Entergy's Indian Point 2 shut down after electricity loss to control rods

As reported by ZeroHedge, Entergy Nuclear has announced that a power loss to control rods led to the shutdown of its Unit 2 atomic reactor at the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant on the Hudson River in Westchester County, NY, near New York City. Entergy stated "The cause of the loss of power to the control rods is being investigated."

In a statement, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said "The company reports that there was no radioactivity released to the environment. I have directed the Department of Public Service to investigate and monitor the situation and a team is currently en route to Indian Point to begin its work."

Last May, after a transformer fire at Indian Point led to a large oil spill into the river, Gov. Cuomo travelled to the scene, and held a press conference at the nuclear plant within hours of the accident. His administration is taking many actions in opposition to a 20-year license extension at Indian Point, including: challenging Entergy's application before a Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel for the past eight years (the record for the longest contested such proceeding); challenging irradiated nuclear fuel generation at Indian Point, as a lead plaintiff in the New York v. NRC II legal appeal against NRC's "Continued Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel" policies (formerly called "Nuclear Waste Confidence," a lawsuit to which Beyond Nuclear is also a party); and requiring Indian Point to install cooling towers, at a cost of hundreds of millions or billions of dollars, in order to protect the Hudson River ecosystem from massive thermal pollution, and other harm upon the aquatic life.

Ironically enough, just as the May transformer fire took place just days after an anti-nuclear event held a few miles from Indian Point at the Stony Point Center, last night's incident occurred on the eve of the "Building our Energy Future Activist Training," sponsored by Hudson Sloop Clearwater and Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition, at Stony Point Center.

Decreasing economies of scale put pressure on remaining Entergy Nuclear merchant reactors

As reported by Syracuse.com, Entergy Nuclear's top executive in charge of its fleet of merchant nuclear power plants, William Mohl, has admitted that its remaining atomic reactors are under increasing pressure, due to loss of economies of scale:

"We don't have any immediate plans (to change direction) on Indian Point, but you start to have to think about what will you do down the road if you have a single asset in the Northeast,'' he said. "You just have less economies of scale. We're looking at that and what we need to do in that regard.''

Although his context was Entergy's two unit Indian Point nuclear power plant near New York City, in light of Entergy's recent rapid-fire decisions to close FitzPatrick in upstate NY (as early as a year from now, but hopefully sooner), and Pilgrim in MA (in mid-2019, but hopefully sooner), the same logic applies at Entergy's age-degraded, problem-plagued Palisades atomic reactor in MI as well. More.

Beyond Nuclear blasts billion dollar Davis-Besse bailout as "Faustian fission" due to cracked containment risks

"Burning money" graphic by Gene Case of Avenging Angels.Beyond Nuclear has published a media release in response to FirstEnergy and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Staff announcing a settlement agreement for an eight-year, nearly $4 billion ratepayer bailout to prop up the utility's uncompetitive Davis-Besse atomic reactor, as well as a number of coal burning power plants. (See the Word version of Beyond Nuclear's media release, for live links.)

Beyond Nuclear's Radioactive Waste Watchdog also submitted a letter to the editor to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, opposing the bailout, and calling for Davis-Bess'e permanent shutdown. More.