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New apartments possible on South Illinois

Posted at 4:28 pm January 7, 2023
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, will consider a rezoning request that could allow about 400 apartments on about 32 acres along South Illinois Avenue headed toward Knoxville. (Map by City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider a rezoning request that could allow about 400 apartments on roughly 32 acres along South Illinois Avenue.

The property is bordered by South Illinois Avenue, Mitchell Road, and Centrifuge Way (at the top of the hill headed out of Oak Ridge to Knoxville on South Illinois).

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Filed Under: Business, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Premium Content, Slider Tagged With: apartments, C. Paul Harrison, Jennifer Williams, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission, rezoning, rezoning request, South Illinois Avenue

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Power to TRISO at Horizon could cost $13 million

Posted at 4:08 pm January 2, 2023
By John Huotari 2 Comments

This map shows the potential route of 69-kilovolt overhead power lines for the TRISO-X nuclear fuel facility at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge, starting at the substation (SUB) on the south side of Highway 95/58 (lower right), continuing up Novus Drive (center right), crossing onto Horizon Center land, and then running east (to the right) on the back side of Site 6 (open area at upper right).

Building a new substation and electrical lines to supply power to a nuclear fuel company could cost $13 million, Oak Ridge officials said in December.

The nuclear fuel company, TRISO-X, needs about 32 to 35 megawatts of electricity at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. That would make the company the city’s biggest electrical customer. (Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex get most of their power directly from Tennessee Valley Authority.)

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Filed Under: Business, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Premium Content, Roane County, Roane County, Slider Tagged With: Ardo Ba, Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement, Charlie Hensley, City of Oak Ridge, David Wilson, Derrick Hammond, DOE, electric substation, electrical lines, electrical project, electrical supply, Ellen Smith, HALEU, high-assay low-enriched uranium, Horizon Center, IDB, Jack Suggs, Jim Dodson, Novus Drive, nuclear fuel, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Electric Department, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, Patterson and Dewar Engineers, power poles, power supply, Richard Chinn, substation, Tennessee Valley Authority, TRISO-X, TVA, U.S. Department of Energy, X-energy

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TVA reviewing mandatory power outages

Posted at 11:01 am December 30, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Tennessee Valley Authority offices are pictured above in June 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday said it takes “full responsibility” for the impact of the first-ever mandatory power outages during the cold weather on Friday and Saturday last week, and it is reviewing what happened.

“We at TVA take full responsibility for the impact we had on our customers,” the electrical provider said in a press release posted on its website. “We never want to impact anyone’s energy at any time. This is not the way we want to serve our communities and customers.

“We are conducting a thorough review of what occurred and why. We are committed to sharing these lessons learned and—more importantly—the corrective actions we take in the weeks ahead to ensure we are prepared to manage significant events in the future.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Government, Slider, Weather Tagged With: cold weather, power outage, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA

TVA: Power supply set record Friday

Posted at 9:26 am December 24, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above at the Clinch River in Claxton on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority said it delivered a record amount of power on Friday and set a winter record for peak power demand.

TVA supplied 740 gigawatt-hours, or 740 million kilowatt-hours, during a 24-hour period on Friday, December 23. That’s more energy supplied than at any other time in its 89-year history, TVA said.

The cold also produced a winter record for peak power demand of 33,425 megawatts at 7 p.m. Central time, when the region-wide average temperature was 9 degrees, TVA said.

“Record-setting temperatures across the region continue to put intense pressure on the power system,” TVA said in a press release. “The Tennessee Valley Authority and local power companies (worked) around the clock in difficult conditions to meet this extreme demand.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Government, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Don Moul, power, power demand, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA

NRC will prepare environmental statement for nuclear fuel facility

Posted at 4:26 pm December 17, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

TRISO-X has proposed a nuclear fuel fabrication facility on 110 acres at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. (Photo from TRISO-X environmental report to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Friday that it will prepare an environmental impact statement for a proposed nuclear fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge that could help power advanced reactors for electrical and chemical use, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The project could partially benefit from last year’s federal infrastructure law, specifically about $1.1 billion appropriated for a clean energy supply.

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Filed Under: Business, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Premium Content, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, advanced reactors, ARDP, EIS, environmental impact statement, fuel fabrication facility, HALEU, high-assay low-enriched uranium, Horizon Center, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, infrastructure law, NRC, nuclear fuel, nuclear fuel facility, nuclear reactors, small modular reactors, TF3, TRISO fuel, TRISO-X, TRISO-X Fuel Fabrication Facility, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, uranium fuel, X-energy, Xe-100

City seeks spending authority for Horizon Center power

Posted at 3:44 pm December 10, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Nuclear fuel company TRISO-X needs electrical power for a manufacturing facility in Horizon Center by December 2024, and the Oak Ridge Electric Department wants the authority to spend up to $3 million to help make that possible. (Image by City of Oak Ridge)

Nuclear fuel company TRISO-X needs electrical power for a manufacturing facility in Horizon Center by December 2024, and the Oak Ridge Electric Department wants the authority to spend up to $3 million to help make that possible.

If approved by Oak Ridge City Council, the money would be used to design and build a new electric substation and distribution network to provide power to Lot 6 on the back side of Horizon Center, which is on the west side of town. The work would include engineering design, land surveys, site clearing, the purchase of materials, and acquiring permits and other required items.

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Filed Under: Business, Front Page News, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Premium Content, Slider Tagged With: Ardo Ba, City of Oak Ridge, electric substation, Horizon Center, manufacturing facility, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Electric Department, Tennessee Valley Authority, TRISO, TRISO-X, U.S. Department of Energy

Edgemoor Road widening estimated at $175 million

Posted at 6:58 pm December 7, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The widening of Edgemoor Road between Pellissippi Parkway and Clinton Highway, including this bridge over the Clinch River, could cost an estimated $175 million, the Tennessee Department of Transportation said Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The widening of Edgemoor Road between Pellissippi Parkway and Clinton Highway could cost an estimated $175 million, the Tennessee Department of Transportation said Wednesday.

Planning for the six-mile project, which will include replacing the bridge over the Clinch River, was completed in August.

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Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Government, Premium Content, Slider, State, Top Stories Tagged With: Clinton Highway, Edgemoor Road, Edgemoor Road widening, IMPROVE Act, Mark Nagi, Melton Lake Drive, Pellissippi Parkway, road widening, TDOT, Tennessee Department of Transportation

SMRs, other nuclear reactors possible at Clinch River site

Posted at 5:30 pm November 27, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Small modular reactors and other types of new nuclear reactors could be considered for power generation at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge.

The Tennessee Valley Authority announced its preferred alternative for the 935-acre site in the Federal Register in October.

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Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Government, Premium Content, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: BWRX-300, Clinch River Nuclear Site, environmental impact statement, Federal Register, GE Hitachi, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Jim Hopson, nuclear reactor, record of decision, small modular reactors, SMR, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Test reactor would help with decarbonization, supporters say

Posted at 3:55 pm November 23, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Kairos Power has proposed a Hermes test reactor at the Heritage Center, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. A model of the test reactor is pictured at a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 11:20 a.m. Dec. 1.

A nuclear test reactor proposed in west Oak Ridge could help as the United States tries to lower carbon dioxide emissions and reduce the effects of climate change, supporters said during a public meeting last week.

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Filed Under: Business, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Premium Content, Slider Tagged With: construction permit, DOE, EIS, environmental impact statement, fluoride salt-cooled reactor, HALEU, Heritage Center, Hermes, Hermes test reactor, high-assay low-enriched uranium, Jim Hopf, K-31, K-33, Kairos Power, Molten Salt Reactor Experiment, NRC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Peyton Doub, Scott Burnell, test reactor, Tracy Boatner, TRISO, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Union wants to use former hardware store as trade school

Posted at 8:39 am November 18, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A plumbers and steamfitters union wants to use a former hardware store on Oak Ridge Turnpike for a trade school. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A plumbers and steamfitters union wants to use a former hardware store for a trade school.

A rezoning for the project was recommended in a voice vote by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday. There was no opposition.

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Filed Under: Business, Front Page News, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Premium Content, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: ACE Hardware, John "Jake" Greear, Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission, Plumbers and Steamfitters Local Union #102, ProE Engineering Services, rezoning, trade school, zoning

City will pay at least $15 per hour for permanent, full-time work

Posted at 2:35 pm November 16, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Municipal Building is pictured above on Tuesday evening, May 5, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Full-time permanent employees of the City of Oak Ridge will earn at least $15 per hour starting in January under a resolution unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday.

Seasonal, part-time, and temporary employees would not be guaranteed this wage.

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Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Premium Content, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: compensation plan, livable wage, living wage, minimum wage, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge City Council, pay range, updated compensation plan

NRC seeks public comment about test reactor

Posted at 1:05 am November 16, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Kairos Hermes test reactor (Image via Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment and will have a public meeting and online seminar Wednesday about issuing a construction permit for a proposed test reactor in Oak Ridge.

The NRC has issued a draft environmental impact statement for the construction permit for a Kairos Hermes Test Reactor. The nuclear reactor would not produce electricity, but it would test Kairos Power’s fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor technology, according to the NRC.

Completed in September, the draft environmental impact statement includes the NRC staff’s preliminary analysis of the environmental impacts of issuing a construction permit to Kairos.

“After weighing the environmental, economic, technical, and other benefits against environmental and other costs, the NRC staff’s preliminary recommendation, unless safety issues mandate otherwise, is that the operating license be issued as requested,” the NRC said in a notice published in the Federal Register.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Government, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: environmental impact statement, Kairos Hermes Test Reactor, Kairos Power, NRC, test reactor, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

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