nuclear-news

Hot summer causing costly cutbacks of nuclear power

Last week, TVA violated its permit with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management when the river temperature topped 90 degrees……..

Hot river forces costly cutback for TVA | Chattanooga Times Free Press, By: Dave Flessner 23 Aug 2010, The Tennessee Valley Authority has lost nearly $50 million in power generation from its biggest nuclear plant because the Tennessee River in Alabama is too hot. Unless the summer cools down, TVA could lose millions of dollars more, pushing up fuel costs and consumer electric bills even after seven consecutive monthly increases.

The Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant near Athens, Ala., has operated at only about half power for most of the past month and could remain at reduced power through September, TVA officials said. The three-reactor plant — TVA’s biggest nuclear facility — has been the hardest hit of any of the nation’s 104 nuclear plants by thermal concerns over river water, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute and TVA.

“All the radiant heat gets in the river when you have a summer as hot as this has been,” TVA President Tom Kilgore said.

Today is expected to be the 40th day since July 8 that TVA has reduced power production at Browns Ferry because of hot water in the river. Last week, TVA violated its permit with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management when the river temperature topped 90 degrees……..
Hot river forces costly cutback for TVA | Chattanooga Times Free Press

August 31, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change, USA | antinuclear, climate change, global warming, nuclear, nuclear costs, reactors