nuclear-news

UPDATE- Salem and Hope Creek reactors likely to shut -Reactors in Pennsylvania and Maryland could shut

 

PJM is the biggest power grid in the United States serving
more than 60 million people in 13 U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Midwest
states and the District of Columbia

UPDATE 1-Sandy likely to shut at least two NJ nuclear reactors

* PSEG Salem and Hope Creek reactors likely to shut
    * Reactors in Pennsylvania and Maryland could shut


    By Scott DiSavino
    Oct 29 (Reuters) - At least two major New Jersey nuclear
power plants are likely to shut o n M onday as Hurricane Sandy
makes landfall as a Category 1 storm, and more plants could
reduce power as the storm triggers precautionary safety
measures.
    Sandy, centered over the Atlantic Ocean about 310 miles (505
km) southeast of New York City, was expected to hit near
Delaware and south New Jersey in about 12 hours as a Category 1
hurricane with winds of up to 90 miles per hour (144 kph).
    The nuclear reactors in Sandy's current path include units
at Public Service Enterprise Group Inc's 2,332-megawatt
(MW) Salem and 1,161-MW Hope Creek plants in New Jersey, which
were likely to bear the brunt of the storm before it moves
inland. Those plants combined would account for about 19 percent
of the state's total electricity capacity, although New Jersey
also draws supplies from the whole Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Maryland (PJM) power region.
    PJM is the biggest power grid in the United States serving
more than 60 million people in 13 U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Midwest
states and the District of Columbia.
    Electricity traders said if Sandy continues on her expected
path it was likely PSEG would have to shut the Salem and Hope
Creek reactors later Monday, but they were mixed on whether the
storm's winds would still be strong enough to force the shutdown
reactors in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
   PSEG spokesman Joe Delmar said the company would take the
Salem and Hope Creek reactors offline if wind speeds reach
greater than 74 miles per hour (119 kph) onsite for more than 15
minutes or the river water level reaches 100 feet (30 meters).
Sandy's maximum winds were at 85 mph (136 kph) earlier on
Monday.

    The mean river water level was 89 feet (27 metres) and the
site grade was about 102 feet (31 metres). The highest river
level ever recorded was 97.5 feet (29 metres), he said.
    But Sandy was expected to lose some punch as she moves over
Pennsylvania and Maryland, crossing near Constellation Nuclear
Energy Group's 1,705-MW Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in
Maryland, Exelon Corp's 2,244-MW Peach Bottom, 805-MW
Three Mile Island and 2,264-MW Limerick in Pennsylvania, and PPL
Corp's 2,450-MW Susquehanna in Pennsylvania.
    For a factbox on reactors in Sandy's path see
 
    All U.S. reactors have procedures that require operators to
shut the units when hurricane-force winds reach their sites or
when floodwaters reach certain levels.    
    Nuclear power represents about 18 percent of the generating
capacity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region. One megawatt powers
about 1,000 homes.
    A few reactors in the area were already shut for refueling
or other maintenance, including Exelon's Oyster Creek in New
Jersey, PSEG's Salem 2 in New Jersey, and PPL's Susquehanna in
Pennsylvania.
    Both Salem Unit 1 and Hope Creek were at full power Monday
morning and the refueling work on Salem Unit 2 was suspended by
6 p.m. EDT Sunday, Delmar said.

   WIND AND FLOOD WATER
    Delmar said only essential personnel were required to report
to the Salem and Hope Creek site on Monday.
    He said PSEG was in Phase 2 of its severe weather plan.
    Phase 1 included inspecting, removing and securing objects
outside that could become airborne and putting emergency
equipment and supplies in place.
    Phase 2 of the plan includes visual inspections of
equipment, verifying weather tight doors, checking on emergency
diesel availability, and ensuring water intakes are prepared for
severe weather.
    Power companies from North Carolina to Maine have been
preparing for Sandy for days and urged customers to be ready for
the possibility of days without electricity. See Factbox on
power outages. 
    The Long Island Power Authority, which serves 1.1 million
people on Long Island, New York, and others said outages could
last as long as seven to 10 days.
    
    IRENE ALSO SHUT NUCLEAR PLANTS
    The last big storm to hit the U.S. East Coast was Hurricane
Irene in 2011, which made landfall in the Outer Banks in North
Carolina as a Category 1 storm. Irene caused billions in
property damage as it ran up the coast from Carolinas to Maine.
    Irene left more than eight million homes and businesses
without power, some for a week or more in the hardest hit areas.
It forced many power plants to shut, including at least two
reactors, at Oyster Creek in New Jersey and Calvert Cliffs in
Maryland.
    Several other reactors had to reduce power primarily due to
debris in their cooling water intakes and other reasons, like
Duke Energy Corp's Brunswick in North Carolina, Dominion
Resources Inc's Millstone in Connecticut and PSEG's Salem
in New Jersey.
    The biggest utilities in the path of the storm include units
of Duke, Exelon, FirstEnergy Corp, National Grid Plc
, Consolidated Edison Inc, Northeast Utilities
, Dominion, PSEG, PPL, Pepco Holdings Inc and
Iberdrola SA.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/10/29/storm-sandy-utilities-idUKL1E8LT33820121029

October 29, 2012 - Posted by arclight2011 | Uncategorized