Special inspection begins at Turkey PointNuclear NewsPower & OperationsSeptember 2, 2020, 7:01AM|Nuclear News StaffA special inspection was initiated on August 31 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point nuclear power plant to review three Unit 3 trips, or unplanned shutdowns, that occurred between August 17 and August 20.Specifics: According to the NRC, operators on August 17 manually tripped the reactor from 92 percent power in response to rising steam generator water levels. Then, on August 19, Turkey Point’s reactor protection system automatically tripped Unit 3 during startup when an instrument sensed higher-than-expected neutron activity in the reactor core. Finally, on August 20, operators manually tripped the unit from about 35 percent power in response to the loss of the single operating steam generator feedwater pump.The five-person NRC inspection team is led by the agency’s senior resident inspector at the Harris nuclear plant in North Carolina and includes a senior reactor analyst and staff with resident inspector and operations experience.Next: The inspectors will review the circumstances of each trip, assess the company’s response, operator performance, and corrective actions, and evaluate the application of industry operating experience, the NRC said.The agency also noted that the on-site portion of the inspection is expected to last about one week, and that a report documenting the results is anticipated within 45 days of the inspection’s completion.What FPL is saying: “We welcome this opportunity to share the details of equipment performance and the actions operators took to keep Turkey Point in a safe condition during the recent unplanned shutdowns,” said FPL spokesman Peter Robbins in response to the NRC investigation. “Turkey Point and FPL are always ready to fully cooperate with the independent experts at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the spirit of complete transparency.”Robbins added that “in all three cases, the reactor was shut down in a matter of seconds, and all safety systems responded as designed.”Background: Turkey Point, located just east of Homestead, Fla., approximately 25 miles south of Miami, houses two Westinghouse pressurized water reactors—Units 3 and 4, 873-MWe and 840-MWe PWRs, respectively. Turkey Point-3 entered commercial operation in December 1972, with Unit 4 starting up the following September.In December 2019, the NRC approved FPL’s subsequent license renewal application for the units, making them the first U.S. reactors licensed for 80 years of operation. Turkey Point-3 and -4 are licensed to operate until July 2052 and April 2053, respectively (NN, Jan. 2020, p. 15).Tags:fplharrisreactor tripspecial inspectionsubsequent license renewalturkey pointShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
ASLB established for North Anna SLR applicationThe North Anna nuclear power plant. Photo: Dominion EnergyThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission has announced the establishment of an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to address a hearing request filed last month concerning Dominion Energy’s subsequent license renewal (SLR) application for the two reactors at its North Anna plant. The application, submitted in August of last year, was docketed by the NRC in October.The contention: Filed by three anti-nuclear groups—Beyond Nuclear, the Sierra Club, and the Alliance for a Progressive Virginia—the 71-page hearing request argues that Dominion’s environmental report, submitted in support of its application, “fails to satisfy” the National Environmental Policy Act, as well as 10 CFR 51.53(c)(2) and 51.45(a), “because [the report] does not address the environmental impacts of operating North Anna Units 1 and 2 during the extended SLR term under the significant risk of an earthquake that exceeds the design basis for the reactors.”Go to Article
Second license renewal sought for Wisconsin plantPoint Beach nuclear plant. Photo: NRCNextEra Energy submitted a license renewal (SLR) application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeking to add 20 years to the licenses of the two units at the Point Beach plant. The plant is located on the shore of Lake Michigan, in Two Rivers, Wis.The application, submitted November 16, is the first SLR application for a Midwestern nuclear plant, according to NRC spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng.Point Beach’s initial license renewal was issued in 2005.For more on the story, see this Wisconsin State Journal report.Go to Article
SLR application for North Anna units docketedThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review an application from Dominion Energy to renew for 20 years the previously renewed operating licenses for North Anna-1 and -2, according to a notice published in yesterday’s Federal Register. Dominion submitted the application on August 24.A version of the 1,899-page subsequent license renewal application without proprietary details is available to the public on the NRC’s website.Go to Article
Second license renewal application filed for North AnnaNorth Anna nuclear power plant. Photo: Dominion EnergyDominion Energy has filed an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to renew the North Anna nuclear power plant’s reactor operating licenses for additional 20-year terms, the Richmond, Va.–based utility announced on September 4. The NRC received the application on August 24.North Anna, located in Mineral, Va., is home to twin 973-MWe three-loop Westinghouse pressurized water reactors. The filing makes the plant the second nuclear facility in the state to seek subsequent license renewal, after Dominion's filing in 2018 of a similar application to renew the licenses of its two Surry units—twin 874-MWe reactors. The NRC is currently reviewing that application.(Following its April 2020 meeting, the NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards issued a report recommending approval of the Surry SLR applications [NN, June 2020, p. 15].)According to Dominion, the North Anna and Surry units produce 31 percent of the electricity for the company’s 2.5 million customers and 95 percent of the carbon-free electricity in Virginia.Go to Article
Safety board endorses Surry second license renewalThe ACRS supports subsequent license renewal for the Dominion units. Photo: Dominion EnergyThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) has issued a report recommending approval of Dominion Energy’s 20-year subsequent license renewal (SLR) application for Surry-1 and -2. The board reached its conclusion during its April meeting, after reviewing both the SLR application and the associated final safety evaluation report. Dominion submitted the application in October 2018.Go to Article