Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant
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Vermont Yankee is a boiling water reactor (BWR) type nuclear power plant currently owned by Entergy Nuclear. It is located in the town of Vernon, Vermont and generates 640 megawatts (MWe) of electricity. The plant began commercial operations in 1972. It provides Vermont with nearly three fourths (73%) of its electrical generating capacity [1] prior to the 2006 uprate and meets 35% of the overall energy requirements of the state. [2] The nuclear plant uses the adjacent Connecticut River for cooling water.
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[edit] Ownership and Operational License
On July 31, 2002, Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee (ENVY) purchased Vermont Yankee from Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation for $180 million. Entergy received the reactor complex, nuclear fuel, inventories, and related real estate. The liability to decommission the plant, as well as related decommissioning trust funds of approximately $310 million, was also transferred to Entergy. The acquisition included a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) under which three of the former owners will buy a portion of the electricity produced by the reactor, which is longer than term remaining for the current operating license for the plant, which expires on March 21, 2012. [3]
In 1978, the Vermont Yankee reactor was the subject of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., an important United States Supreme Court administrative law case which ruled that courts cannot impose procedures upon the NRC as this exceeds their power of judicial review.
As a result of an NRC approved uprate, on May 6, 2006, the Vermont Yankee reactor began operating at 650MW, or 120% of its original design capacity of 540MW. The gradual power increase to the higher power level was delayed at several points to permit additional analysis of excessive vibration of the reactor's steam dryer.
[edit] Dry fuel storage
Following the failure of the federal government to provide permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel on the promised schedule, Vermont Yankee's spent fuel pool contents are nearing capacity. Entergy Nuclear has gained approval for enough dry cask spent fuel storage to allow continued operation beyond the existing reactor operating license expiry date in 2012. Loading spent fuel into transportable dry fuel storage casks is also a step toward sending it to a central federal repository when available. Most of the spent fuel will continue to be stored underwater in the spent fuel pool.
[edit] Closure/Extension Planning
In March 2004, 73% of voters in Brattleboro, Vermont, the closest large town, about five miles from the reactor, voted "to begin now to prepare for the closing of Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee when its operating license expires in 2012, by developing strategies for re-employment of displaced workers and replacement sources for electricity”. [4] The resolution was sponsored by the citizen action group Nuclear Free Vermont by 2012.
Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license extension of 20 years on 27 January 2006. A decision on this extension is likely in late 2007. [5]
In May 2006, the Vermont State Legislature passed Act 160. [6] Pursuant to this Act (S.124), Vermont Yankee may not operate after its current termination date in 2012, unless the general assembly determines that operation of the plant will promote the general welfare and grants its approval. To set the groundwork for that determination, the bill requires the public service department, with the review of the joint energy committee, to arrange for studies to be conducted to support the general assembly in the fact‑finding and public engagement process established in the bill. These studies shall have general objectives of facilitating public discussion of long‑term economic and environmental issues relating to the operation of any nuclear facility in the state, including the potential need for the facility and its long‑term economic and environmental benefits, risks, and costs. The studies also are to address long‑term accountability and financial responsibility issues, such as: funding plans for guardianship of nuclear waste before removal of nuclear waste from the site; closure obligations; federal obligations; funding for emergency management requirements and evacuation plans before and after plant closure; and dry cask storage and decommissioning options.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Vermont Nuclear Industry (html). Energy Information Administration (2006-09-28). Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
- ^ US Nuclear Plants; Vermont Yankee (html). Energy Information Administration (2005-03-18). Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
- ^ Vermont Yankee finally sold to Entergy (html). Vermont Business Magazine (2002-09-01). Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
- ^ The year in local news (pdf). Brattleboro Reformer (2005-01-01). Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
- ^ Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station - License Renewal Application (html). Nuclear Regulatory Commission (2007-02-27). Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
- ^ An Act Relating to a Certificate of Public Good for Extending the Operating License of a Nuclear Power Plant (html). The Vermont General Assembly (2006-05-18). Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
[edit] External links
- Entergy Corporation's Vermont Yankee web page
- Entergy Press release regarding the purchase of the plant.
- DoE Page
- Citizens Awareness Network to shut down Vermont Yankee
- Nuclear Free Vermont by 2012
