February 10, 2012

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New biomass facility now powering much of Savannah River Site

January 27, 2012 By

The new facility replaces this 50-year-old coal-fired plant (Courtesy: Department of Energy)

A new biomass plant is now powering much of the Savannah River Site. Earlier this month, the U.S. Energy Department opened the facility, which generates steam power by burning wood chips.

SRS spokesman Jim Giusti said the new facility replaces a 50-year-old coal plant, “It was very expensive, very old,” he told South Carolina Radio Network, “We were spending millions annually just to maintain it.” He said it would be cost-prohibitive to bring the coal plant into compliance with new federal regulations.

In 2007, the Massachusetts energy service firm Ameresco won a consulting contract from the Energy Department. After studying the site, Ameresco officials recommended the biomass plant as the best way to reduce energy costs at SRS.

A big factor in the decision was that Energy Department officials allow timber companies to use the site. “There’s a significant amount of (wood) waste that was just being left behind on the forest floor,” said Keith Derrington, Ameresco’s general manager for federal operations, “So we had a ready source of fuel within a short distance of the plant.”

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Filed Under: Business, Energy, Environment & Conservation, Featured, News

Scientists studying mysterious growth on SRS nuclear waste

January 3, 2012 By

 

The cobweb-like growth is barely visible on the spent fuel rods in this image provided by SRNL

Scientists at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) are working to identify an unknown material they recently found growing in tanks of spent nuclear fuel rods.

An October report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) — a federal agency responsible for overseeing the U.S.’s nuclear complexes– mentions that researchers found a “white, string-like growth” on the ends of spent fuel racks stored underwater at the Site’s L-Basin.

The facility is owned by the Energy Department but is currently run by the private partnership Savannah River Nuclear Solutions. The L-Basin uses deep pools ranging from 17-30 feet deep to store the spent nuclear fuel assemblies originally used for research purposes.

SRNL spokesperson Angeline French said workers found the substance during “routine surveillance.”

French said officials have no idea what the material is. “What we do know is it looks like cobwebs in appearance,” she told South Carolina Radio Network.

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Filed Under: Energy, Featured, Human Interest, News

New nuclear reactors approved, could soon be in SC

December 23, 2011 By

Site of the proposed AP1000 reactor at the V.C. Summer plant (File)

The federal government has approved a new type of nuclear reactor, clearing one more hurdle for two of them to be installed in South Carolina.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued its final certification of the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor Thursday. The reactors are supposed to be used at SCANA’s nuclear facility under construction at Jenkinsville in Fairfield County. The V.C. Summer plant will be one of the first sites to use the next generation of reactors, if they receive a license from the NRC, as expected, next year.

(Read more about the new reactors)

The most prominent new feature of the AP1000 is its “passive core cooling system” which is designed to automatically shut down the reactor in the event of a complete power loss– such as what happened at the Fukushima reactors in Japan earlier this year– by using gravity, circulation, and pressure.

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Filed Under: Business, Energy, News

SRS contractor lays off nearly 50 employees

December 6, 2011 By

The Saltstone facility at the Savannah River Site (Courtesy: SRR)

In a letter sent to employees Monday, the chief officer of a company cleaning up the Savannah River Site said nearly 50 employees had been laid off.

Savannah River Remediation said last month that it needed to cut back on its workforce as it gets halfway through its six-year contract with the Energy Department and work winds down. The company had said it originally said it needed to eliminate 100 positions, but 18 employees had since taken buyout packages and 20 more left the company through attrition.

On Monday, SRR president Dave Olson said 48 additional employees had been laid off, for a total of 86 departures since early November. He said the company was done with layoffs for now.

Savannah River Remediation is responsible for disposing of and managing liquid waste at the former weapons facility. It currently has three years left on its federal contract, with an option for two more. It has about 2,000 employees at the site overall.

Filed Under: Business, Energy, Featured, News

Boeing solar plant ready to power assembly plant

December 2, 2011 By

Vast field of thin-film laminates make up 2.6 megawatt system

In the midst of Boeing’s business announcements this week, one was slightly overshadowed.

South Carolina Electric & Gas and Boeing completed one of the largest single rooftop solar installations in the United States at its 787 Final Assembly building in North Charleston.

The 2.6-megawatt D.C. rooftop photovoltaic system covers 10 acres of the 14-acre Boeing building.

SCANA Chairman and CEO Kevin Marsh said at the dedication event, “SCE&G for the first time is supplying a facility with 100 percent green power. I commend Boeing for their commitment to sustainability and for the opportunity they presented us to supply this site with renewable power.”

It’s enough to power about 250 homes, but the energy is to be used entirely on site to become the aircraft company’s only location in the world capable of assembling commercial aircraft with 100 percent renewable energy.

In the heat of the summer, college students from Clemson, N.C. State and Pennsylvania State also chose to help out on the teams that installed the technology.

Filed Under: Business, Energy, News
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