Complaint filed with FERC to save Diablo Canyon from early closureNuclear NewsPower & OperationsNovember 2, 2020, 3:01PM|Nuclear News StaffA nuclear advocacy group is asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to review the approval by California regulators of the decision by Pacific Gas and Electric in 2016 to prematurely retire its Diablo Canyon plant—the Golden State’s only remaining operating nuclear power facility—in 2025.On October 26, the nonprofit organization Californians for Green Nuclear Power Inc. (CGNP) filed a 32-page complaint with FERC in the matter, listing as respondents the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), California Independent System Operator (CAISO), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California State Water Resources Control Board (CSWRCB), and California State Lands Commission (CSLC).The complaint: In its filing, CGNP claims that CAISO, CPUC, CSWRCB, and CSLC violated federal reliability standards for the bulk power system “through the CPUC’s approval of the plan to close Diablo Canyon … without first properly analyzing the adverse bulk electric system and adverse bulk natural gas system consequences, in light of known California-specific hazards.”In addition, the complaint charges that NERC and WECC “failed to conduct proper oversight or enforce NERC’s reliability standards that will be violated by removing [Diablo Canyon] from the California electric grid.”This photo, taken on July 31, 2020, in northeast San Luis Obispo County, Calif., shows Southern California Gas Company’s Line 44-1088 routed above ground where it crosses the San Andreas Fault. According to CGNP, the line is being bent by aseismic creep, which endangers many natural gas transmission lines crossing active earthquake faults in California. Photo: CGNPOne of CGNP’s major concerns involves the state’s natural gas transmission and storage system. According to the complaint, because some 60 percent of California’s dispatchable in-state bulk electric generation system is powered by natural gas, “the reliability of California’s bulk electrical system is tightly coupled to the reliability of California’s natural gas bulk transmission and storage system. … There are present reliability challenges to [the latter system] that are a consequence of its vulnerability to sudden earthquake motions and slow aseismic (without an earthquake) creep caused by the relative motion of Earth’s crustal plates in California.”Relief request: CGNP is asking FERC to (1) conduct a reliability analysis “focused on how the continued safe operation of [Diablo Canyon] provides the reliability benefits” described in the complaint, and (2) take “action to enforce NERC’s reliability standards, as well as review and initiate remediation of the significant reliability concerns raised in this complaint.”Comments on the complaint, including protests or motions to intervene, must be filed by November 16.What they’re saying: “Californians should not have to choose between reliable power and increased air pollution, which will be the outcome if Diablo Canyon closes,” said Gene Nelson, CGNP legal assistant, told Nuclear News. “The rolling blackouts in mid-August 2020 would have been very severe if Diablo Canyon, which produces almost 10 percent of California’s in-state power, were unavailable. California’s vulnerability to natural gas supply disruptions caused by plate tectonics shows the value of keeping Diablo Canyon’s safe, reliable, abundant, cost-effective, and zero-emissions power available for the safety and welfare of the 40 million residents of California.”Background: Located near Avila Beach, Calif., Diablo Canyon houses two four-loop Westinghouse pressurized water reactors; Unit 1, a 1,138-MWe PWR, began commercial operation in May 1985, while the 1,151-MWe Unit 2 started providing power in March of the following year.In June 2016, PG&E announced that it had reached an agreement with organized labor and environmental organizations to increase investment in energy efficiency and storage, as well as renewables, and to close Diablo Canyon upon the expiration of the reactors’ operating licenses—November 2024 for Unit 1 and August 2025 for Unit 2. PG&E’s application to close the plant was approved by the CPUC in January 2018, and in March of that year the utility notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it was withdrawing its 2009 application for license extension.Tags:bulk power systemcalifornia public utilities commissioncalifornians for green nuclear powerdiablo canyonfercnercpg&ewestinghouseShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
FERC to look at grid reliabilitySpurred by last week’s power grid failure in Texas, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday announced that it will open a new proceeding to examine the threat that climate change and extreme weather events pose to electric reliability. The proceeding, FERC said, will investigate how grid operators prepare for and respond to these events, including droughts, extreme cold, wildfires, hurricanes, and prolonged heat waves.Go to Article
The New Yorker profiles environmentalists in favor of nuclearAn article published by The New Yorker profiles how Heather Hoff and Kristin Zaitz went from environmentalists who were skeptical, and even distrusting, of nuclear power to advocates for the much-maligned power source.Go to Article
The week in TexasMaybe everything really is bigger in Texas, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. The brutal winter storm that hit much of the country earlier this week struck the Lone Star State with particular severity, leaving the power grid in shambles and millions of Texas residents without power, in many instances for days. On Tuesday, at the height of the power crisis, more than 4.4 million utility customers were without access to electricity, according to poweroutage.us.Go to Article
Gates highlights nuclear’s role in fighting climate changeGatesBill Gates is making the media rounds to promote his new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need, which was released on Tuesday. Along the way, he’s been touting nuclear energy as part of his master plan for battling climate change.60 Minutes: Gates kicked off the week with an appearance on 60 Minutes on Sunday. During the nearly 15-minute segment with correspondent Anderson Cooper, Gates discussed TerraPower, the company he founded in 2006 that is dedicated to nuclear innovation. “Nuclear power can be done in a way that none of those failures of the past would recur, because just the physics of how it's built,” Gates said, referring to TerraPower’s Natrium reactor. “I admit, convincing people of that will be almost as hard as actually building it. But since it may be necessary to avoid climate change, we shouldn't give up.”Go to Article
ANS touts benefits of nuclear energy in letter to FERCThe American Nuclear Society recommended that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) consider recognizing the reliability and resiliency benefits that carbon-free nuclear electricity generation provides to the bulk power system. ANS President Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar and Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy submitted these comments in a letter during a FERC meeting on Thursday morning.Go to Article
PRA standard for Advanced Non-Light Water Reactors just issuedANSI/ASME/ANS RA-S-1.4-2021, “Probabilistic Risk Assessment Standard for Advanced Non-Light Water Reactor Nuclear Power Plants,” has just been issued. Approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on January 28, 2021, this joint American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)/American Nuclear Society (ANS) standard sets forth requirements for probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs) used to support risk-informed decisions for commercial nuclear power plants and prescribes a method for applying these requirements for specific applications.ANSI/ANS-RA-S-1.4-2021 and its preview are available in the ANS Standards Store.Go to Article
Framatome declares ATF test at Vogtle a successThe $111.2 million in financial assistance awarded by the Department of Energy in late 2018 to nuclear fuel developers Framatome, General Electric, and Westinghouse for the development of accident tolerant fuel has yielded some encouraging results.Framatome reports that the first 18-month fuel cycle test of its GAIA Enhanced Accident Tolerant Fuel (EATF) technology, conducted at Southern Nuclear’s Vogtle-2, has “demonstrated expected results and excellent performance.”And last month, Westinghouse announced that the topical report on its Advanced Doped Pellet Technology fuel has been accepted for review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, calling the decision “a major achievement for the advanced fuel portfolio Westinghouse is developing.”Go to Article
Proposed Czech unit won’t be built by ChinaCzech Republic political parties have agreed to exclude China from participating in a tender to build an additional reactor at the Dukovany nuclear plant but have yet to decide whether to allow Russian participation, according to a report last week from Reuters.Other bidders on the project, estimated to be worth some €6 billion (about $7.2 billion), include Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power of South Korea, EDF of France, and Westinghouse of the United States.Go to Article
North Anna license renewal arguments to be airedAn aerial view of the North Anna nuclear plant. Photo: Dominion EnergyA Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will conduct an “oral argument” via WebEx early next month regarding a petition to hold a hearing on North Anna’s subsequent license renewal (SLR) application, the agency announced yesterday.ASLBs conduct adjudicatory hearings on major licensing actions by the NRC. Their rulings may be appealed to the commission.The SLR application, submitted by Dominion Energy last August, was docketed by the NRC in October. The petition objecting to it was filed in December by three antinuclear organizations—Beyond Nuclear, Sierra Club, and Alliance for Progressive Virginia.On February 4, beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern time, the ASLB will address a rule waiver request from the groups, as well as the admissibility of their proposed contention. The board will entertain comments from representatives for the petitioners, Dominion, and NRC staff.Go to Article
NRC agrees to review Westinghouse ATF topical reportWestinghouse last week announced via blog post that a topical report on its Advanced Doped Pellet Technology (ADOPT) fuel has been accepted for review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, calling the decision a “major achievement for the advanced fuel portfolio Westinghouse is developing as part of our EnCore fuel program.”The company submitted the report in May of last year, requesting approval by February 2022. According to Westinghouse, a draft safety evaluation from the agency is expected this summer.Go to Article