Oak Ridge Today

City wants to minimize impact of new power lines for Y-12, UPF

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Pine Ridge, which separates the Scarboro neighborhood from the Y-12 National Security Complex, is pictured above from the Scarboro Community Center playground. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

Pine Ridge, which separates the Scarboro neighborhood from the Y-12 National Security Complex, is pictured above from the Scarboro Community Center playground. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

The City of Oak Ridge has asked federal officials to consider an option that minimizes the impact of new high-voltage power lines planned on top of Pine Ridge, which is between the center of the city and the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The 161-kilovolt power lines will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The new substation will service all of Y-12, but it is being built as a subproject of the Uranium Processing Facility. It would be near UPF on the west side of Y-12.

Dale Christenson, federal project director for the UPF, presented the project to Oak Ridge City Council during a November 7 work session. Less than a week later, at its November 13 meeting, City Council unanimously approved a letter that requested a postponement of tree-clearing work that is part of the project in order to discuss alternatives. The National Nuclear Security Administration agreed to a two-week delay, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release Monday. Y-12 is an NNSA site.

In order to install the power lines, federal officials plan to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge. The ridge is between Y-12 and two Oak Ridge neighborhoods: Scarboro and Groves Park Commons.

“Several weeks ago, the NNSA advised of proceeding with plans to clear cut 2.1 miles of mature trees and vegetation along the crest of Pine Ridge,” the city’s press release said. “More than 30 79-foot Tennessee Valley Authority transmission towers will be erected along the top of the ridge after clear cutting occurs. Although DOE has been planning this initiative for at least two years, the city has not been engaged in the process or studying electrical options for serving the new Uranium Processing Facility.” [Read more…]

Council asks UPF project director to postpone removal of trees on top of Pine Ridge

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A letter unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, asks federal officials to postpone a project to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge, pictured above from South Illinois Avenue in south Oak Ridge, for 161-kilovolt power lines that will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A letter unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, asks federal officials to postpone a project to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge, pictured above from South Illinois Avenue in south Oak Ridge, for 161-kilovolt power lines that will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A letter unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday asks federal officials to postpone a project to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge for 161-kilovolt power lines that will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Among the City Council concerns: They only recently learned of the project, they don’t know what other options were considered, and they are worried about the visual impact of 79-foot transmission towers being located on top of Pine Ridge. Also, Council members said, there has been no public discussion about the project until two weeks before the logging operation was scheduled to start on Thursday, November 16.

The clearing work is part of a project to build a new substation at Y-12. It will replace an existing substation that is “nearing the end of its service life,” according to information presented to City Council and some community members. The tree removal will allow the 161-kilovolt power lines to be installed in the cleared area. The area to be cleared is on top of the ridge, about 2.1 miles long, and it will support a right-of-way that is about 100 feet wide. The electrical line would run from east to west on Pine Ridge, according to a report to City Council from Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson. All of the work would be on U.S. Department of Energy property, officials said.

The new substation will service all of Y-12, but it is being built as a subproject of the Uranium Processing Facility. It would be near UPF on the west side of Y-12. [Read more…]

Jeff Smith of ORNL nominated to serve on TVA Board

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Jeff Smith

Jeff Smith

 

Note: This story was updated at 1:30 p.m.

Jeff Smith, deputy director for operations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been nominated to serve on the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors, officials said Thursday.

The nomination by President Donald Trump was announced by the White House.

U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, both Tennessee Republicans, supported Smith’s nomination in statements on Thursday. [Read more…]

ORNL, TVA, NuScale Power, others to present at nuclear supply chain workshop

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Nuclear Suppliers Workshop Oak Ridge September 6-7 2017 Oak Ridge

The agenda has been finalized for the Nuclear Suppliers Workshop in September that will be hosted by the U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Council and the East Tennessee Economic Council.

On September 6-7, companies interested in being part of the supply chain and searching for manufacturing opportunities around small modular reactors, next generation nuclear technology, nuclear medicine, and national security programs are invited to attend the Nuclear Suppliers Workshop at Pollard Technology Conference Center in Oak Ridge.

Thomas Zacharia, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be the keynote speaker, a press release said. The Tennessee Valley Authority, NuScale Power, Duke Energy, AMS Corporation, Teledyne Brown Engineering, and others will also present. [Read more…]

Emergency preparedness exercise at Bull Run on Wednesday

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Bull Run Fossil Plant

The Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton is pictured above. (File photo)

 

Emergency responders from state and local agencies will join Tennessee Valley Authority personnel in an emergency preparedness exercise involving the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton on Wednesday, July 12.

The exercise is part of an ongoing series of training drills and exercises at TVA plants across the service area, a press release said.

“The exercise will involve personnel working in multiple locations, including at and near the plant,” the press release said. “Residents may see increased vehicle traffic and may hear on- and off-site sirens briefly activated.”

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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EPA recognizes Oak Ridge as leading Green Power Community

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The City of Oak Ridge has again been designated as a Green Power Community by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, officials said in May 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge has again been designated as a Green Power Community by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, officials said in May 2017. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

The City of Oak Ridge has again been designated as a Green Power Community by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The city is collectively using more than 32 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which is enough green power to meet 16 percent of the community’s total electricity use, a press release said.

“This is a huge honor, and we are proud to be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” Oak Ridge Electric Department Business Office Manager Marlene Bannon said. “Using green power helps our community become more sustainable, while also sending a message to others across the country that supporting clean sources of electricity is a sound business decision and an important choice in reducing climate risk.” [Read more…]

NRC seeks comment on environmental matters at Clinch River Nuclear Site

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TVA-SMRs-at-NRC-Meeting-April-12-2016

The Tennessee Valley Authority has applied for an early site permit that could allow small modular nuclear reactors at the Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge, possibly as soon as the mid-2020s. Pictured above at a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting on the early site permit on Tuesday, April 12, 2016, is Dan Stout, TVA senior manager, small modular reactors. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission will seek public comments on what environmental matters it should consider during its review of the early site permit application for the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge.

The NRC will seek the comments during two meetings in Oak Ridge on Monday that are part of the process used to develop an environmental impact statement.

The first meeting is from 1-4 p.m. Monday, May 15, in the Pollard Technology Conference Center Auditorium at 210 Badger Avenue in Oak Ridge. The second meeting is from 6-9 p.m. that same day.

The Tennessee Valley Authority submitted an application last May for the early site permit for small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs, at the Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge. The early site permit application is for two or more SMRs. The NRC accepted the application for “docketing and detailed technical review” in December.

A specific reactor design has not been selected. TVA has identified parameters for a surrogate nuclear plant, and the NRC will use them to evaluate the site’s suitability for building and operating a new nuclear plant. [Read more…]

Dogwood Jr. Regatta canceled due to increased water flow, unsafe rowing conditions

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Dogwood Regatta

This story was updated at 9:55 a.m.

The Dogwood Junior Championship Regatta scheduled for this weekend has been canceled due to increased water flow on Melton Hill Lake and unsafe rowing conditions, the Oak Ridge Rowing Association said on Twitter.

All coaches received a cancellation notice by email through Regatta Central.

“We regretfully announce this cancellation,” the Rowing Association said. “Thank you for all support and understanding that our main goal is to keep rowers safe.” [Read more…]

Crowd gathers to watch TVA spill water at Norris Dam

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Crowds gather to see Norris Dam spilling for the first time since 2013 on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. Norris will be spilling for about 15 days, according to the Tennessee Valley Authority. (Photo by TVA)

A crowd gathers to watch Norris Dam spilling water for the first time since 2013 on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. Norris Dam will be spilling water for about 15 days, according to the Tennessee Valley Authority. (Photo by TVA)

 

A crowd gathered Tuesday to watch the Tennessee Valley Authority spill water at Norris Dam for the first time since 2013.

TVA said it could spill water over the top of the dam for about 15 days.

“We are currently spilling about 124,000 gallons per second at Norris Dam,” TVA said Tuesday.

WYSH Radio in Clinton reported that TVA is seeking to lower the water level in Norris Lake, which was about six feet above the summer pool level following last weekend’s relentless rainfall.

“Following last weekend’s record rainfall totals across East Tennessee, TVA on Tuesday opened all three spillway gates at Norris Dam for the first time since the spring of 2013,” WSYH said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge received more than 6.3 inches of rain during storms, city says

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Fallen Tree House April 2017 Storms 1

Oak Ridge received more than 6.3 inches of rain during the storms this past weekend, officials said Monday, April 24, 2017. That amount of rain made the ground extremely soggy and caused large trees to start falling all across the area, the city said. Several homes and cars were damaged, and there were reports of power outages. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

Oak Ridge received more than 6.3 inches of rain during the storms this past weekend, officials said.

That amount of rain made the ground extremely soggy and caused large trees to start falling all across the area, the city said. Several homes and cars were damaged, and there were reports of power outages.

Power was nearly 100 percent restored, but the cleanup was still under way Monday afternoon. [Read more…]

TVA engineers, retirees join union carpenters to renovate TVA Waterworks at Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge

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Kristine Torrance, left, David Torrance, and David Bush, both with the TVA Norris Engineering Laboratory, and Ashley Zeringue and Bucky Smith, with the Children’s Museum, gather around the model of TVA locks and dams on the Tennessee River in the Waterworks exhibit. (Submitted photo)

Kristine Torrance, left, David Torrance, and David Bush, both with the TVA Norris Engineering Laboratory, and Ashley Zeringue and Bucky Smith, with the Children’s Museum, gather around the model of TVA locks and dams on the Tennessee River in the Waterworks exhibit. (Submitted photo)

 

Young visitors at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge enjoy splashing and floating boats through the locks and dams in the TVA Waterworks exhibit. When the aging exhibit needed an overhaul to stay afloat, Tennessee Valley Authority employees and retirees joined members of the local carpenters union to plan and make the needed repairs.

“The children love this exhibit even more, now that they have better access to it thanks to the carpenters. And it is safer for them in many ways thanks to the engineers. And they still love to get wet as they learn about locks and dams,” said Suzan Bowman, a Children’s Museum board member, speaking at a recent ribbon cutting for the renovated exhibit.

Bowman knew who to call for help when the Museum’s Facilities Manager Bucky Smith alerted the board that the exhibit needed refurbishing. She had worked for TVA for 30 years before her retirement and was president of the TVA Retirees Association. She realized that she knew many of the TVA employees who had built the model of locks and dams for the TVA barge at the 1982 Knoxville World’s Fair, a model later donated to the Children’s Museum.

First, TVA employees from the Norris Engineering Laboratory visited the Museum to assess the model and discovered it was structurally unsound. Bowman then enlisted the aid of area TVA retirees, gathering a team to plan for improving the exhibit. Hal Stephens became the lead engineer on the project, with Bill Haire handling electrical engineering. Retirees R. Michael Parker, John and JoAnne Pantanizoppoulos, Bill and Sharon Pitkin, and David Gengozian also pitched in. [Read more…]

NRC has accepted TVA’s early site permit application for small nuclear reactors

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TVA-SMRs-at-NRC-Meeting-April-12-2016

The Tennessee Valley Authority applied for an early site permit in May 2016 that could help prepare for small modular nuclear reactors at the Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge, possibly as soon as the mid-2020s. Pictured above at a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting on the early site permit on Tuesday, April 12, 2016, is Dan Stout, TVA senior manager, small modular reactors. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Tennessee Valley Authority submitted an application last May for an early site permit for small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs, at the Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC, accepted the application for “docketing and detailed technical review” in December.

The early site permit application is for two or more SMRs.

A specific reactor design has not been selected. The NRC said TVA has identified parameters for a surrogate nuclear plant, and the NRC will use them to evaluate the site’s suitability for building and operating a new nuclear plant.

“If NRC determines that the site is suitable for the building and operation of a new nuclear plant, prior to building and operation of a plant at the site, NRC would need to review and approve an additional application from TVA (either a combined license (COL) or a construction permit (CP)) that includes a specific reactor design,” the NRC said on its website.

The project’s timeline, which includes a detailed technical review, is now in the hands of the NRC, and it will likely take several years, TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said Friday. [Read more…]