Bellefonte

[Roll Tide]

Looks like the previous report was accurate on the day and location, but the time is actually 7:00-9:00 PM (Central). See as many there as possible.


Home > Electronic Reading Room > Document Collections > News Releases > 2007 > 07-108

 
 NRC NEWS
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200
Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov
www.nrc.gov
 

 
No. 07-108 August 28, 2007 


NRC MEETING SEPTEMBER 11 IN RAINSVILLE, ALA., TO DISCUSS
REVIEW PROCESS FOR EXPECTED NEW REACTOR APPLICATION

 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will conduct a public meeting in Rainsville, Ala., on Tuesday, Sept. 11, to discuss how the agency will review an expected Combined License (COL) application for new reactors at the Bellefonte site near Scottsboro. The prospective applicant, Tennessee Valley Authority, has told the NRC it intends to apply later this year for a license to build and operate two AP1000 reactors at Bellefonte.

“The NRC’s reviews of this application and the others we’re expecting before the end of this year could certainly affect nearby communities,” said William Borchardt, Director of the NRC’s Office of New Reactors. “This meeting will be one of several where the NRC will work with residents to help them understand and participate in this process, because we value the information they can provide.”

The meeting will be held in the Tom Bevill Lyceum at the Northeast Alabama Community College, 138 Alabama Highway 35 in Rainsville, from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. NRC staff presentations will describe the overall Combined License review process, which includes safety and environmental assessments, as well as how the public can participate in the process. The NRC will host an open house for an hour prior to the meeting so members of the public have the opportunity to talk informally with agency staff.

A COL, if issued, is authorization from the NRC to construct and, with conditions, operate a nuclear power plant at a specific site and in accordance with laws and regulations. More information on the NRC’s new reactor licensing process is available on the agency’s Web site here: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactor-licensing.html.

The AP1000 is one of four NRC-certified reactor designs that can be referenced in a COL. It is a 1,000 MWe advanced pressurized water reactor that incorporates passive safety systems and simplified system designs. The AP1000 is similar to another certified design, the AP600, but uses a taller reactor vessel to accommodate longer fuel, and also includes larger steam generators and a larger pressurizer.
 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2007/07-108.html

[Roll Tide]

The meeting went well. You could see the locals cringing every time some out of town anti-nuke wanted to explain why they should reconsider efficient electricity and excellent jobs for the future.



http://www.thedailysentinel.com/story.lasso?ewcd=a91e64209be28b05&page=all

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1189588692148130.xml&coll=1

I find it interesting that the local media didn't even notice there were any anti-nukes. It was just a couple of people spouting old numbers.


CASE (Coalition for Clean and Safe Energy) sent some representatives with handouts. These "good environmentalists" believe nuclear is the answer to global warming.

http://www.cleansafeenergy.org/

Also represented (but no handouts) was NA-YGN (North American Young Generation of Nuclear)
http://www.na-ygn.org/index/index.html


One final observation: if you don't know what to wear, fashion experts recommend knakis for men. When you look around, and everyone else is wearing either a suit or overalls, it is hard to say you feel like you fit in...
 

[Roll Tide]

Chattanooga Times Free Press noted the very positive sentiments at the meeting as well:

http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/local.aspx?articleid=21452&zoneid=77


I wonder who they interviewed?
 

[Atomic Frog]

I wonder who they interviewed?
 

Thats funny and very cool.
 

[Roll Tide]

The board of Tennessee Valley Authority moved a step closer to seeking approval to license two new nuclear reactors in Alabama, the agency said on Thursday.

The board of the largest U.S. public power supplier approved submitting an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeking a license to build and operate two advanced nuclear units at TVA's Bellefonte site in Hollywood, Ala.

http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN2733770920070927


WOOT!!
 

[ddklbl]

There was a decent article in this months Nuclear News about it.  Some of the things they mentioned were a little dated, wrt Browns Ferry, but good press all the same.

[Roll Tide]

TVA, NuStart Submit Application to Nuclear Regulatory Commission

At a brief ceremony this morning, TVA and NuStart Energy representatives presented an application for a new nuclear-power plant to Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials at their headquarters in Rockville, Md., outside of Washington, D.C.

http://insidenet.tva.gov/org/cao/communications/tvatoday/2007/october07/30/update.htm

[Len61]

Step 1, but I'll get really excited when we start moving dirt!

[Roll Tide]

Step 1, but I'll get really excited when we start moving dirt!

Per the new NRC definition, moving dirt is NOT a construction activity. Dirt could be legally moved today! (It won't be, but it could be.)

I'll get really excited when we start pouring concrete!


http://www.nukeworker.com/pictures/displayimage-95-0.html

EDIT: Added a link to the artist's concept of the eventual site

[Len61]

Ya know what I meant.

[nuketarded]

What's this I hear about Units 1 & 2 back on the radar screen?

[Roll Tide]

What's this I hear about Units 1 & 2 back on the radar screen?

Demolition suspended is my current understanding.

[Roll Tide]

OK, 1&2 are back!

Alabama’s biggest unfinished construction project may be revived nearly a half century after it was begun.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, which already is pursuing licenses for two new reactors at its Bellefonte Nuclear Plant site in Hollywood, Ala., soon will begin a study of whether it also should finish the original two reactors it previously canceled at the same site.

TVA President Tom Kilgore said Wednesday the agency will spend $10 million to study whether to try to finish the original two Babcock & Wilcox-designed reactors at Bellefonte.

“Given the rising price of coal and other fuels — and looking at the rising costs of steel and concrete — we are taking another look at these units,” he said.

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/aug/21/tennessee-valley-authority-study-reviving-bellefon/


Now the questions are:
1. Will the NRC re-issue the CP?
2. Will TVA build 3&4 (AP1000) and then 1&2 (B&W 177) or reverse order?
3. Can you really invest $20 Billion in a county of 55,000 people? 

[Limited Quanity]

OK, 1&2 are back!


Now the questions are:
1. Will the NRC re-issue the CP?
2. Will TVA build 3&4 (AP1000) and then 1&2 (B&W 177) or reverse order?
3. Can you really invest $20 Billion in a county of 55,000 people? 

When CNO Bill Campbell was at Sequoyah for his plant visit he told us that Bellefonte was back on the radar screen. 
1) He mentioned requesting the construction permit to be reissued and had no concern about getting it. 
2) He said that the two original units would be completed first since the cost ratio per kilowatt would be about half as much as the AP1000's.  I forget the exact numbers he quoted but it was substantial.
3) Didn't talk about it.  But how many times have we seen a "feasibility" study done on Bellefonte, BFN 1, or Watts Bar 2 and here we go again throwing millions out there to some lucky Engineering firm just to validate/reconfirm what I would think we know already, IMO.  Besides with an address like "Hollywood", Alabama,,,55 Billion probably won't go far 

[ISFSI]

Is this the same Bill Campbell who was formerly with Entergy a few years back?   

[Nuclear NASCAR]

Is this the same Bill Campbell who was formerly with Entergy a few years back?   

And at Callaway years ago?

[Broadzilla]

Yes it's the same guy, and from my dealings with him he's a pretty sharp and open minded individual.

Mike

[Laundry Man]

Another dose saving initiative at Fermi was replacing the condenser tubes.
LM

[Broadzilla]

The titanium tubes at Fermi were not a dose saving initiative. They were installed to get rid of Admiralty Brass tubes to prevent fuel failure due to CILC. The dose savings were just a by product of changing out the tubes.

Mike

[ISFSI]

Also helped to reduce peak fuel centerline temperatures for the same thermal power output...that's where the real payoff was realized.   

[Broadzilla]

AKA reduced CILC.

[Roll Tide]

NEVER say NEVER AGAIN!

NRC AUTHORIZES REINSTATEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
FOR BELLEFONTE NUCLEAR REACTORS 1 AND 2

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has authorized the reinstatement of the construction permits for Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) unfinished Unit 1 and 2 reactors at the Bellefonte site near Scottsboro, Ala.

In 2006, having decided not to complete construction of the reactors, TVA requested that NRC withdraw the construction permits for the two Bellefonte units. However, in August 2008 TVA, citing changing power-generating economics, stated that completing the Bellefonte reactors may now be viable and requested that the NRC reinstate the permits. If the Bellefonte construction permits had remained in place, they would not have expired until 2011 and 2014, respectively.

TVA also requested that the permits be reinstated with the reactors classified in the “deferred” status – a category indicating a plant’s structures, equipment and records have been well maintained in a mothballed condition. The Commission denied that portion of the request. “The Commission Policy Statement on Deferred Plants is clear and demanding with respect to the condition of the facilities and the quality of plant records. The Bellefonte reactors simply do not meet that threshold right now,” said NRC Chairman Dale Klein.

 The Commission chose instead to reinstate the permits with the reactors classified in the “terminated” status – a designation which recognizes that the structures, equipment and records have not been continuously maintained. This will require TVA to re-establish physical conditions and records quality of units 1 and 2 before the units could transition to a “deferred” status. This two-step approach provides assurance to the public that the NRC will thoroughly scrutinize the plant and that any issues identified will be addressed before TVA can move forward.

  The reinstatement of a withdrawn construction permit is unique. The Commission, after considering the technical, regulatory, and legal aspects of TVA’s request, concluded that there is sufficient reason to reinstate the construction permits and that a more conservative sequential
approach will ensure the safety of doing so. “We will start them out one step at a time so we can ensure the safety of these unfinished plants,” Klein said. “They will not be placed in a ‘deferred’ status until we are completely satisfied.” 

The agency granted construction permits for Bellefonte’s two pressurized water reactors in 1974. By 1988, when TVA deferred completion of the plant, Unit 1 was approximately 88 percent complete, and Unit 2 was approximately 58 percent complete. There is no nuclear fuel on the site. The Bellefonte site is located on approximately 1,600 acres adjacent to the Tennessee River in northern Alabama.

NRC New Release No. 09-035   
February 19, 2009

[Ordinary Joe]

go, no-go decision on 1&2 in just a few months...

[JohnLBecker]

 :)ASLB TO WEBSTREAM MARCH 1 PREHEARING CONFERENCE
IN ROCKVILLE, MD., ON BELLEFONTE CONSTRUCTION PERMITS

   The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) will hold a prehearing conference March 1 in Rockville, Md., regarding a challenge to the NRC’s reinstatement of construction permits for the incomplete Bellefonte reactors in Alabama.

   Anyone wishing to view the conference over the Internet may do so at this link:
http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=66071.

   The board will conduct oral arguments with the petitioners challenging the reinstatement (the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and its Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team chapter, as well as the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy), the applicant (Tennessee Valley Authority), and the NRC staff. The arguments will include how the Atomic Energy Act’s “good cause” standard applies in this case, along with the admissibility of the petitioners’ proposed contentions.


Things are looking up