Another Problem At Dead Ender Palo Verde?

Is facility operations becoming more erratic?  

  

Power Reactor	Event Number: 53424
Facility: PALO VERDE Region: 4 State: AZ Unit: [ ] [2] [ ] RX Type: [1] CE,[2] CE,[3] CE NRC Notified By: DAVID HECKMAN HQ OPS Officer: HOWIE CROUCH	Notification Date: 05/23/2018 Notification Time: 17:37 [ET] Event Date: 05/23/2018 Event Time: 11:28 [MST] Last Update Date: 05/23/2018
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) - RPS ACTUATION - CRITICAL	Person (Organization): JASON KOZAL (R4DO)

Unit	SCRAM Code	RX CRIT	Initial PWR	Initial RX Mode	Current PWR	Current RX Mode
2	A/R	Y	100	Power Operation	0	Hot Standby

Event Text

AUTOMATIC REACTOR TRIP ON LOW DEPARTURE FROM NUCLEATE BOILING RATIO "The following event description is based on information currently available. If through subsequent reviews of this event additional information is identified that is pertinent to this event or alters the information being provided at this time a follow-up notification will be made via the ENS or under the reporting requirements of 10CFR50.73. "On May 23, 2018, at approximately 1128 Mountain Standard Time (MST), the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (PVNGS) Unit 2 control room received reactor protection system alarms for low departure from nucleate boiling ratio and an automatic reactor trip occurred. Prior to the reactor trip, Unit 2 was operating normally at 100 percent power. Plant operators entered the reactor trip procedures and diagnosed an uncomplicated reactor trip. All CEAs [control element assemblies] fully inserted into the core. No emergency classification was required per the PVNGS Emergency Plan. "The Unit 2 safety-related electrical buses remained energized from normal offsite power during the event. There was no impact to the required circuits between the offsite transmission network and the onsite Class 1E Electrical Power Distribution System; the offsite power grid is stable. "No major equipment was inoperable prior to the event that contributed to the event or complicated operator response. Unit 2 is currently stable in Mode 3 with the reactor coolant system at normal operating temperature and pressure. The cause of the reactor trip is under investigation. "The event did not result in any challenges to fission product barriers and there were no adverse safety consequences as a result of this event. The event did not adversely affect the safe operation of the plant or the health and safety of the public. "The NRC Resident Inspector has been informed of the Unit 2 reactor trip." Decay is being removed via steam dumps to condenser. Units 1 and 3 at Palo Verde were unaffected by the transient and continue to operate at 100 percent power.

Welfare for Hope Creek/Salem: Well, It Is Market Collusion Between The Nukes and Solar folks

So both the nukes and greenies went to the NJ politicians for welfare. That is how they got the votes. This nuke bailout wouldn't have happened if they didn't garner the greenies votes also. The nukes are on the way to throw their greeny buddies a bone. How high do you want your electricity to go with everyone colluding their ass off. This is just going to spread to the other market players. Why compete ,when we can make more profits by everyone colluding. 

Why aren't the coal and natural gas boys and girls involved in this grand collusion...

SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Legislation that would authorize $300 million annually to rescue New Jersey's nuclear energy industry — a request for financial help made by the state's largest utility company — was signed into law Wednesday.

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy alongside lawmakers at a solar array in central New Jersey also signed a measure aimed at strengthening the state's renewable energy goals. The nuclear measure will be funded by ratepayers; the cost of the renewable energy legislation is unclear...

Hinsdale's Bridge Angel...I got my halo on???

Hinsdale-Brattleboro bridge in imminent state of collapse


Why does that railing keep failing....

Bridge pictures 

New post on the way. Called everyone!!!

Troubled ANO 1: Stuck At 15% For Two Days And Their Recent Scram

May 29
67% Today. Kinda  slow startup.

May 25

37%

May 24

stuck at 37%

update May 23

There you go, 37% power.

***Just saying, a lot of components failing in recent days. It is all supposed to be fixed during the outage before the startup.

FBI Agents Flock to Summer, Vogtle Next

At the end of it all, where was the NRC in heading off this tragedy. Effectively, the southern separatist states turned off the NRC. In many ways, the NRC is more lenient in the powerful republican separatist state. That is why they choose this area to build these plants.      

The FBI and the courts won't be to figure out what is going on. Neither the prosecutors or the judges have enough training to independently understand what is going on. They will be wholly dependent on the nuclear industry experts. Think about it, these nuclear experts will never work in the industry again because of blackballing. Half ass experts is what they will get. The whole lot of them has been under extremely anti government training all their careers. The so call experts won't be the cream of the crop.     

'FBI agents flock to VC Summer site as part of probe into SC's failed nuclear project' 

Avery G. Wilks, The State Published 12:36 p.m. ET May 16, 2018 | Updated 3:18 p.m. ET May 16, 2018

COLUMBIA — Up to 19 FBI agents and U.S. Department of Justice officials were in Jenkinsville last week, looking at two unfinished V.C. Summer nuclear reactors as part of an ongoing federal investigation into the failed project.

It is unclear exactly what the FBI agents — 16 to 19 of them, according to a state agency — were doing at the Fairfield County site, which SCE&G and Santee Cooper abandoned last July after nearly a decade of work that cost $9 billion.

But their presence shows the federal probe into the failed project is ongoing.

"Typically, the FBI goes to a construction site to validate ... things they have found in documents or testimony," a source familiar with legal actions surrounding SCANA, SCE&G's parent company, told The State on Tuesday. "They probably had an expert with them."

The U.S. attorney's office in South Carolina did not respond to a request for comment.

Cash Starved Southern Sells Asset, Vogtle Next

Cash-Starved Southern Sells Florida Assets to NextEra

NextEra Energy on May 21 said it would acquire several assets from Southern Co., including Southern’s ownership interest in two natural gas-fired power plants in Florida, in a deal valued at about $6.5 billion.

Southern in a statement Monday said the sale would help the company reduce debt, which has dogged Southern as its subsidiary Georgia Power continues construction of Units 3 and 4 at the Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia. The expansion at Vogtle is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.

Southern CEO Tom Fanning earlier this month told company investors that the utility needed to raise cash to reduce debt, pay for the new Vogtle reactors, and boost the company’s returns. Southern’s share price on average is down more than 10% in 2018. The company laid out the details of the sale and presented a plan for its use of the equity proceeds over the next five years in a conference call Monday morning. Southern in a statement Monday said, “Proceeds from these transactions are intended to be used to reduce debt and improve Southern Company’s balance sheet.”...

Hinsdale NH: Where the Hell Is My Thanks

Just google "Mike Mulligan, Hinsdale NH-Brattleboro route 119 bridge". The Hinsdale bridge committee worked on this for decades and got nothing done. I came on the scene in and about 2012 with my "build new bridge" poster antics taped to the Hinsdale side of the

Hinsdale owes me my court fine of fine of $1500 dollars. 

bridge and within just a few years it galvanized my community into complaining to the politicians, that we are in dire need of getting it replaced. I even engineered my own arrest over loose boards on the bridge as a tool to boost public interest in the terrible conditions of the bridge. I don't give a shit about my reputation. That is the difference between me and you. I soon got the bridge walkway boards replaced in a $28,000 job and my fine for pulling up the boards was about $1500. I spent $1500 dollars and turned my wife's hair grey, in order to get a $50 million dollar bridge for my community.  

If all the players were really truthful, they would all admit my antics got them thinking of the terrible conditions of the bridge and imagining/anticipating if the bridge collapsed or the NHDOT declared it unsafe...our community would be devastated by it. I certainly thought the poor condition of bridge was severely limiting the economical growth for decades before I taped my first "build new bridge" poster to the bridge in 2013.           

"Bringing big business to the border in Hinsdale" 

By Sierra Hubbard Sentinel Staff
May 12, 20

HINSDALE — A national farming and outdoor retailer chose a border town of 4,000 residents for its second pin on the Granite State map, joining other major chain stores to settle in Hinsdale in recent years.

Runnings sells a wide variety of goods, from larger items like lawnmowers to home decor, pet products, power tools and outdoor apparel.

The store opened for business at 18 Georges Field Road in Hinsdale on April 19, but it’s celebrating a grand opening May 16 to 20. The event will stretch over several days and include product demonstrations, a petting zoo and more than $25,000 in prizes, according to Dennis A. Jensen, the company’s director of marketing and advertising.

This marks the second Runnings store in the state; one opened in Claremont three years ago. Jensen said the Hinsdale location is part of the Minnesota-based company’s expansion into the Northeast, which began in 2014 with store openings in New York, along with later additions in Claremont and Putnam, Conn. The retailer has more than 40 stores in six states.

As of the end of April, Jensen said the Hinsdale stored had hired 58 employees, half of whom are part time. He noted that many were hired locally and said more positions will be added as needed.

But the benefits of Runnings opening in town extend beyond the workforce, according to Hinsdale Selectman Mike Darcy.

“It is filling in a previously vacant storefront, which is nice because the building’s not just sitting there rotting ... ,” Darcy said. “It’s going to get the care and maintenance that it deserves.”

The building housed a Walmart until it moved out in 2011 to open a larger supercenter 3 miles away.

Jensen said the location was ideal, but not solely because of the physical space. He said the company looks specifically for customers with lifestyles that fit the profile of a Runnings shopper, which encompasses a love for pets, the outdoors, hobbies and working with one’s hands.

“We will not open a store if we don’t feel like there’s a demand for what we’re trying to sell,” Jensen said. “When we looked in the area, there really was that need we felt that we could meet with the store.”

But Runnings isn’t the only big-box company to take root in Hinsdale. In 2013, Tractor Supply Co. built a store on Brattleboro Road, also called Route 119. Based in Brentwood, Tenn., Tractor Supply operates 21 stores in New Hampshire, according to its website.

Walmart, which came to Georges Field Road in 1993, opened its supercenter in April 2011, also on Brattleboro Road.

Darcy said the town of about 4,000 people is prime real estate for national chains and larger companies.

“We’re right at the meeting of Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts,” he said.

It’s an attractive location because the Granite State has no sales tax, he said, unlike its neighbors.

State Sen. Jay V. Kahn, D-Keene, represents District 10, which includes Hinsdale. Because of the tax incentive and proximity, he said residents have a close relationship with cross-border towns.

“What you find in Hinsdale is that the state border is very fluid,” Kahn said. “People in Hinsdale work in Brattleboro, Vermont, and vice versa.”

Businesses in Hinsdale, he said, have the advantage of access to pools of residents from several area towns, including those in nearby states. Kahn said this advantage applies to both workforce and customer base.

And officials with the town are planning more improvements to an area that’s already appealing to outside companies.

“If you look just a few years out, the Hinsdale bridge will be replaced, which will facilitate even more traffic,” Kahn said.

Two bridges connect the town to Brattleboro over the Connecticut River, both Pennsylvania truss-style spans built in 1920 and rehabilitated in 1988. Officials with the N.H. Department of Transportation classify the narrow bridges as functionally obsolete, which means the outdated structures don’t meet current design standards and have height and weight restrictions.

Hinsdale has worked for decades to replace the bridges, and state highway officials held public hearings in January outlining plans to build a new span across the border. Construction is expected to begin spring 2020 and continue into 2023, according to state officials.

“If there’s going to be any large retail or any large commercial expansion in Hinsdale, the new bridge will play a big role in that,” Darcy said, adding that it will offer travelers better access to Interstate 91.

Phil Suter, president and CEO of the Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce, said efforts to replace the bridges are part of attempts by town officials to make Hinsdale more attractive to businesses.

Suter said the communities along the border have struggled since the sale of Vermont Yankee, a prominent nuclear power plant in Vernon, Vt., that employed as many as 650 people in its prime.

Built in 1972, the plant’s owner announced in 2013 that the facility planned to shut down its reactor by the end of 2014. The sale and transfer of the plant’s spent nuclear fuel to dry-cask storage is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

When the facility’s owner made the announcement, Vernon and the surrounding communities suddenly faced what many towns across the country have encountered as nuclear power plants cease their operations: Residents and families with high incomes packed up and left.

“That cost the area a number of jobs,” Suter said, noting that many were higher skilled positions. “... Anything that comes back into that area is good. It’s good for the tax base; it’s good for the real estate market.”

And in a region that emphasizes the importance of supporting local businesses, Suter quelled concerns about big-box retailers moving in and said there’s room for businesses of all sizes. Ultimately, he said the residents will choose the establishments that are fair, have good customer service and take part in the community.

“People will vote with their dollars,” Suter said. “They’ll vote with their feet.”

With the potential to generate jobs, revenue and maybe even new residents in Hinsdale, Suter said it’s a “really big deal” that the company chose the town for its second location in New Hampshire.

“This opening of this store, Runnings, is a really big deal,” Suter said. “They don’t casually open a store like that if they don’t think there’s a market for what they do.”

Troubled Columbia: Unstable SRV Design, Again

Update

Actually, there is little SRV LERs here. I find this suspicious. Why do we have tons of SRV LERs at plants I identified on my blog(Hatch, Pilgrim Hope...), while almost none at Columbia???

What is wrong with this picture? Columbia doesn't have a single SRV LER. Are they not reporting failures?

05000397

A transformer breakdown and a SRV problem is not a good thing at the same time? I haven't seen many LERs with SRV issues at Columbia?

Training troubles

On December 28, 2017, the licensee informed the inspector of the following operating test results:

• 5 of 6 crews passed the simulator portion of the operating test

• 50 of 57 licensed operators passed the simulator portion of the operating test

• 56 of 57 licensed operators passed the job performance measure portion of the operating test 

Actually, this plant is owned by the US government.

Power Reactor	Event Number: 53410
Facility: COLUMBIA GENERATING STATION Region: 4 State: WA Unit: [2] [ ] [ ] RX Type: [2] GE-5 NRC Notified By: SEAN KEEHN HQ OPS Officer: STEVEN VITTO	Notification Date: 05/18/2018 Notification Time: 13:27 [ET] Event Date: 05/18/2018 Event Time: 06:51 [PDT] Last Update Date: 05/18/2018
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) - RPS ACTUATION - CRITICAL	Person (Organization): HEATHER GEPFORD (R4DO) JEFFERY GRANT (IRD) MICHAEL F. KING (NRR)

Unit	SCRAM Code	RX CRIT	Initial PWR	Initial RX Mode	Current PWR	Current RX Mode
2	A/R	Y	100	Power Operation	0	Hot Shutdown

Event Text

AUTOMATIC REACTOR SCRAM CAUSED BY MAIN TRANSFORMER TRIP "At 0651 [PDT] on May 18th, 2018, Columbia Generating station experienced a Main Transformer trip, that caused a Reactor Scram. Reactor Power, Pressure and Level were maintained as expected for this condition. MS-RV-1A (Safety Relief Valve) and MS-RV-1B (Safety Relief Valve) opened on reactor high pressure during the initial transient. MS-RV-1B appeared to remain open after pressure lowered below the reset point. The operating crew removed power supply fuses for MS-RV-1B and it currently indicates intermediate position. SRV (Safety Relief Valve) tail pipe temperatures indicate all valves are closed. Suppression pool level and temperature have remained steady within normal operating levels. "All control rods inserted and reactor power is being maintained subcritical. "RPV (Reactor Pressure Vessel) water level is being maintained with condensate and feed system with startup flow control valves in automatic. Reactor Pressure is being maintained with the Turbine Bypass valves controlling in automatic. The main condenser is the heat sink. "No ECCS (Emergency Core Cooling Systems) systems actuated or injected; the EOC-RPT (End of Cycle-Recirculation Pump Trip) and RPS (Reactor Protection System) systems actuated causing a trip of the RRC pumps and a reactor scram. "Core recirculation is being maintained with RRC-P-1A (Reactor Recirculation Pump) running. "No release has occurred. "At this time there will be no notifications to state, local or other public agencies. "The NRC Senior Resident has been notified. "The cause of the event is currently under investigation. Plant conditions are stable." The plant is in its normal electrical alignment and offsite power is available to the site.

Junk Plant ANO 1 Still Indicating A Very Troubled Plant

They got only one of two backup cooling systems working after the scram. They were just coming out of a outage.

ower Reactor	Event Number: 53404
Facility: ARKANSAS NUCLEAR Region: 4     State: AR Unit: [1] [] [] RX Type: [1] B&W-L-LP,[2] CE NRC Notified By: KEVIN PARKS HQ OPS Officer: DONALD NORWOOD	Notification Date: 05/16/2018 Notification Time: 22:19 [ET] Event Date: 05/16/2018 Event Time: 17:50 [CDT] Last Update Date: 05/16/2018
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) - RPS ACTUATION - CRITICAL 50.72(b)(3)(iv)(A) - VALID SPECIF SYS ACTUATION	Person (Organization): HEATHER GEPFORD (R4DO)

Unit

SCRAM Code

RX Crit

Initial PWR

Initial RX Mode

Current PWR

Current RX Mode

1

A/R

Y

10

Power Operation

0

Hot Standby

Event Text

AUTOMATIC REACTOR TRIP DUE TO LOSS OF MAIN FEEDWATER PUMP "At 1750 CDT, the Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 1 (ANO-1) reactor tripped due to the trip of the 'B' Main Feedwater Pump. Unit 1 was at 10 percent power with escalation of power in progress with one Main Feedwater Pump in service. Investigation is in progress as to the cause of the Main Feedwater Pump trip. The Main Feedwater Pump trip resulted in RPS [reactor protection system] actuation on loss of both Main Feedwater Pumps and resulted in Emergency Feedwater (EFW) actuation. All Control Rods inserted into the core properly and the reactor was verified shutdown. "EFW experienced a half-trip on the 'A' train of Emergency Feedwater Initiation and Control (EFIC) at time of system actuation, but was successfully actuated manually immediately upon discovery. Train 'B' EFIC actuated in Automatic as designed. The half-trip of the 'A' train of EFIC is currently believed to be associated with EFIC Channel 'C'; however, investigation is underway to verify this. "Currently, ANO-1 has been stabilized and is being maintained in Mode 3 with Auxiliary Feedwater in service. Heat removal is via Turbine Bypass valves to the Condenser. "No radiological releases have occurred due to this event." There was no effect on Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2. The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector and the State of Arkansas.