Reflections on Vermont Yankee - 2ANS Nuclear CafeJanuary 20, 2015, 9:00AM|ANS Nuclear CafeThis is the second of three posts presenting the professional opinions of experts in the nuclear field on the Yankee Vermont closing.----------Arguments for Keeping the Plant Viable - Rod AdamsYou make the call-should Entergy maintain the option of selling or restarting Vermont Yankee?Vermont Yankee is a complete, licensed, 604-MWe (net), ultra-low emission power plant on a 140-acre riverfront site with the proven capability of producing 4.7 million mega-watt hours of electricity every year.At an average sales price of $50 per MW-hr, the plant produces $225 million in annual revenue. The plant is located on the correct side of a natural gas supply constraint, there is significant upside potential for the product sales price.Nuclear fuel cost is roughly $50 million per year. Payroll adds another $60 million-$100 million. License fees add $5 million-$6 million. Special taxes add another $20 million-$30 million.Its existing license to operate expires in 2032, but that license can be extended for an additional 20 years after a detailed review of the plant's operating condition.The plant needs a few major repairs to ensure continued reliability. The biggest one is that its condenser must be refurbished or replaced. Because Vermont Yankee is a boiling water reactor with a radioactively contaminated condenser, that job is a more complicated and quite a bit more expensive than it would be for a pressurized water reactor.However, there is recent industry experience in performing the repair. A good cost estimate for completion is roughly $40 million-$50 million with a 2-3 month repair duration. During this time the plant would be shut down with no revenue produced by the sale of electricity.There is an unknown investment requirement of as much as $100 million looming in the future to install whatever mandatory reactions to the Fukushima event that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission decides to enforce.Some Vermont politicians dislike the plant and want it shut down. Vermont Yankee has a $600 million dollar decommissioning fund asset that will cover projected costs after the plant is shut down and formally begins the decommissioning process.If the plant is returned to service, electricity and electricity capacity prices in New England will be lower, negatively impacting the revenue potential for all other power generating assets in the region.___________________________________________________Rod Adams is the publisher of Atomic Insights and the host of the Atomic Show podcast.The recent closure of Vermont Yankee (V-Y) provides many lessons for the nuclear profession. One that is significant remains the need for greater activism from nuclear professionals across the spectrum.Certainly there were strong supporters of V-Y who attended meetings, connected with the media, and engaged the public (even brought cookies and brownies). However, we need more voices telling our story.Technology professionals as activists are rare, but have a great impact when present. Frederick Salvucci, a civil engineer, was a principal leader of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (i.e., "Big Dig"). He was a fierce advocate who was not inspired by improved traffic or Boston's economic future.Rather, the interstate had plowed over Salvucci's grandmother's home and he was determined to reclaim the Boston of his youth by literally burying the interstate. He worked with government, citizens, and the media to bring "Big Dig" to fruition.We make strong arguments for nuclear energy based on comparisons with fossil fuels and by explaining radiation effects and economic benefits. However, to fully capture the public moral imagination we all need to embrace pro-nuclear activism and engage the public.All includes nuclear professionals across the disciplines (power, medicine, research), across the organizations (utilities, vendors, consultants), and across functions (CNOs, skilled craft, even engineers).We may not be able to do everything everywhere, but if we all do what we can in favor of nuclear, if we take control of telling our nuclear story, the public will take notice.__________________________________________________Robert Margolis, PE, is a nuclear engineer having over 28 years of experience as a reactor engineer, startup test engineer, project engineer, and safety analyst.A Lack of Profitable Power Contracts - Ed Kee"Wholesale market design flaws that continue to result in artificially low energy and capacity prices." This is Entergy's reason for early retirement and it meant that the firm experienced financial losses for Vermont Yankee (V-Y).Until March 2012, electrical power from V-Y was sold to the original utility owners under a power contract included in the 2002 purchase. This power contract was not renewed.Entergy tried to find new power contracts, but this was difficult due to low wholesale electricity market prices and uncertainty about whether the state would prevent V-Y from operating after March 2012 when the original NRC operating license expired. Entergy won the right to continue operating V-Y for another 20 years, but without power contracts.With no power contracts, Vermont Yankee sold power at a loss into the ISO NE electricity spot market and forward capacity market. These losses would be even worse after ISO NE changed its rules to allow negative spot prices in late 2014.Early retirement stopped Vermont Yankee's financial losses, similar to the early retirement of Dominion's Kewaunee reactor in Wisconsin in 2013.Electricity markets are focused on short-term wholesale market prices instead of long-term total system cost. This flawed approach ignores the value of nuclear electricity.In these flawed electricity markets, it is likely more existing nuclear units will retire early (and permanently) and no new nuclear projects will be built.__________________________________________________Edward Kee is the owner of Nuclear Economics Consulting Group (NECG) and is an Affiliated Expert with NERA Economic Consulting. Tags:american nuclear societybwrsvermont yankeeShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Experimental Breeder Reactor I: A retrospectiveIn the not-so-distant 20th century past, our planet was in an uncertain new-world order. The second of two major wars had dramatically reshaped the landscape of the world's nations. It was not by any means assured that the extraordinary nuclear process of fission, which itself had been discovered mere years before the second war's end, would be successfully utilized for anything but the tremendous and frightening powers realized in thermonuclear warheads. In the years following, a humble project materializing out of the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho was to challenge that assertion and demonstrate that nuclear fission could indeed be a commercial, peaceful source of electrical power for civilizations around the globe.Go to Article
Be the change you want to see in the worldWhat does it mean to be a leader? That question is at the heart of the Young Professionals Congress 2019 (YPC19).Go to Article
RadioNuclear 22: HBO’s Chernobyl: A Setback or Opportunity? Episode 22 of RadioNuclear is now available. In this episode, we discuss the recent miniseries "Chernobyl", which recently concluded on HBO. We debunk some of the more egregious articles written in the wake of the show (see links to these articles below). We also discuss good ways to engage with individuals who are captivated with the show, and not necessarily familiar with nuclear technology.Go to Article
Advocating for Nuclear with the NESDSometimes it feels like we're fighting an uphill battle for nuclear energy - and perhaps we are.Go to Article
Honoring Dr. Leona Woods - #HerstoryDuring March's Women's History Month, I honor Leona Woods by telling #herstory.Go to Article
New Year, New Committee, Diversity and Inclusion in ANSAs I write this, I'm excited to know the future of the American Nuclear Society will involve the activities and efforts of the newly formed Diversity and Inclusion in ANS (DIA) Committee. The DIA Committee was formed after the 2018 Annual Meeting by expanding the Professional Women in ANS (PWANS) committee with the inclusion of Nuclear Pride, a LGBTQA+ nuclear organization. It is dedicated to giving a voice to all underrepresented and marginalized groups within ANS, including, but not limited to, women, persons of color, the LGBTQA+ community, and people with disabilities. This new committee is the result of the combined efforts of several people over several years to ensure all of these groups, named and not named, have a voice.Go to Article
Show Engineering Love During EWeek, February 17-23Founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1951, Engineers Week (EWeek), is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing interest in engineering and technology careers. This year, consider bringing an engineer into your plans.Go to Article
Why Nuclear is an Emerging Technology for the Space EconomyNuclear energy has played a key supporting role in historic missions to Mars, Pluto, and across the Solar System for the last 50 years. On January 1 2019, the nuclear-powered New Horizons flew by the most distant object ever observed up close - Ultima Thule, after it having already flown by Pluto in 2015.Go to Article
ANS Friday Nuclear Matinee 2/1: Vogtle Timeline UpdateOur latest ANS Nuclear Cafe Matinee film is the latest video update by Southern Company on the progress of the Vogtle nuclear plant expansion. This video runs just over seven minutes and brings you the details of the construction as of the last quarter of 2018. Enjoy!Go to Article
Are the Tides Turning for Advanced U.S. Nuclear? Welcome to the New Year! Even though I am on the road, there is just so much happening lately in nuclear I could not pass up the opportunity to talk about it! This episode of RadioNuclear, we take a look at recent and exciting legislation and policy for advanced nuclear. This includes the passages of the NEIMA and NEICA bills and what the Idaho National Laboratory may look like in the coming years. We also discuss the NRC's recent decision on post Fukushima regulation. Lastly, we look on how you can adopt a dog from the Chernobyl exclusion zone. No, I am not making that up!Go to Article