Oak Ridge Today

Power to TRISO at Horizon could cost $13 million

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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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TVA reviewing mandatory power outages

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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.”

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Y-12 replacing old, high-risk water lines

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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Sixty-year-old water lines are being replaced at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and 27 of the old lines are identified as high-risk and a Top 10 threat.

Work to replace the pipes began in July 2022 and will continue in April 2023, according to an emailed response to questions provided by spokesperson Kathryn King. The water line replacements are scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2025 at a projected cost of $38.9 million. The old cast iron pipes will be replaced with new ductile iron pipes.

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TVA: Power supply set record Friday

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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.”

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NWS: Dangerous wind chills possible

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Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown

Dangerous wind chills are possible from Thursday to Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

The temperature could drop to 11 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday night, 5 degrees on Friday night, and 9 degrees on Saturday night, according to the NWS forecast for Oak Ridge.

And there could be wind gusts of up to 20-30 miles per hour between Thursday night and Saturday, the Oak Ridge forecast said, making the outside air temperature feel even colder.

Wind chills in the area between Knoxville and Kingston could range between -10 and -12 from Friday morning to mid-Saturday, the NWS said.

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Packard accused of filing false tax returns

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Russell Barker, who is now Anderson County sheriff, and the Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force executes search warrants at McGuire Used Books on Thursday afternoon, May 24, 2018. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Already charged with money laundering and retail crime, an Oak Ridge business manager has been accused by the state of filing false tax returns and not paying sales taxes.

John McGuire Packard, 38, was indicted on nine counts by the Anderson County Grand Jury in June. The indictment charged him with one count of evade/defeat use tax for each month from September 2017 to May 2018. Those are Class E felonies.

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NRC will prepare environmental statement for nuclear fuel facility

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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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Lawsuit filed by terminated employee who refused COVID-19 vaccine

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The Howard H. Baker Jr. United States Courthouse is pictured above in Knoxville on Jan. 19, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A lawsuit was filed this year against a federal contractor in Oak Ridge that terminated an employee after she refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

In her lawsuit, the former employee argued that it is illegal under state law to compel her to provide proof of vaccination if she objects to the vaccine.

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Safety board wants briefing on Y-12 uranium reactions

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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A federal safety board has asked for a report and briefing after 15 exothermic (heat-producing) reactions of uranium materials were reported at the Y-12 National Security Complex between 2016 and 2021.

The report and briefing have been requested by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, which wants a response from the National Nuclear Safety Administration. The NNSA is part of the U.S. Department of Energy and oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons work, including at Y-12.

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One injured, charges pending in Turnpike crash

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One person was injured and charges are pending after a two-vehicle crash involving a semi truck on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Monday, Dec. 12, 2022. A Lifestar helicopter flew one injured person to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. (Photo by Annah Foard-Barish)

One person was injured and charges are pending after a two-vehicle crash involving a semi truck on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Monday.

The crash was reported at about 1:40 p.m. between Adams Lane and Van Hicks Road, just west of Illinois Avenue, according to law enforcement officers.

A preliminary crash report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol said Amber O. Carow, 27, was driving west on the Turnpike in a 2004 Toyota Camry when the vehicle crossed over two lanes and hit the trailer of a 2020 Volvo semi truck driving east.

When the Camry stopped, it was facing east, opposite its direction of travel, the report said. The collision knocked the truck trailer off its back tandem.

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Man sentenced to one year, 9 months for fatal hit-and-run 

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Dannon Cole pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident involving a death or injury in Anderson County Criminal Court on Monday, Dec. 12, 2022.

Note: This story was updated at 1 p.m. Dec. 13.

CLINTON—A 51-year-old man was sentenced to one year and nine months when pleading guilty Monday to a fatal hit-and-run crash between a pickup truck and motorized bicycle in Clinton about one year ago.

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City seeks spending authority for Horizon Center power

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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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