The unusually warm July in the US may force revised planning for future
nuke plant locations. I had no idea that ocean water could get up to 75
degrees in the Connecticut area.
*Natalia*
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/new-england/2012/08/13/warm-seawater-forces-conn-nuclear-plant-shutdown/1236248
Monday, August 13, 2012 at 1:13 pm
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) --- Connecticut's nuclear power plant shut down one
of two units on Sunday because seawater used to cool down the plant is
too warm.
<http://www.sunjournal.com/files/imagecache/story_large/2012/08/13/Millstone_Overheated__081312.jpg>
Steve Miller
FILE - This March 18, 2003 aerial file photo shows the Millstone nuclear
power facility in Waterford, Conn. Federal energy regulators said
Monday, Aug. 13, 2012 that the nuclear power plant shut down one of two
units Sunday because water from Long Island Sound used to operate the
plant is too hot following the hottest July on record. (AP Photo/Steve
Miller, File)
Unit 2 of Millstone Power Station has occasionally shut for maintenance
or other issues, but in its 37-year history it has never gone down due
to excessively warm water, spokesman Ken Holt said on Monday.
Water from Long Island Sound is used to cool key components of the plant
and is discharged back into the sound. The water may not be warmer than
75 degrees and following the hottest July on record has been averaging
1.7 degrees above the limit, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.
The federal agency issued an "emergency license amendment" last week,
allowing Millstone, a subsidiary of Dominion Resources Inc., to use an
average temperature of several readings.
"It wasn't enough to prevent us from shutting down," Holt said.
Richmond, Va.-based Dominion does not have an estimate of when the unit
will restart, Holt said.
Millstone provides half of all power used in Connecticut and 12 percent
in New England. Its two units produce 2,100 megawatts of electricity,
which is reduced by 40 percent with Unit 2 down, Holt said.
Marcia Blomberg, a spokeswoman for regional grid operator ISO-New
England, said the loss of electricity will not be a major problem. The
Holyoke, Mass.-based agency generally operates with a margin of reserve
and plans for the possibility of lost resources, she said.
"Generators are big machines," she said. "It happens frequently that
resources are unable to start up or have to power down."
In addition to the extreme heat last month, the mild winter didn't help
because it kept Long Island Sound water unusually mild, Holt said.
Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said
Millstone can do little to correct the problem. Cooling millions of
gallons of water before circulating it in the plant is not an option, he
said.
"Just hope for a cooling," he said.
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