Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant

Vermont Yankee is a General Electric boiling water reactor (BWR) type nuclear power plant currently owned by Entergy. It is located in the town of Vernon, Vermont and generates 620 megawatts (MWe) of electricity. The plant began commercial operations in 1972. It provided Vermont with nearly three-fourths (73%) of its electrical generating capacity prior to the 2006 uprate and meets 35% of the overall energy requirements of the state.

Ownership and operational license

On July 31, 2002, Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC (EVY) purchased Vermont Yankee from Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation (VYNPC) 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 at a cost of approximately 4.5 cents per kilowatt hour.

Vermont Yankee employs approximately 600 people including the employees that work out of the corporate location on Old Ferry Road in Brattleboro, VT.

As a result of an NRC approved Extended Power Uprate (EPU), Vermont Yankee achieved its new rated power of 1,912 MWth (120% of its original licensed thermal power of 1,593 MWth) on May 6, 2006. The power increase was delayed at several plateaus to take data on the reactor's steam dryer in accordance with the NRC imposed power ascension test plan.

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.

Dry cask storage

Due to delays opening the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository by the federal government for long term storage of spent nuclear fuel, Vermont Yankee's spent fuel pool contents are nearing capacity. Entergy Nuclear has gained approval for enough dry cask storage to allow continued operation beyond the existing reactor operating license expiration date in 2012. Loading spent fuel into transportable dry fuel storage casks is also a step toward sending it to a central federal repository. Most of the spent fuel will continue to be stored underwater in the spent fuel pool.

Vermont Yankee began its first dry cask storage campaign in May, 2008. The first 97 short tons (88 t) fully loaded cask was inadvertently lowered to the refueling floor from a height of about 4 inches (100 mm), after successfully being raised from the spent fuel pool. The failure is attributed to a breaking relay in the 110 short tons (100 t) rated overhead crane. The crane was last tested for any weight greater than 70% of the total fully loaded cask in 1975. In August, 2008, Vermont Yankee successfully completed the first dry storage campaign with the transfer of the fifth cask from the reactor building to the storage pad, each loaded with 68 spent fuel assemblies. The casks are moved from the reactor building to a storage pad located above the 500 year floodplain of the Connecticut River using a large specially designed cask moving machine.

Closure/extension planning

Entergy Vermont Yankee applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license extension of 20 years on 27 January 2006. If approved the plant will be licensed to operate until March 21, 2032.

Cooling tower collapse

On August 22, 2007, the fourth cell of Vermont Yankee's three story west cooling tower collapsed. A large amount of cooling water flowed out of the tower's damaged pipe line following the collapse until operators were able to isolate the tower. The spilled water was collected in the same concrete basin below the towers that is used when the towers are functioning properly. Operators immediately reduced reactor power to 30% capacity following the event.

The spilled cooling water was part of the non-radioactive circulating water system which draws from the Connecticut River. The collapse was an industrial safety event and did not threaten the integrity of the reactor or release any radiation into the environment. The plant's primary source of condenser cooling water is the river itself. The cooling towers are used to further cool the condenser cooling water at times when the river is not cold enough to absorb the plant's rejected heat and meet the environmental discharge permit. The NRC has stated that the remaining cooling tower is enough to allow the plant to return to full capacity at any time, however up until September 16, 2007 the reactor operated at 50% power.

The cause of the collapse was found to be corrosion / rotting of lumber due to carbon steel bolts. Also dry rot was found in some beams. A beam failed and caused the cell to sag which caused the main pipe to begin leaking water. This water collected and the extreme extra weight from this large amount of extra water caused other beams to fail. Entergy admitted that although the inspection process was superior to the recommendations made by the cooling tower design/construction company it was inadequate. The remote robotic cameras being used to perform inspections were not able to reach the areas where the rot was the most prevalent. Because of this failure both towers had complete inspections performed based on the information learned from the failure. Entergy has asserted that future inspections will be much more stringent in order to guarantee no further problems in the future.

Controversy

See also: List of anti-nuclear protests in the United States § Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant

Anti-nuclear groups have raised concerns about the plant's ability to operate safely while it produces 120% of its original licensed thermal power. In 2007, the partial collapse of the cooling tower and the images associated with it reignited these fears. The partial collapse and a reactor scram have been traced to shortcomings in the maintenance of equipment. Vermont's governor questioned the reliability of the power station:

These events have shaken the confidence of Vermonters and our neighbors in New Hampshire and Massachusetts about the safety and reliability of the plant. They have brought into question whether Vermont Yankee should operate beyond its present operating license expiration date of 2012

— Governor Jim Douglas

In March 2008 the Governor stated that, before the State of Vermont is in a position to consider a license extension for Vermont Yankee, a comprehensive reliability and safety assessment of the power station should be conducted.

Also in March 2008, a state Senate committee advised that it wanted the Legislature to appoint a panel that would oversee an independent review of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Entergy Nuclear, which owns the plant, said the review was unnecessary. The panel gave Vermont Yankee a generally positive review. "What this report suggests to me is there is not a cause or reason to seek the closure of the plant because of operational or safety concerns," said Public Service Commissioner, David O'Brien. However, lawmakers will not renew Yankee's license until a new power contract is in place.

Anti-nuclear groups have said that the proposal doesn't go far enough. There have been many protests in relation to continued operation of the plant.

Official inspection

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission performed a tri-annual inspection July–August 2008. It found three "minor faults." An Associated Press report said that it had won "high marks."

Decommissioning

The company has compiled a trust fund of $347 million for eventual decommissioning. The plant's owner plans to dismantle it in 2067, regardless of the decision on the 20-year relicensing. The expected cost to decommission the site is calculated to be $875 million in 2007 dollars.

Ecology

For 2007, the use of this plant was estimated to prevent the release of 2,800,000 short tons (2,500,000 t) of CO2, 6,700,000 short tons (6,100,000 t) of sulfur dioxide, and 1,300,000 short tons (1,200,000 t) of nitrous oxides.

Tritium leak

On January 7, 2010, groundwater wells at the Vermont Yankee site were reported contaminated with tritium, in a probable leak. However, levels of the isotope were below the maximum amount deemed acceptable for drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency. According to experts, the discovery of tritium at the plant indicated that an underground pipe or tank was leaking somewhere at the plant. By mid-January, however, levels of tritium had continued to rise to 200 picocuries per liter below federal standards. Vermont's congressional delegation said in a joint statement that they wanted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to undertake an investigation into Entergy's lack of disclosure about the potential for radioactive leaks. By late-January, the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told Vermont’s congressional delegation that the agency will devote more resources to addressing concerns about Vermont Yankee, and expects to find the source of a tritium leak there within the next several weeks, according to the lawmakers.

On January 27, 2010, the New York Times reported that levels of radioactive tritium had risen rapidly in recent weeks in the groundwater surrounding Vermont Yankee, due to reactor water leaking into the soil. This has "stirred deep concern about the plant’s safety and the credibility of its operators" and "both longtime supporters and foes of the reactor ... question whether it will be allowed to keep operating".

See also

• Nuclear power in the United States

External links

• Entergy Corporation's Vermont Yankee web page
• Department of Energy Page
• Joint Fiscal Committee