San Onofre plant to be restarted soon?
SAN DIEGO (CNS) – The operator and majority owner of the San Onofre
Nuclear Generating Station announced this week that it has asked the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission to amend its license to allow it to restart one of its
two reactors at 70 percent power.
Southern California Edison's draft license amendment seeks to change a
technical section requiring structural integrity of steam generators from
“across the full range of normal operating conditions” to compliance at 70
percent power. It also includes a promise that power would not exceed that
amount, which equates to 3,438 megawatts thermal.
Another license section, which currently states that the reactors are
allowed to operate at 100 percent power, would be changed to 70 percent power,
or 2,406.6 megawatts thermal.
Edison requested that the NRC rule on the proposed amendments by May 24.
The utility's plan to restart the plant at a lower power had been known
previously.
The nuclear power plant on the northern San Diego County coastline has
been shut down since January 2012, when a small, non-injury leak occurred in
one of the reactors. The other one was undergoing maintenance and was not
operating at the time.
An investigation found that vibration caused premature wear in steam
generator tubes.
SCE said operating Unit 2 — the reactor where the leak did not occur —
at a lower power level would allow it to supply electricity to the region
during the summer months without causing any potential damage to the tubes.
“Since last fall, SCE has provided the public and the NRC with detailed
analyses from global experts that support safe restart of Unit 2,” said Ron
Litzinger, SCE president. “We are considering the proposed voluntary amendment
as the best path to get Unit 2 safely up and running before the hottest months
of the year hit our region.”
Edison officials plan to speak with NRC regulators at a meeting this
week in Maryland before making the license amendment request official.
SCE wants to operate the reactor at 70 percent for five months, then
shut it down so its steam generator tubes can be inspected. The reactor would
resume at 70 percent for 18-24 months while officials use the inspection data
to determine a safe long-term operating level.
Friends of the Earth, an anti-nuclear group that opposes a restart and
wants tighter scrutiny of San Onofre's license, contends Edison is trying to
avoid a safety review and public hearing.
“The NRC must stand firm and demand a comprehensive license amendment
process that includes all safety issues and the opportunity for a full public
hearing,” said Kendra Ulrich, nuclear campaigner for Friends of the Earth.
Unit 2 is “a severely damaged reactor that is unsafe to operate,” she
alleged.
Also Monday, leaders of 23 environmental organizations sent a letter to
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, urging them
to continue their regulatory oversight by requesting a comprehensive license
amendment process for San Onofre by the NRC.
San Diego Gas & Electric owns 20 percent of the plant and receives one-
fifth of the generated electricity.
