NRC Approves Vermont Yankee Uprate

From NRC:

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has approved a request by Entergy Nuclear to increase the generating capacity of Vermont Yankee by approximately 20 percent. The agency's review required more than two years and more than 11,000 staff-hours of effort. A related engineering inspection of the plant required an additional 900 hours of work. This is the most extensive uprate review conducted by the NRC to date.

The NRC staff reviewed Entergy's modifications to the plant's equipment and the company's analyses of the increase (or uprate), and performed independent calculations and evaluations, before determining Entergy could safely increase the reactor's power output. The NRC's approval includes several license conditions Entergy must comply with.

The power uprate for the unit, located in Vernon, Vt., will increase its generating capacity by approximately 100 megawatts electric. Under the conditions of the uprate, Entergy will increase Vermont Yankee's power level in small increments while NRC staff closely monitor the process until the higher power level is reached. The NRC staff will also continue to monitor and evaluate Vermont Yankee's performance in accordance with the agency's Reactor Oversight Process.

Congratulations to the team at Entergy for a job well done in the face of an hysterical disinformation campaign.

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Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power, Electricity, Environment, Energy, Vermont

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