Oak Ridge Today

TVA has open houses about Bull Run Fossil Plant this week

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority will have two open houses next week to discuss the future of the Bull Run Fossil Plant, a coal-burning power plant in Claxton that is scheduled to close in about four years.

One open house will be in Oak Ridge, and the other will be in Claxton. Both are open to the public.

The first open house is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, July 16, at the YWCA at 1660 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The second is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, July 15, at Claxton Elementary School at 2218 Clinton Highway.

“This will be an open house format, where the public can interact with TVA staff and experts on the various activities at Bull Run, including the future of coal combustion residuals at the site,” TVA said in an announcement.

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NRC has hearing on Oak Ridge site that could host small nuclear reactors

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Image by the NRC from the April 2019 “Reader’s Guide” for the “Final Environmental Impact Statement for an Early Site Permit at the Clinch River Nuclear Site.”

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a hearing for an application for a site in west Oak Ridge where small modular nuclear reactors could be built.

The hearing has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, August 14, at the NRC in Rockville, Maryland.

The NRC will discuss an early site permit application submitted by the Tennessee Valley Authority for the Clinch River Nuclear Site. TVA has proposed using the 935-acre site, which is along the Clinch River south of Heritage Center (the former K-25 site), to build two or more small modular reactors. The site once hosted the former Clinch River Breeder Reactor Project.

During the August 14 hearing, the NRC will have an evidentiary session to hear testimony and receive exhibits in the uncontested proceeding for TVA’s early site permit application, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on Monday.

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Small reactors can be safely located on Clinch River site, NRC says

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Two or more small modular nuclear reactors could be built on a 935-acre area of the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge, south of Heritage Center near Highway 58. (Image from the “Final Safety Evaluation Report for the Early Site Permit Application for the Clinch River Nuclear Site” published by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in June 2019.)

Two or more small nuclear reactors could be safely located on a site in west Oak Ridge, a federal agency said this month.

The reactors could be built on the Clinch River Nuclear Site. That’s a 935-acre site south of Heritage Center (the former K-25 site) in the Roane County portion of Oak Ridge. The plant would be off Bear Creek Road near Highway 58 on a peninsula surrounded by the Clinch River on the east, south, and west.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed a final safety evaluation report for an early site permit application for the site.

“The report concludes there are no safety aspects that would preclude issuing the permit for the site,” the NRC said in a press release Tuesday. The report, which is about 600 pages, had been expected this month.

The Tennessee Valley Authority applied for the early site permit in May 2016. The NRC’s final safety evaluation report for the site was published Friday, June 14.

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Sen. Alexander has surgery on left leg

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Lamar Alexander
Lamar Alexander

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, had surgery on his left leg at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Wednesday morning, his office said in a statement.

Surgeon Herbert S. Schwartz at the Vanderbilt Department of Orthopaedic Surgery said he successfully removed an atypical lipoma from Alexander’s left leg.

“The surgery went as planned, and I will consult with my team and Senator Alexander to determine whether additional treatment is necessary,” Schwartz said in the statement, which was provided by David Cleary, Alexander’s chief of staff.

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TDEC to attend county’s Bull Run meeting on June 10

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation will attend a June 10 meeting where the planned closure of the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton will be discussed, a county commissioner said.

It will be the June 10 monthly meeting of the Anderson County Commission’s Intergovernmental Committee. The public is encouraged to attend, said Anderson County Commissioner Catherine Denenberg of District 6 in Oak Ridge.

TDEC is the state department that is responsible for monitoring the Tennessee Valley Authority, Denenberg said.

“They will have a Power Point presentation and will be there to answer questions about their involvement with the closing of the Bull Run Fossil plant in Claxton,” Denenberg said.

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Manhattan Project: Ride with a ranger on North Boundary Greenway on Saturday

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You can join a National Park Service park ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway on Saturday, May 25, 2019, to see how the former communities of the area have changed during the past 75 years. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

You can join a National Park Service park ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway on Saturday to see how the former communities of the area have changed during the past 75 years.

It’s a free program presented by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The bike ride will start at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Turnpike Gatehouse and travel down Big Oak Trail and North Boundary Road, a press release said.

“Along the ride, we will explore the former communities that were here before the Manhattan Project,” the press release said. “Rangers will stop several times along the bike ride to point out the rich history that is found within the Oak Ridge area.”

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NRC still reviewing early site permit for Clinch River Nuclear Site

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Clinch-River-Site-Bear-Creek-Road-Entrance-March-27-2016
The small nuclear reactors that could be built along the Clinch River could provide enough electricity to power several cities the size of Oak Ridge. The Bear Creek Road entrance to the Clinch River Site, where the reactors could be built by the Tennessee Valley Authority, is pictured above on Sunday, March 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is still reviewing a permit application for a site in west Oak Ridge where two or more small modular nuclear reactors could be built.

The application for the early site permit for the Clinch River Nuclear Site was submitted by the Tennessee Valley Authority on May 12, 2016. The application was supplemented by a revision on January 18, 2019, the NRC said in a notice published in the Federal Register on Friday.

The 935-acre Clinch River Nuclear Site is located in the Roane County portion of Oak Ridge along the Clinch River.

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Citing ‘rumor factory,’ Perry dismisses DOE exit story

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Rick Perry

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Tuesday dismissed a news story that he plans to leave the U.S. Department of Energy, and he suggested the story was the product of a “rumor factory.”

Perry was asked about the Bloomberg News story during a brief question-and-answer session with reporters at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Tuesday morning, after DOE and Cray announced that Frontier, an exascale supercomputer to be built at the lab, is expected to be the world’s most powerful when it debuts in 2021.

Perry said there have been previous reports that he planned to move to the Veterans Administration, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Defense.

“I guess the rumor factory ran out of places for me to move inside the Cabinet,” Perry said.

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DOE updating security order after intelligence reports about drone threats

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A drone is pictured above. (Photo courtesy Federal Aviation Administration)

The U.S. Department of Energy is updating a classified security order that will reflect recent intelligence assessments about the threats posed by unmanned aerial systems, or drones, as some federal officials express concerns that terrorists could use drones to harm the United States.

That information is included in a report issued by the DOE Inspector General, or IG, in April.

While developing the report, the IG reviewed controls in place at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Idaho National Laboratory. The IG found that the National Nuclear Security Administration, including Y-12, has been proactive in establishing “limited internal controls” that include observing and reporting unmanned aerial systems, as well as using deadly force if hostile intent is determined.

The IG said drones are becoming increasingly popular, and some unmanned aerial systems that are commercially available and relatively affordable have high-definition cameras, auto pilot global positioning system navigation, and the ability to carry and remotely release payloads.

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ORNL, UMaine to work on 3D printing with wood products

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On Thursday, officials announced a new research collaboration between the University of Maine and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory that they say will advance efforts to 3D print with wood products, creating a new market for Maine’s forest products industry. Pictured above among the officials are U.S. senators Susan Collins, center; Lamar Alexander, third from right; and Angus King, third from left; and Daniel Simmons, the assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy at DOE, as well as leaders from UMaine and ORNL. The officials were in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, May 2, 2019, to announce the launch of this large-scale bio-based additive manufacturing program. (Photo courtesy office of Sen. Susan Collins)

A partnership between the University of Maine and Oak Ridge National Laboratory will use ground-up trees and bioplastics to make “very strong plastics” that can be used in 3D printing, officials said Thursday.

The 3D printing, which will print items one layer at a time, could be used to make boat hull molds, shelters, building components, and tooling for composites and wind blades, among other possibilities.

The $20 million project will be funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office.

ORNL is considered the leading laboratory for the type of work known as additive manufacturing, said U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican who was among the officials at the announcement in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

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Former Space Station division director to speak in Oak Ridge on Thursday

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Mark Uhran

Mark Uhran, former director of NASA’s International Space Station Division, will speak in Oak Ridge on Thursday. The title of his presentation is “An Achievable Vision for Space Exploration: Establishing a Gateway Proving Ground for Space Exploration Technology.”

The event is sponsored by Friends of ORNL. It is free to attend, and it will be held at the new American Museum of Science and Energy at 115 East Main Street in Oak Ridge.

It’s the opening of the 22nd Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series. A reception will be held in the auditorium anteroom starting at 5:30 p.m. (snacks will be served), and the lecture starts at 6 p.m. in the museum auditorium, a press release said.

“This talk should be of interest to students and the general public,” the press release said.

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ORNL, University of Maine to announce $20 million 3D printing manufacturing partnership

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ORNL Manufacturing Demonstration Facility Entrance
New additive manufacturing technologies are being explored at DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL. (Photo courtesy ORNL)
Lamar Alexander
Lamar Alexander

Three U.S. senators, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the University of Maine on Thursday will announce a $20 million 3D printing manufacturing partnership that will help the forest products industry, officials said Wednesday.

The announcement is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Thursday in Washington, D.C. You can watch it here.

The three U.S. senators joining ORNL and the University of Maine at the announcement will be Susan Collins, a Maine Republican; Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican; and Angus King, a Maine Independent.

They will announce the launch of a large-scale bio-based additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, program. 3D printing prints items a layer at a time.

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