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Tennessee Nuclear Industry |
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Report Updated:
August 18, 2006
According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the two reactors at the Sequoyah plant are pressurized light water reactors (PWR). A second reactor planned for the Watts Bar plant is listed in appendix B, "Cancelled U.S. Commercial Nuclear Power Reactors," of the NRC Information Digest, with the notation that (as of the publication date) the reactor has not been formally cancelled. Watts Bar I is also a PWR. Permanently Shutdown Commercial Reactors: Not applicable. As noted, there is one cancelled reactor: Watts Bar II. Nuclear Research and Test Reactors Regulated by NRC: Not applicable.
Nuclear Generation Electricity generation by nuclear power plants is available for each reactor and each State for each of the following years: Contribution of Nuclear Power As of January 1, 2005, Tennessee ranked 15th among the 31 States with nuclear capacity.
A quick glance at the U.S. coal reserves map reveals coal fields nearly encircling Tennessee. Kentucky's coal data are split by EIA into two regions: western and eastern Kentucky. Tennessee’s electric utilities imported 3.1 million short tons of coal from western Kentucky, the largest market for western Kentucky mines outside Kentucky itself. Combined with 2.5 million short tons from eastern Kentucky, 6.9 million short tons from Colorado and Wyoming, 3 million short tons from Illinois, and sundry amounts from various States, the total distribution to Tennessee power plants is 19 million short tons of coal. Tennessee also uses hydroelectric power. During the Depression, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) began harnessing the power of mighty rivers in one of the Nation's greatest engineering feats. By 1942, TVA had 12 hydroelectric projects and a steam plant under construction simultaneously. Tennessee’s three nuclear reactors provide nearly triple the power of all the dams in the State. Tennessee Nuclear Highlights
The Computer and Nuclear Power
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee, a pioneer in atomic research, is also a pioneer in developing information and technology for the semiconductor industry (see photo). The two roles are not unrelated. "In the 1960's, using the Bulk Shielding Reactor, John Cleland and other ORNL scientists devised a neutral transmutation doping (NTD) method for uniformly distributing phosphorous ions in silicon."[1] NTD silicon is used in electronic components. Although a 1991 World Technology (WTEC) study revealed that "all European countries that operate nuclear power plants, as well as Canada, Japan, and the U.S., are moving toward the use of digital computers.,"[2] it was probably not until the Y2K that the public developed a sense of their impact and potential impact. The WTEC study concluded that, at that time, U.S. nuclear plants were lagging behind other countries in using digital systems, although "the hardware for digital systems comes mostly from U.S. computer companies."[3] But if there was a "computer gap," it appears to have closed as U.S. plants come to increasingly rely on them. Vermont Yankee used a computer model to analyze the impact of its 20 percent uprate of capacity, incorporating new data as the changes were being implemented. A student at the University of Wisconsin, College of Engineering, developed a model to study Kewaunee's cooling system. But the computer's relationship to nuclear power extends far beyond the perimeters of its nuclear power plants. Computers play an essential role in monitoring nuclear stockpiles. License Renewal All Tennessee reactors are fairly new, and no renewal applications are currently on file. The first license to expire will be for Sequoyah 1 in September 2020. To learn the current status of license applications for other U.S. reactors, consult the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) web site. Air Quality in Tennessee Of the 50 States plus the District of Columbia, the electric industry of the
State of Tennessee ranked 15th highest in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in
2004. The State’s electric industry ranks 13th highest in sulfur
dioxide (SO2) emissions and 14th highest in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
More Information on Tennessee and Nuclear Power University of Tennessee Nuclear Engineering Department. The Department will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2007. _______________________________________________ [1]"SemiConductors: Shaping the Digital Future," on line http://www.ornl.gov , Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee. [2]"European Nuclear Instrumentation and Controls," Panel Discussion co-chaired by James D. White, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and David D. Lanning, MIT, published by World Technology (WTEC) Division of Loyola College, December 1991. [3]Ibid. Contact: |
see also:
annual nuclear statistics back to 1953
projected electricity capacity to 2025
international electricity statistics