Former Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus is suing the Department of Energy to get information behind a proposal to ship nuclear waste to a nuclear research facility on the Snake River. Andrus suspects the federal government intends to turn the facility into a permanent storage site for spent fuel from commercial reactors.
The former four-term governor sued after receiving mostly redacted documents under a Freedom of Information Act request. He says a 1995 legal agreement between Idaho and the department prohibits such shipments and called for the removal of nuclear waste already stored there.
“I suspect they know what they are planning will be very controversial and, for that reason, want to keep it secret,” he said in a statement.
More: Reuters
EPA Finalizes Coal Plant Toxic Metal Effluent Rules
The Environmental Protection Agency released its final version of rules governing the release of toxic metals in the wastewater from steam electric power plants. The rules set limits on the amount of arsenic, mercury, selenium and nitrogen in the wastewater streams from de-sulfuring flue gases, and they set a zero limit on discharges from coal ash transportation.
The rules also encompass wastewater discharges from mercury control systems and coal-gasification wastewater.
The agency said that only 134 of the nation’s 1,080 coal-fired plants will need to make pollution-control investments and put the annual cost of compliance at about $480 million. The rules were last updated in 1982.
More: Power Magazine
NRC Finds Pilgrim Station’s Weather Tower Inoperable
Pilgrim Station, already under increased scrutiny from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has received failure notifications for four new negative findings from an August inspection.
The most recent inspection included a finding that Pilgrim’s primary weather tower was inoperable on eight occasions between 2012 and 2015 and without backup. If a radiological release occurred during those times, the plant would have had to rely on the National Weather Service for data, NRC said. It said the failings raised doubts that owner-operator Entergy could “protect the health and safety of the public in the event of a radiological emergency.”
Pilgrim was already noted as being among the nation’s three worst-performing nuclear generating stations. Entergy has said it may be too costly to correct all the deficiencies and is investigating the possibility of closing it.
More: The Patriot Ledger
Solar Energy Keeps Getting Cheaper, Lab Says
Pushed by technological and market advances, and an impending deadline for a key federal incentive, solar pricing is becoming more competitive, according to a report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
The lab said that utility-scale solar projects have been receiving about 5 cents/kWh in power sales agreements. Wholesale electricity prices in the U.S. ranged from 2 to 6 cents/kWh.
The prices reflect the 30% federal investment tax credit. That credit is scheduled to fall to 10% after 2016. The report — “Utility Scale Solar” — shows that installed project costs have dropped by more than 50% since 2009, and projects are performing at an average capacity factor of 29.4%, up from 26.3% in 2011.
More: Berkeley Lab
US Falling Behind in Offshore Wind Power, Professors Say
The U.S. has fallen behind in the development of offshore wind power, even as land-based wind and solar have taken off, according to an academic study.
A group of professors from the University of Delaware, writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (subscription required), noted that offshore wind turbines were installed back in 1991 in Europe, but no such facilities dot the U.S. coasts.
“As we celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005, it is disheartening to see that while land-based wind and solar have reached new heights, U.S. offshore wind has remained a missed opportunity,” says the paper’s lead author, Jeremy Firestone.
More: UDaily
Federal Judge in Wyoming Blocks New Fracking Rules
A federal judge has blocked the Bureau of Land Management from implementing new rules concerning fracking on federal land. U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl said the agency lacks the authority to institute the new regulations.
The states of Wyoming, North Dakota, Colorado and Utah, as well as the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the Western Alliance, had sued to block the new federal rules, which they argued duplicated state rules, making it more expensive to drill for natural gas and oil in shale regions.
“Congress has not authorized or delegated to the BLM authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing and, under our constitutional structure, it is only through congressional action that the BLM can acquire this authority,” Skavdahl wrote in a 54-page decision.
More: Bloomberg Business
EPA Gives North Dakota Coal Plants Extra Time on Clean Power Plan
The Environmental Protection Agency has pushed the deadline for North Dakota to come up with a plan to meet its Clean Power Plan goals from fall 2016 to fall 2018. Under the new plan, the state is required to reduce carbon emissions 45% by 2030.
State environmental chief Dave Glatt said the 2016 deadline would have been nearly impossible to meet. “We spent 10 years developing a regional haze (pollution reduction) plan, and this is a lot more complicated,” he said.
EPA, in response to prodding from U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), has promised to help determine the best ways to bring clean coal technology and renewables into the generation mix as part of the effort to meet the mandate.
More: Bismarck Tribune
TVA’s Sequoyah Reactors Get NRC License Extensions
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week granted 20-year license extensions to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s two Sequoyah reactors in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.
“Extending Sequoyah operations will play an integral role in reducing our carbon emissions while reliably supplying electricity at the lowest possible cost,” said Joe Grimes, TVA’s chief nuclear officer.
NRC has granted license extensions to 78 U.S. nuclear reactors so far, each for 20 years. Applications for another 16 renewals are pending.
More: Associated Press; Chattanooga Times Free Press
NRC Announces Personnel Changes
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced several senior personnel changes as part of its plan to streamline operations.
Mike Weber, the current deputy executive director for Material, Waste, Research, State, Tribal and Compliance Programs, was named director of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. Jennifer Uhle is moving from her position as deputy director for engineering in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to become director of the Office of New Reactors. Catherine Haney, director of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards, will become Region II regional administrator in January.
The changes, said NRC Chairman Stephen Burns, “will put in place a management structure well suited to ensuring we accomplish our mission of protecting people and the environment even as we reduce our size and budget.”
More: World Nuclear News
Energy and Power Chief Announces Retirement
U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power, announced last week he will not seek re-election to a 12th term in 2016.
Whitfield, 72, a leader of the Republican opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emission rules, will stay through the end of his term in December 2016. Whitfield’s long-time aide, Michael Pape, and state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, who finished second in the Republican primary for governor in May, have announced they will seek the seat.
Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas), the subcommittee’s vice chairman, is the leading candidate to replace Whitfield as chairman of the panel. Whitfield’s departure also increases the odds that Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) will succeed Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Upton must relinquish the chairmanship at the end of this term due to GOP term limits.