONS TEAM INSPECTION REPORT 05000277/2013010 AND 05000278/2013010
PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER STATION: NRC EVALUATION OF CHANGES, TESTS,
AND EXPERIMENTS AND PERMANENT MODIFICATIONS TEAM INSPECTION REPORT
05000277/2013010 AND 05000278/2013010
Download ML13199A295
Download ML13199A295
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