Author Archive

Friday, January 26, 2018

By Trevor Hawes thawes(at)mrt.com
Midland Reporter-Telegram

FILE – In this Oct. 14, 2009, photo provided by Waste Control Specialists, canisters filled with uranium byproduct waste are placed into a burial pit at at Waste Control Specialists near Andrews, Texas. People living nearest to the site would be barred from challenging license amendments sought by the company operating the facility under a Senate bill that could be voted on as early as Wednesday, April 17, 2013. The bill also encourages compact members Texas and Vermont to send their low-level waste elsewhere and seeks to prohibit public hearings or comment on some amendments to the company’s license. (AP Photo/Waste Control Specialists, File)

Waste Control Specialists, which operates a low-level radioactive waste storage facility in Andrews, has been sold, according to a company press release.

WCS was sold by Valhi Inc. to J.F. Lehman & Co., a middle-market private equity firm focused on the government, defense, aerospace and maritime sectors.

WCS lost an antitrust lawsuit in June after the U.S. District Court of Delaware ruled in favor of the Justice Department against a merger with EnergySolutions, a Utah-based company that specializes in decommissioning nuclear power plants.

WCS had pursued making its Andrews facility a place for the temporary storage of high-level nuclear waste while the federal government determines a site for permanent storage. WCS was going through a review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission over the feasibility of the temporary storage plan.

Alex Harman, a partner at JFLCO said, "WCS is a unique asset that, together with our recent acquisition of NorthStar Group Services, will allow us to provide a complete and cost-effective decommissioning solution for U.S. nuclear utilities."

A sale price was not disclosed. A press release from Valhi indicated J.F. Lehman assumed all of WCS’ third-party indebtedness and other liabilities.

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Edward Klump, reporter
E&E News

Waste Control Specialists LLC, after months in corporate limbo, may look at restarting its push to store high-level radioactive waste in West Texas.

That’s because an investment affiliate of J.F. Lehman & Co. recently acquired WCS, ending the company’s hazy status under Valhi Inc.

WCS asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last year to suspend — temporarily — the review of its high-level waste proposal, citing the cost and its limited financial resources. The company was waiting to see if a deal to sell WCS to EnergySolutions, a well-known industry player, would close. The transaction fizzled after a judge blocked it (Energywire, June 22, 2017).

Instead, WCS is joining J.F. Lehman’s portfolio. In a statement last week, Glenn Shor, managing director at J.F. Lehman, said the partnership "with WCS will ensure that the business has the resources required to support its long-term growth strategy across the government and commercial marketplace." The deal also gives WCS closer ties to NorthStar Group Services Inc., which is involved in the nuclear decommissioning business.

"This is not the end of the line for WCS as it still has much more to accomplish," Rod Baltzer, who had been CEO at WCS, said in a statement.

The request for a delay last year in the NRC’s high-level waste review was surprising because WCS had championed its potential to help store spent fuel from U.S. reactors, though Valhi had recorded operating losses from its waste segment for years. It remains to be seen how J.F. Lehman may help to boost volumes of various types of waste at WCS and perhaps pursue high-level storage. While a number of West Texas voices have touted potential economic benefits from the high-level waste plan, critics have blasted the idea over safety and environmental concerns (Energywire, Feb. 24, 2017).

Last year, J.F. Lehman announced that an investment affiliate had "recapitalized" NorthStar and a related entity in partnership with another firm. The new WCS deal means it and NorthStar are under a shared umbrella. J.F. Lehman is a private equity firm that has an interest in areas such as aerospace, defense and maritime holdings. Under the WCS deal, Valhi said the acquirer would assume WCS’s third-party indebtedness and take on certain liabilities.

Scott State, an executive with NorthStar, was listed last week by J.F. Lehman as CEO of WCS. Baltzer is no longer an employee or officer at WCS, though he is consulting during a transition period.

Efforts by E&E News to obtain further comments this week from J.F. Lehman and State about plans for high-level waste and the NRC process for WCS were unsuccessful. Baltzer said in a statement last April that WCS expected to go forward with the project as soon as possible after a sale, though EnergySolutions was the potential acquirer at the time.

One prominent WCS critic expects the push for high-level waste in West Texas to re-emerge now that new parties are involved.

"It seems likely to me that they will push for it," said Karen Hadden, executive director of the Texas-based Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition. She added: "We remain concerned and ready to fight to protect Texas and New Mexico."

If there is movement with the application, Hadden called for the NRC to start the licensing process over in terms of scoping meetings and public notice. The application will need to be revised in light of new WCS ownership, she said, suggesting there could be questions on finances, technology and safety.

"The public deserves the opportunity to thoroughly examine what gets put forward and to comment on a fresh version of their application," she said.

NRC process

The NRC indicated this week that the WCS review process hasn’t been restarted. The commission is also reviewing documents from Holtec International about a different interim storage proposal for a site in New Mexico (Energywire, April 6, 2017).

Scott Burnell, an NRC spokesman, said via email the agency expects to "re-notice" and restart the environmental scoping process if there’s word that WCS wants to restart. He said the NRC is doing an acceptance check on the Holtec application, meaning a full review could start if it’s acceptable.

Issues around how to deal with potential interim storage and a permanent repository, such as Yucca Mountain in Nevada, remain tied up in Congress (Greenwire, Jan. 25).

Yesterday, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners issued a statement saying 20 years have passed since the federal government defaulted on a legal responsibility to store nuclear waste. NARUC said damages related to the government’s failure to act are in the billions of dollars and could rise substantially.

The association called on Congress to act, saying additional appropriations from the Nuclear Waste Fund already collected are needed to help with a review of the Yucca Mountain license application.

Hadden has opposed interim high-level proposals from WCS and Holtec, as well as the potential to use Yucca Mountain in the long term. She called for a "viable permanent repository" that has the right systems and geology for permanent disposal.

The Brattleboro Reformer newspaper in Vermont recently quoted State, WCS’s new CEO, as saying the new corporate setup wouldn’t reduce waste-removal prices for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant decommissioning. That reactor ceased power generation in late 2014. State said the WCS deal would streamline the relationship between the company and NorthStar, according to the newspaper. Both companies hope to be involved in proposed decommissioning at the plant site.

WCS operates an existing low-level radioactive waste disposal business in Andrews County, Texas.

"The management of Waste Control will be 100 percent focused on the needs of NorthStar," State told the Brattleboro Reformer. "We will be able to better control and manage the activities for shipping waste and disposing of waste that comes out of Vermont Yankee."

Alex Harman, a partner at J.F. Lehman, in a statement last week expressed excitement at the idea of helping with the long-term success of WCS, including by "strengthening the partnership with NorthStar" on nuclear power plant decommissioning. State, in the same release, said WCS’s site has "significant capacity for growth."

Low-level waste should be a good business, according to Fred Beach, an assistant director for policy studies at the Energy Institute at the University of Texas, Austin. That could come from realms including medical and energy businesses.

Beach wondered about the likelihood of creating an interim site for high-level waste, saying it’s a tough business. He has suggested the United States look to close its fuel cycle for nuclear power and recycle fuel. If that isn’t politically feasible, he said Yucca Mountain could still be a permanent disposal site.

"WCS has a bright future and should reap synergistic benefits from the tighter ties with NorthStar and their plans for the nuclear power plant decommissioning market," said Baltzer, the former CEO.

OCTOBER 16, 2017

Bate Felix
Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) – Safety levels at nuclear power plants globally are worrying, and although there are no immediate dangers, there are systemic risks that should be dealt with urgently, the head of French nuclear watchdog ASN, said on Monday.

"There are unprecedented safety issues that we did not have 10-15 years ago in the day-to-day operation of a nuclear fleet," Pierre-Frank Chevet said in an interview with BFM Business radio.

He cited issues such as the expected decision to prolong France’s nuclear fleet of 58 reactors beyond their initial 40-year life-span; major investments needed at Japan’s Fukushima, and nuclear power projects that have been delayed by new unforeseen constraints that were not apparent during conception.

In the past few weeks, the regulator has ordered heightened supervision at EDF’s Belleville nuclear plant citing failures in safety standards. It also demanded a temporary halt in production at the Tricastin nuclear power plant due to flaws at a canal dike that could lead to flooding.

Chevet said some cases warranted a serious probe, which was why they were classified as "Level 2" incidents on the international nuclear and radiological event scale (INES), where Level 1 marks the lowest level of risk while Level 7 is the highest.

He said the number of such incidents have been on the rise.

"We use to have between 5 and 10 "level 2" incidents a year. Now we have had three in quick succession in recent weeks, we have to treat them with the required seriousness," he said.

Chevet said this was happening while companies in the sector were facing financial difficulties.

"These discrepancies — trying to manage more with less — is what worries me. This carries risks on its own," Chevet said.

He added that the regulator was still examining requests to extend the lifespan of the French nuclear fleet, and was particular looking at several key factors such as anomalies that have gone undetected over the years.

"Normal wear and tear of the reactors and if they can continue operations is also part of our analysis, as well as if safety at the reactors could be improved to meet new standards following Fukushima," Chevet said.

A spokesman for EDF was not immediately available to comment.

Additional reporting by Dominique Rodriguez. Editing by Jane Merriman

© 2017 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.

September 29, 2017

By Sergio Chapa – Reporter

San Antonio Business Journal

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the license for the South Texas Project. The nuclear power plant provides electricity to San Antonio, Austin and many other area communities.

In an order issued on Thursday, the NRC approved the South Texas Project to remain in operation for an additional 20 years.

Located just outside of Bay City and managed by the STP Nuclear Operating Co., the nuclear power plant is owned by Houston-based NRG Energy, San Antonio-based CPS Energy and Austin-based Austin Energy.

Originally built in the 1980s, the plant filed its application for a license renewal in October 2010. Operating under 40-year licenses, the plant’s two reactors were set to expire in 2027 and 2028 respectively. Under the 20-year renewals, the reactors are now cleared to operate through 2047 and 2048.

STP Nuclear Operating Co. President and CEO Dennis Koehl called the NRC’s decision a significant milestone for the plant.

"The license renewal of the South Texas Project is part of our ongoing commitment to provide Texans with safe, clean and reliable energy for decades to come," Koehl said in a statement.

Environmentalists opposed the renewal based on concerns over the handling of the plant’s radioactive waste, its potential vulnerability to hurricanes and market shifts that have made nuclear power more expensive than natural gas and renewables. The Bay City plant was able to keep producing power when Hurricane Harvey tore through the Texas Gulf Coast last month.

"I am proud of the dedication of our storm crew teammates," Koehl said. "Through great personal sacrifice, these individuals provided safe, reliable electricity to millions of Texans throughout Harvey."

The South Texas Project employs 1,200 people and is one of the newest and largest nuclear power facilities in the United States. Its two units produce 2,700 megawatts of electricity to an estimated 2 million homes.

NRC officials granted the South Texas Project a license in February 2016 license to add two more nuclear reactors at the site but they have yet to be built. Cheap natural gas has made building a new nuclear plant uneconomical, but plant operators told the Business Journal in a previous interview that they will be able to hold on to the license and build them when market conditions are right.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Edward Klump
E&E News reporter

Taking down American flag during storm. Photo credit: Capt. Martha Nigrelle/Army national Guard

HOUSTON — As rain continues in the wake of Tropical Storm Harvey, Texas is coping with a significant loss of electricity, even if the current outage numbers in and around America’s fourth largest city aren’t as large as might be expected.

And people in areas with heavy damage face the prospect of a power restoration process that could last weeks or longer.

CenterPoint Energy Inc., the main electric wires utility for the Houston metro area, reported more than 105,000 customers — or homes and businesses — without power in its territory as of 10:52 a.m. local time. Remarkably, over 95 percent of the 2.4-million-plus customers in CenterPoint’s service area had electricity as of this morning.

CenterPoint cautioned that it can’t get to everyone to address lost power or assess natural gas issues. It also remains to be seen how much damage has occurred to the company’s infrastructure. Floodwaters need to recede before individual restoration time estimates are available, the company said.

"Our crews are responding to outages throughout our service territory where they can safely do so," CenterPoint said in a statement today. Houston continues to see "catastrophic flooding" and strong winds, it said.

The company said that, in some places, it’s "proactively taking service off the grid in order to avoid long-term damage to our electric infrastructure, which could potentially result in a longer restoration time."

After Hurricane Ike in 2008, many people in the Houston area were without power for weeks after high winds toppled trees and took down power lines. CenterPoint credited its use of technology and an emergency response plan for enabling it to return electricity to over 580,000 customers since Harvey began affecting its territory Friday, even if the outlook for thousands of customers remains fuzzy.

The restoration effort is being aided by advanced meters that pinpoint outages. There’s also the fact that Harvey’s arrival with hurricane-force winds occurred down the Texas coast, although the storm later stalled near Houston and caused massive flooding, periods of high winds and reports of tornadoes.

Ed Hirs, an energy economist with the University of Houston, also described improved maintenance of rights of way for power lines in CenterPoint’s territory. He said it’s remarkable to see the level of electric service across much of the metro area.

"Everyone’s acutely aware that it maintains the social fabric — traffic lights, refrigeration, air conditioning, communications, emergency response, health care clinics, the fuel stations that are open, the grocery stores that are open," he said.

More broadly in Texas and Louisiana, about 288,349 customers were without power in affected areas as of 10 a.m. EDT today, according to the Edison Electric Institute. EEI had reported an outage total of about 310,000 as of 6 p.m. EDT yesterday in a news release on Harvey.

EEI stressed yesterday that some areas along Texas’ coast could be unable to take power service "for weeks or months."

Tom Kuhn, EEI’s president, said that damage assessments were happening and that power restoration progress would occur as soon as it could happen safely.

"At this point, nearly 10,000 workers are dedicated to the response and recovery effort," Kuhn said yesterday in a statement. "This includes crews, lineworkers, and support personnel from the impacted companies and mutual assistance crews from at least 19 states across the country. Additional resources are ready to mobilize to assist if needed to further support restoration."

Patience is appreciated

EEI said the industry was coordinating with the federal government, including with Energy Secretary Rick Perry, a former Texas governor, who has been in contact with chief executives of companies affected by Harvey.

"As we are all seeing, the devastation and flooding from Harvey are catastrophic, and this will be a long-duration restoration event," Kuhn said.

Entergy Texas, a unit of Entergy Corp., reported thousands of customers without power yesterday and said the number could climb. Its region includes some locations north and east of Houston.

"More heavy rain is predicted for some areas, and these areas have already had over 20 inches of rain," Vernon Pierce, vice president of customer service for Entergy Texas, said in a statement.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state’s main grid operator, said yesterday that the grid remained in "stable condition" after Harvey.

In a statement dated yesterday, ERCOT said several transmission lines were out of service, including near Corpus Christi and Victoria. Two major 345-kilovolt transmission lines that serve the Gulf Coast region were not in service, ERCOT said.

As of midday yesterday, the grid operator said a little over 6,700 megawatts of generating capacity was offline for storm-related reasons. That included some renewables.

NRG Energy Inc., a major power producer in Texas, went into emergency preparedness at power plants in the Gulf Coast before Harvey made landfall.

"Any time you have this much rain, you will have issues but one of the advantages of our geographically and fuel diverse fleet is that we can look at it from a holistic view and continue to generate the power needed," David Knox, an NRG spokesman, said via email today. "I would also add we have our plants staffed 24/7 with food and cots to allow us to outlast the storm."

Meanwhile, power demand in the ERCOT region has been below typical August usage in recent days as the grid operator noted cooler temperatures and structural damage. ERCOT’s region saw a peak of less than 45,000 MW yesterday compared with a peak of more than 60,000 MW on Aug. 24.

"ERCOT operations will continue to focus on overall grid reliability during the restoration process, while transmission and distribution providers make repairs to power lines and electrical equipment," the grid operator said in a statement yesterday. "Additional engineers have been on site around the clock throughout the hurricane and tropical storm to support these operations and stay in constant communication with transmission and generation suppliers."

CenterPoint asked for understanding as people await power restoration in its service territory.

"Our crews are working and will keep working until everyone is restored," the company said today. "We greatly appreciate our customers’ patience."

Twitter: @edward_klump Email: eklump(at)eenews.net