by Angelique Woods
Patrick’s guidance during the tour of the Indian Point Nuclear Facility provided clarity to what was once the unknown: nuclear power. For years, nuclear power seemed like an obscure topic, clouded by mystery, misunderstanding, and even fear. Yet after the trip to the nuclear plant, those feelings dissipated and were replaced by enlightenment, intrigue, and perhaps optimism. I even considered the job opportunities that exist in the realm of nuclear research and then quickly gathered my senses, proposed that would be too out of my element and reaffirmed that a career in the medical field would be best (for now.) Nonetheless, Patrick’s presentation at the nuclear facility explained the process of how we harness such energy and its relevance to the state of New York, and more importantly, helped to dispel some of the myths and misinterpretations of the big, scary word that is “nuclear.”
First, Patrick provided an overview of nuclear power in New York and eventually progressed to the specificities of the Indian Point Energy Center. There are six nuclear power reactors in New York operating on four power plants. (What a reactor versus a power plant itself will be discussed in detail later.) There are two reactors at the site of the presentation, which are Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units 2 and 3, located about 24 miles north of New York City. There is one located in Oswego, New York at the James A. Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant and two east of Oswego at the Nine Mile Nuclear Power Stations Units 1 and 2. Lastly, there is one reactor located 20 miles northeast of Rochester, New York at the R. E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant. All of these power plants and their respective reactors make up roughly 30% of electricity in the state, 13% of New York’s total ability to generate electricity and about 11% of our energy in New York comes from nuclear power.
What does it take to fund these so-called energy factories? Well, nuclear power plants are indeed expensive facilities and often cost billions of dollars to manufacture. As our delightful tour guide explained to us, electric companies originally owned these plants. Yet, today, Exelon owns 14 plants and the Entergy Company owns 11 plants in the United States. Individual companies own all other nuclear power plants in the country. There are 100 nuclear reactors throughout the United States distributed amongst these various nuclear power plants. Regardless of what some may consider as growth in this industry (though it is a seemingly, steady and perhaps minute increase), during the 1980s, the industry stagnated nationwide. Then “in the mid-1990s, New York underwent electric restructuring under… the New York Independent System Operator. (NYISO)” Supposedly this system allowed for regulators of these power plants to rely on the market versus “administrative proceedings to better regulate costs in the power industry.” Expanding upon Patrick’s brief points regarding the matter, Jamie Caldwell quotes:
These changes were complex, and together: (a) allowed greater choice for customers in determining what entity would supply their generation services over wires that would continue to be owned by the existing electric utilities; (b) encouraged vertically integrated, investor-owned utilities to divest their power plant assets so as to separate the competitive generation functions away from the monopoly wires functions; (c) required the existing electric distribution utility to remain “supplier of last resort” for retail customers; (d) streamlined the regulatory process for siting generation and transmission facilities; and (e) established an independent grid operator to manage the operations of the grid and wholesale electricity markets in a non-discriminatory way.
As an aside she adds:
Put simply NYISO allowed customers to buy from the supplier of their choice. This establishes a system where generators get paid on the basis of the power they deliver and don’t have profits limited to a “fair rate of return.” The change shifted “the risk of cost overruns, poor performance, declining demand or declining costs of alternatives largely from the customers to the investors.” All of New York State’s currently operating nuclear power plants were in service at the start of the NYISO markets and have done exceedingly well under this new structure. This is partly due to much lower operating costs compared to gas-fired units. Also, the capital cost for building nuclear power plants was detached from the competitive power market and added to the monopoly distribution systems as a “nonbypassable” fee. Therefore, these capital costs need not be recovered in the power market, so improvements to existing plants were favored over the building of new nuclear power reactors.
As far as the effect this has had on nuclear output:
Since 2000, nuclear output increased significantly even though no additional capacity was added until 2005. “From 2000 through 2005, output increased 33 percent relative to the average annual output from 1990 through 1999.” Another increase occurred after 2005, when Indian Point Units 2 and 3 and Ginna nuclear power plants received approvals from federal nuclear regulators to make changes that increased the output of these plants. After these improvements, the average annual electricity production at New York’s nuclear plants increased by 46 percent relative to the period prior to restructuring. “The increased output of power from nuclear plants meant that less efficient and more expensive power plants could be dispatched less often, thus creating significant downward pressure on prices.”
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 did provide allocations for the production of some nuclear power plants nationwide. Currently, there are plans to build four more reactors, which would increase the nationwide total to 104.
Patrick then shifted the conversation from overall financing for these nuclear power plants to specifics about Indian Point. Indian Point Unit 1 was the first commercial nuclear power plant that was fully operational in the United States. In August of 1962, the plant was a hybrid consisting of 60% nuclear energy and 40% oil. During this time period, the oil was used in order to heat the steam. However, in 1972, Unit 1 was decommissioned and Units 2 and 3 ran in its place. Unit 2 was built in 1972 and Unit 3 was built in 1976. The license expirations for these two units are 2013 and 2015 respectively. (Patrick explained that the license expirations were merely arbitrary considering that much was not understood about nuclear generating capacity at the time. These facilities are still fully functional past their expiration dates.) Unit 2 has a generating capacity of 1035 megawatts and Unit 3 has an electric generating capacity of 1047 megawatts. This particular nuclear facility is a major supplier of electricity in the state of New York with 25% of this electricity being supplied to Con Edison’s electrical grid and about 17% of it contributing to all of the electricity consumed in our state. Although it is hard to determine where exactly Indian Point’s electricity ends up because the electrical grid combines power from a variety of sources, it is safe to say that the electricity is likely within a 30 or 40-mile radius of the power plant. (The further an energy source travels, the less effective it is and therefore this conclusion is a reasonable one to make.)
After providing this overview of the plant, its capacity and general contribution to our wellbeing, Patrick then gave us a breakdown of how each part of the facility works. He described the foundations in rather simple terms. Basically, the ultimate goal of nuclear power plants, as he reiterated time and again, is to generate energy by spinning a coil with a magnet inside of it. There are different buildings in your typical power plant. A typical containment building consists of mostly empty space at the top in order to contain the pressure that would be exerted by a potential steam explosion. Nuclear explosions are virtually impossible. A completed containment building can be up to 10 feet thick on the bottom and is made of reinforced concrete. These buildings can withstand incredible impact and as emphasized in a video shown to us during the presentation, a plane flying headfirst into the building will disintegrate upon contact, leaving the building nearly unaffected. There is a reactor pressure vessel within this containment building that stands about 10 to 12 meters tall and it is here that the process of nuclear fission occurs, which is the splitting of atoms. This process is the one by which we harness the release of thermal energy. This is exactly what happens when a neutron strikes and splits an isotope of uranium. After this impact the atoms split into two smaller atoms, which are typically krypton and borium. Gamma radiation and beta radiation are also emitted. Other elements could be used for the harnessing of this energy but uranium is the most abundant. It is important to note however, that uranium, although an abundant and naturally occurring element, is nevertheless being depleted over time, as are fossil fuels. Fuel assemblies stored inside a typical reactor vessel. There can be 200 assemblies per reactor and this is where the uranium is contained. The uranium isotopes are condensed into pellets, stored in each assembly. Also, contained within this loop that includes the vessel, water is stored and heated to a temperature around 600 degrees Fahrenheit. It does not boil because it is maintained at such a high pressure, which can be around 160 bars. This hot water is pumped to a heat exchanger, which is also known as a steam generator. The steam generator is at a lower pressure, which allows the water to boil, and this is fed to the turbine building though a set of pipes. This steam typically goes first through a high-pressure turbine and then to a low-pressure turbine, all of which are connected to a spinning shaft that generates the AC (alternating current) electricity that we use in our homes. Finally, this steam is converted back to liquid form and returns to the steam generator for reuse. This system concludes the secondary loop. Last but not least, the tertiary loop provides cool water from an adjacent river and is used to condense the steam in the secondary loop.
The description above depicts your typical pressurized water reactor. In the United States, there are two types of reactors used, the pressurized water reactor and the boiling water reactor. The main difference between the two regards the isolation of loops. In a boiling water reactor, the water that passes over the reactor core is generated directly into steam. A major disadvantage of this is that a leak would cause contamination throughout the entire system.
Patrick then went into extensive detail about how radioactive waste is disposed. Spent fuel storage is where used fuel assemblies are placed. They are carefully inserted into squares surrounded by water, which keeps the fuel cool. Other countries besides the United States reprocess the spent fuel since only a small percentage of it is used. However, Former President Jimmy Carter felt uncomfortable about reprocessing fuel because of the possibility of evil-minded individuals using the waste to create nuclear weapons. Therefore, the United States stopped reprocessing fuel in the 1970s and instead we now store the used fuel in concrete tubes pumped with nitrogen (to avoid moisture) and place it outside. Yucca Mountain was the intended reserve for these waste products, but due to political disagreements, those plans have yet to be enacted. Jamie Caldwell comments on both the public sentiment of nuclear power and its relation to Jimmy Carter’s position against reprocessing:
A 2003 MIT study found that “A majority of the American public approve the use of nuclear power, but oppose building additional nuclear power plants to meet future energy needs. Since the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979, 60 percent of the American public has opposed and 35 percent have supported construction of new nuclear plants although the intensity of public opposition has lessened in recent years.” The public perception is an administrative concern for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). While the NRC has begun suggesting changes to its nuclear licensing process, which help efficiency, they are also making it more difficult for public, without public involvement in New York, along with California and New England, are not likely to accept the expanded licensing.
Later she adds:
The disposal of nuclear waste is a large concern with the public partly because of the radiation and partly because plutonium can be used to make nuclear weapons. The public does not want the waste causing harm to people and the earth. In 1982, Congress enacted the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, mandating that spent fuel be “disposed of in a geological repository” (i.e., Yucca Mountain) which was to commence operation no later than 1998. This law levied the charge of one-tenth of a cent per kilowatt-hour on all nuclear power plant output to pay for this repository with New York’s total share by mid-2007 being $1.8 billion. The license application for the repository was not submitted until 2008, and the Department of Energy has announced that the repository is estimated to open in 2017. This time frame is already being questioned and there is no certainty that the waste will be gone from individual plants in the next 20 years. However, interim waste storage in dry casks either on the reactor site or in a different facility can most likely accommodate the waste of newly constructed power plants in New York for several decades. Another concern for the public is the safety of the power plant. Some would argue, however, that the United States has a very favorable track record when it comes to safety. Three Mile Island is the most notable U.S. accident, and it caused little harm to health. Chernobyl in Russia was a far more serious accident; however, that plant lacked sophistication in design and was misoperated York, there was a scare in 1991 at the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station when a power outage occurred and the back-up generators did not go on. For 20 minutes the operators did not have the controls to monitor the reactor core. But there were no significant damage, injuries or release of any radiation due to the incident. While new reactor designs bring cost and safety advantages, there is not a foolproof solution for nuclear accidents. Another safety concern is that of terrorism. While most information on terrorism attacks on nuclear power plants is classified, should an attack occur, its impact would be a huge setback to the expansion of nuclear power in general.
Although Patrick was rather adamant about the fact that nuclear disasters are highly unlikely, he described the emergency plan for any possible catastrophe. First he said that the purpose of such a plan is “to protect the health and safety of plant personnel, visitors, and the general public. [Another goal is to] minimize the effect of the plant and environment from any type of emergency.” Standard emergency classifications are as follows 1) Notification of Unusual Event (NUE) 2) Alert 3) Site Area Emergency (SAE) and 4) General Emergency (GE). For the first it could be anything minor such as a man breaking his arm. For the second, it regards malfunction and for the third it concerns the possibility of radioactivity. Finally, the fourth deals with radiation levels outside of the plant and within general communities that are higher than normal. An emergency response organization is “either recognized by or reported to the control room [and] control room personnel evaluate the condition and activate the emergency response organization if required.” For emergency response organization, “in addition to normal watch personnel, those assigned key emergency response positions are on call 24/7… in the event of an emergency, plant personnel have predetermined positions to fill [and] response is determined by type and level of emergency.” The emergency response facilities are 1) Technical Support Center (TSC) 2) Operational Support Center (OSC) 3) Emergency Operations Facility and 4) Joint Information Center (JIC).
After Patrick’s lengthy presentation, we were expected to form our own opinions regarding nuclear energy. Considering that fossil fuels are depleting it seems that nuclear energy would be the next best option. Compared to greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel plants, nuclear power plants emit virtually none of these. The biggest disadvantage to nuclear power would probably be the cost of building and it is understandable that ongoing debates would arise with regards to how these facilities would be funded. Most of the stigma surrounding nuclear power is due to misinterpretations and the lack of knowledge. These facilities seem almost impermeable to terrorist attacks and such theories about pending attacks may be merely overreactions. Nuclear energy also has the electric generating capacity for our needs as a replacement for fossil fuels. Although, nuclear power is not a perfect option, it is either we phase to it sooner than later or face the impending apocalypse after we run out of coal and oil.
