Another one bites the dust: Duke to cancel proposed new atomic reactors at Levy County, FL

MAURICE RIVENBARK | Times The crippled nuclear power plant in Crystal River [photo, above] will not be replaced with a new nuclear facility in Levy County, state Rep. Mike Fasano said Thursday.---Tampa Bay TimesAs reported by the Tampa Bay Times, Florida State Representative Mike Fasano (R-New Port Richey) has stated: "It's my understanding from a very good source that Duke Energy will announce after the close of the markets today that they will not be building the nuclear power plants in Levy County."

The article reports: 'Duke spokesman Sterling Ivey told the Tampa Bay Times the utility is issuing a press release about an announcement at 4:15 this afternoon.'

The proposed new nuclear power plant was supposed to have cost $4-6 billion, and to have been completed by 2016, when first proposed by Progress Energy in 2006. Recently, the price tag had risen to nearly $25 billion, and the estimated completion date had been delayed to 2024.

Florida's controversial "Construction Work in Progress" (CWIP) law, also known as the "advance fee law," has allowed Progress, and then Duke (which took over Progress) to charge ratepayers on their electricity bills for the construction of Levy County nuclear power plant. After intially supporting nuclear CWIP, Fasano has become an outspoken national opponent of the scheme. Even the Florida Tea Party has joined the chorus, including AARP and municipalities, in opposing risky CWIP subsidies to the nuclear industry at the expense of ratepayers.

In addition to Levy County, Progress/Duke has been able to charge ratepayers for senseless repairs and supposed upgrades at its doomed old atomic reactor, Crystal River. The nuclear utility managed to fatally crack Crystal River's containment in 2009, during a botched steam generator replacement, and earlier this year announced its permanent shutdown.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that Florida ratepayers could be on the hook for $3 billion in wasted expenditures at Levy County and Crystal River, collected via CWIP.

The article concludes:

'"Shame on Duke Energy, Progress Energy for taking the public on this ride knowing that they were never going to build the nuclear plants,'' Fasano said. "Shame on them."

Fasano called for the state Public Service Commission and the Legislature to conduct a full investigation into Duke's failed nuclear projects.'

Update on August 1, 2013 by admin

Duke Nuclear suffered another blow this week, E&E reported today in an article entitled "Budget cuts, workload delay decision on S.C. reactors." The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced that federal budget cuts, its post-Fukushima workload, and Duke's decision to move the location of the two proposed new William Lee atomic reactors had led to the postponement of a licensing decision by three years, to April 2016.

Warren Buffett finally sees the light: MidAmerican Energy cancels proposed new "small modular reactor" targeted at Iowa

Des Moines Register graphicAs reported by the Des Moines Register, Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Energy has finally pulled the plug on a proposed new "small modular reactor" it was hoping that the ratepayers of Iowa would pay for, through "Construction Work in Progress" (CWIP) surcharges on their electricity bills. A powerful coalition, including AARP, Green State Solutions, Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, and others can claim credit for this environmental victory against nuclear industry greed, after a protracted three year long battle at the Iowa state legislature.

"Worst Week Since Fukushima: 4 Setbacks in 3 Days are Latest Stumbles for Nuclear Power Industry"

Former NRC Commissioner Peter Bradford, and energy economist Mark Cooper, both of the Vermont Law School, as well as Dan Hirsch of the Committee to Bridge the Gap, held a telephone press conference yesterday on the subject of "WORST WEEK SINCE FUKUSHIMA: 4 MAJOR SETBACKS IN 3 DAYS ARE LATEST STUMBLES FOR U.S. NUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRY." An audio recording of the news conference has been posted online.

The four setbacks in three days include: 1) the cancellation of two proposed new reactors at South Texas Project, because they violate U.S. law against foreign ownership of nuclear power plants; 2) Southern California Edison's threat that if NRC does not allow it to restart operations at its crippled San Onofre nuclear power plant, it will permanently shutdown both reactors there; 3) Duke Energy's cancellation of two proposed new atomic reactors at its Shearon Harris nuclear power plant in North Carolina; and 4) Florida's amendment to its previously highly permissive "advance cost recovery" or "Construction Work in Progress" law, via which ratepayers have been gouged to pay for proposed new reactors, when there is no guarantee the proposed new reactors will ever actually get built or generate electricity.

Peter Bradford also added the May 7th shutdown of Dominion's Kewaunee atomic reactor in WI -- despite the 20 years of operating license still left to it -- as another example of the "worst week since Fukushima" for the U.S. nuclear power industry.

Nuclear Relapse? Canceled! Nuclear power? Game over!

Peter BradfordThe only way to build new atomic reactors in the U.S., reports Peter Bradford in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, is to gouge ratepayers.

As reported by ScienceDaily in an article entitled "U.S. May Face Inevitable Nuclear Power Exit,"  the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (BAS) has concluded its three part "Nuclear Exit" series with a look at the United States. The previous two installments examined the nuclear power phase-out in Germany, and the nuclear power status quo in France.

The BAS U.S. coverage features former U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Commissioner, Union of Concerned Scientists board member, and Vermont Law School professor Peter Bradford's "How to close the U.S. nuclear industry: Do nothing," which concludes that, without massive taxpayer or ratepayer infusions, almost all proposed new reactors will not happen, and currently operating reactors will permanently shutdown by mid-century, unless the NRC rubber-stamps 80 years of operations (as opposed to the current, already risky 60).

In a section entitled "Picturing a U.S. phase-out," Bradford writes:

"The countries that have recently decided to phase out nuclear energy have done so by governmental fiat, complete with statutory deadlines both for individual reactors and for nuclear power in general. But no such sweeping action is really necessary in countries that have chosen to procure power generation through market mechanisms. The US experience demonstrates that absence of governmental intervention will create a glide path, determined in part by how long a country is prepared to allow its oldest reactors to operate, but in fact by the interplay between gas-driven electricity prices and the point in time at which older plants must make significant capital investments." (emphasis added)

Bradford points out that "By this standard, units at Crystal River and San Onofre--currently closed by major equipment failures--appear to be serious shutdown candidates, though they may survive, because they are located in Florida and California, respectively, states in which regulators can override market verdicts and impose their repair costs on customers."

In fact, Duke/Progress has thrown in the towel on Crystal River, announcing that it is now permanently shutdown. And Friends of the Earth, along with a groundswell of grassroots anti-nuclear activism in southern California, is doing all it can to keep San Onofre Units 2 and 3 shutdown for good, as well.

A spokesman for Dominion Nuclear admitted that the "purely economic reasons" which led to the utility's decison to close its Kewaunee atomic reactor on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Wisconsin -- the first atomic reactor shutdown announcement in 15 years in the U.S. -- was the inability to make needed, major safety repairs andturn a profit, given the competitive electricity market.

And Entergy Nuclear's brand new CEO, Leo Denault, admitted to Reuters that numerous of his "dirty dozen" atomic reactors -- especially the merchant plants (those in deregulated, competitive electricity markets) -- face tough economic challenges, due to costly upkeep (a.k.a., essential safety-significant repairs and component replacements).

Reuters reported: "[Denault] said some plants are in the more challenging economic situations for a variety of reasons, including 'the market for both energy and capacity, their size, their contracting positions and the investment required to maintain the safety and integrity of the plants.'" (emphasis added)

At its Palisades atomic reactor on the Lake Michigan shore in southwest Michigan, Entergy has chosen to foregonumerous major, needed repairs (such as replacing the badly corroded reactor lid; replacing the deteriorated steam generators, for the second time in the plant's history; dealing with the worst embrittled reactor pressure vessel in the U.S.; making needed fire protection upgrades, etc.) for six long years now, apparently in order to "balance the books" -- that is, to prioritize profits (and executive salaries, and shareholder returns) over public safety.

By approving $850 million for 20-year extension at Cook Nuclear, MI Public Service Commission serves the public up for dinner

NRC file photo of AEP's twin reactor Cook nuclear power plant on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Bridgman, Michigan

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) has blessed a new form of Construction Work in Progress (CWIP), to the benefit of the nuclear utility, American Electric Power (AEP), at the expense of Michigan ratepayers. The MPSC has approved $850 million, for repairing and refurbishing the nearly four decade old Cook nuclear power plant (see photo, left), which has received a rubber-stamp from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a 20-year license extension. Cook Units 1 & 2 represent but two of 73 such reactor license extension rubber-stamps handed out by NRC since the year 2000.

Beyond Nuclear media statement by Kevin Kamps, "By approving $850 million for 20-year extension at Cook Nuclear, MI Public Service Commission serves the public up for dinner."

Additional Background on AEP's Cook nuclear power plant.

"A Bathtub Curve for Nuclear Accidents" (so-named because of the graph's shape, showing that as atomic reactors, as at Cook, age, the risk of catastrophic accidents increases, due to break-downs), compliments of David Lochbaum, Director, Nuclear Safety Project, Union of Concerned Scientists. The meltdown at Three Mile Island (1979) and the explosion and fire at Chernobyl (1986) are referred to as "break-in phase," the disasters occurring due to bugs in the systems being worked out the hard way, operator inexperience, etc. Indian Point, NY's steam generator tube rupture (Feb. 2000) and Davis-Besse, OH's reactor lid corrosion hole near-miss (Feb.-March 2002) are "break-down phase" accidents, due to age-related equipment failure.