(What a week this has been for Vermont Yankee! – promoted by Christian Avard)

Entergy last year filed for permission to begin construction on two new reactors, one each in Louisiana and Mississippi. Today Entergy announced  it’s giving up on these plans. No new nukes for Entergy, at least for now.

*** And Entergy stocks go from “hold” to “sell.” Check it out. http://greenmountaindaily.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3848 – Christian

“… we have not been able to come to mutually agreeable terms and conditions with GEH for the potential deployment of an ESBWR,” Hinnenkamp said.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/…

Entergy Nuclear says they’d still like to build some kind of new nuke (after all, you can’t run the old ones forever). But these two reactor sites are in states with Public Utility Commissions, who regulate the prices Entergy can charge. Entergy’s in trouble with the MS AG already for Enron-like illegal price manipulation. AG Hood released documents showing

Entergy’s parent company sold Entergy Mississippi electricity at $26 per 1,000 kilowatt hours that it bought on the open market for $12 per 1,000 kilowatt hours.

Entergy denies the charges.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap…

Can’t get funding from the banks, can’t get it from electric rates–only thing left is Obama’s stimulus plan.

http://www.usnews.com/articles…

It looks like GE Hitachi’s Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) design is in trouble, too. And so the unit cost on these early ones is skyrocketing while electricity usage and prices drop.

Entergy stock downgraded to ‘Sell’ from ‘Hold’.

Associated Press, 01.09.09, 09:46 AM EST

Deutsche Bank on Friday downgraded power provider Entergy Corp. to “Sell” from “Hold,” …

…analyst John Kiani added that other mounting concerns for the company include challenges in executing and financing its previously announced spin off of 3 nuclear plants and weakened earnings for the company’s regulated utilities in Arkansas and Texas.

Shares of Entergy slid $3, or 3.6 percent, to $79.94 in morning trading. The stock has ranged from $61.93 to $126.31 over the past year.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap…

The article says Entergy wants to spin off 3 reactors, but the plan was for 6, including Vermont Yankee.

Have corporate plans changed?

New York and Vermont have not agreed to the spin-off.

(See, I told ya it wouldn’t take long… – promoted by kestrel9000)

Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee hit the international news for a second day, with a newly announced leak in the feedwater system.

The feedwater system is inside the turbine hall. What’s leaking is radioactive water …. it would be ventilated out the stack into the air.

Entergy to reduce Vermont Yankee reactor to 40 pct

Story below the fold.

http://www.afxnews.com

NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Entergy Corp said it would reduce the 620-megawatt Vermont Yankee nuclear power station from full power to about 40 percent Thursday afternoon to fix a water leak in the feed water system.

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by John Picinich)

(

#$@!#@@

What  f****** next? – promoted by Christian Avard)

Another leak, this time in the reactor building. They’re going to try to plug it while they keep the reactor running full tilt.

Entergy to keep Vermont Yankee reactor at full power

http://www.reuters.com/article…

Look for more radiation overexposure of people on the job, and they will probably have to throttle back on power before they’re done.

Not so safe-clean-reliable.

(Too important to go under the radar. Thanks again Ed! – promoted by odum)

ENVY maths another engineering marvel.

In 2007, ENVY reported 75 cracks in their steam dryer. In the last three weeks, they say they found 16 more, for a total of…63!

That’s right, 75 cracks + 16 cracks = 63 cracks!

This must be higher level calculus or quantum physics.

Only in Vernon?

Thanks to Susan Smallheer in the Rutland for this lesson in ENVY math. http://www.rutlandherald.com/a…

Steam dryer cracks are a common failing in reactors that boosted power above original design limits like ENVY did.

(Ed has the latest on Vermont Yankee, Dave O’Brien and the DPS. Check it out.   – promoted by Christian Avard)

Continuing saga of David O’Brien, Gov. Douglas’ main man in the Dept of Public Service. That department is supposed to be the protector of Vermont ratepayers, but for years has instead been the protector of Entergy Nuclear.

The latest: after foot-dragging on everything Entergy (e.g., the many studies mandated by Act 160 on energy needs and resources, jobs, evacuation plans, environment, etc; the Comprehensive Vertical Assessment; fence line radiation dose) O’Brien continues to call out nuclear expert, whistleblower, and appointee of Peter Shumlin to the independent inspection oversight team, Arnie Gundersen.

From the Brattleboro Reformer,

DPS and the governor’s office have never really liked Arnie simply because he is an expert in his field and has the courage to step forward and tell people what he knows and what he thinks might happen as a result of things he is seeing,” said Bob Stannard, spokesman for Citizen Awareness Network, which is lobbying for the closure of Yankee in 2012. “The department has never been terribly supportive of Arnie and his comments. That’s too bad, because it appears he’s the only guy who’s been consistently right.”

Gundersen predicted cooling tower failures, increased dose rates at the plant’s fence line, gaps in the plant’s preventative maintenance and inspection program that led to a transformer fire and cracks in the steam dryer, said Stannard.

http://www.reformer.com/localn…

O’Brien claims they “have committed significant staff resources” to the inspection. That’s wrong. First, any costs are supposed to be billed to Entergy Nuclear, but Gov. Douglas has been consistent in running all state nuclear oversight on the cheap. Second, staffing has been so minimal that the inspection ordered by the legislature has been shortchanged.

The heart of O’Brien’s accusations against Arnie Gundersen this time are that Bob Audette from the Reformer received emails from Gundersen recounting the roadblocks thrown up by the DPS. Wrong. Small potatoes, maybe, but still, Wrong. Turns out the emails were released by DPS’s own lawyer, Sarah Hoffman, to the Free Press and Seven Days, in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.

Shumlin fired back at O’Brien today.

What I find most disturbing is that these attacks undermine the long tradition of civility and respect that Vermonters have rightly come to expect from their state officials.

McCain-Palin style campaigning comes to Vermont. With last month’s WCAX poll showing 52% of Vermonters supporting shutdown for the Entergy reactor, we can expect the losing side to start up with “anti-American” slanders soon.

micro-market radio ad from Ralph Stanley

(hat tip talkingpointsmemo election central)

http://tpmelectioncentral.talk…

More leaks in ENVY’s cooling towers, more broken beams.

More truthiness from Entergy Nuclear and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as reported by Dave Gram, Associated Press:

Sheehan and Williams said it wasn’t unusual to have the pipe joints – which are packed with oakum – leak. Sheehan said oakum is loose hemp or similar fiber, treated with a tar-like substance, which is used to caulk seams in wooden ships and pack pipe joints.

(Sounds like that 4th of July party last year when the pot brownies snuck up on a reactor operator…)

While some leaking is considered OK, 60 gallons a minute was deemed serious enough to warrant the power reduction and repair, they said.

Oh man, who kicked over the bong?

Late Wednesday, Vermont Yankee said the investigation of the leak discovered that three vertical support columns for the cooling tower had degraded and needed to be replaced while the packing in the pipe joint was being replaced.

These would be the beams they checked last summer after the gigantic collapse, and this summer after July’s minor mishap, right?

This is called “deferred maintenance” in the nuclear industry.

(Here’s a recap of last night’s PSB hearing. Thanks for putting this together Ed! – promoted by Christian Avard)

Susan Smallheer wrote it best. From the Rutland Herald:

http://rutlandherald.com/apps/…

Opponents of nuclear power pointed to the turmoil on Wall Street on Monday as proof the state needed more guarantees from Entergy Nuclear that money would be there in the future to dismantle and clean up the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.

More than 250 people turned out Monday night to urge the Vermont Public Service Board to either deny the owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant a 20-year extension on its state permit, or to keep the plant running to save jobs and relatively low electric rates.

More below the fold.

Entergy Nuclear needs approval from both the Public Service Board and the Vermont Legislature, as well as federal regulators, if it wants to continue operating beyond 2012, when its original 40-year license expires.

During the first 90 minutes of the PSB hearing, sentiment was running 2-1 against nuclear power, saying that the state had a great opportunity to turn Vermont into a Mecca of alternative energy: wind, solar and hydro.

Opponents of nuclear power argued that Vermont Yankee only provides 2 percent of all the power needs in New England, and that New England would be better off without the safety threat the 36-year-old reactor poses, they said.

And they noted that only 170 of Entergy Nuclear’s 600 employees actually live in Vermont, with the balance in New Hampshire or Massachusetts. The reactor is located about 5 miles from Massachusetts, and just across the Connecticut River from New Hampshire.

Supporters of Vermont Yankee, who were mostly Entergy Nuclear employees, asserted that the plant was well-run and like its advertisements say: “clean, safe and reliable.”

(Ed with his usual insights! Thanks Ed! – promoted by Christian Avard)

does it take to screw (Vermonters) in a lightbulb?

At least 13:

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/…

EN-Vermont Yankee (1) is currently a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Entergy Nuclear Vermont Investment Company, LLC (2) which, in turn, is a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Entergy Nuclear Holding Company #3 (3), LLC. Entergy Nuclear Holding Company #3, LLC is a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Entergy Nuclear Holding Company (4) which, in turn, is a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Entergy Corporation (5). Therefore, under the current corporate structure, Entergy Corporation is the indirect owner of 100 percent of EN-Vermont Yankee.

Under the proposed corporate restructuring, a new holding company, Enexus Energy Corporation (Enexus) (6), will be created. Initially, the shareholders of Entergy Corporation will separately own the shares of Enexus and, as such, Enexus will be owned by the public. Entergy Nuclear Holding Company will become a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Enexus. Accordingly, following the corporate restructuring, Enexus will acquire indirect control of 100 percent of EN-Vermont Yankee.

ENO (7), the operator of the Vermont Yankee facility, is currently a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Entergy Nuclear Holding Company #2 (8) which, in turn, is a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Therefore, Entergy Corporation is currently the indirect owner of 100 percent of ENO.

Under the proposed corporate restructuring, Entergy Nuclear Holding Company #2 will be eliminated and ENO will become a direct subsidiary of a new parent company called EquaGen, LLC (9). EquaGen, LLC will be owned in equal shares by two new intermediate holding companies as follows. Entergy EquaGen, Inc. (10) is being created as a direct subsidiary of Entergy Corporation and will own 50 percent of EquaGen, LLC. Similarly, Enexus EquaGen, LLC (11) is being created as a direct subsidiary of Enexus and will also own 50 percent of EquaGen, LLC. Accordingly, following the corporate restructuring, Entergy Corporation and Enexus will each have indirect control of 50 percent of ENO.

Finally, ENO will be converted from a corporation to a limited liability company and its name will be changed from Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. to EquaGen Nuclear, LLC (12). Under Delaware law, EquaGen Nuclear, LLC will assume all of the rights and responsibilities of ENO, and it will be the same company (legal entity) both before and after the conversion and name change. Also, EN- Vermont Yankee will undergo a name change to become Enexus Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC (13). The staff understands that ENO will request an administrative license amendment to conform the Vermont Yankee license in the near future.

crossposted at ibrattleboro.com