Pennsylvania and the Future of Nuclear Power

Pennsylvania’s Nuclear

Power IndustrySarah Young

Digital Media Project

Biology 103: Environmental Science

Explanation of Nuclear PowerNuclear power is created through a series of nuclear reactions and a process called fission. During this process, Uranium-235 isotopes absorb neutrons, causing the U-235 to become unstable and split into 2 lighter parts called fission fragments. These 2 new parts are lighter because some of the mass is converted into energy and released as heat. Along with the heat, more neutrons are released. The neutrons continue to disrupt more U-235 atoms in a self-sustaining chain reaction, while the heat from the fission is used to boil water. Boiling water turns turbines and creates electricity, thus generating nuclear power. The leftover fission fragments gather to form nuclear waste, and the safe disposal of this waste is one of the biggest challenges in the nuclear power industry.

Source: http://www.eas.asu.edu/~holbert/eee460/fission.jpg

Pennsylvania’s Nuclear History:

The Main Events

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Penn State University obtains a license for its TRIGA “Training Research, Isotopes, General Atomics” reactor, creating Pennsylvania’s first nuclear research facility.

1955

1960Shippingport Power Plant, located in southwestern Pennsylvania, is opened and Pittsburgh becomes the world’s first nuclear-powered city.

1979Three Mile Island, located near Middletown, experiences a partial meltdown of #2 reactor’s core. Although crisis is averted, the event leads the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to modify its oversight of the entire nuclear industry, with changes centered around emergency response planning, reactor operator training, engineering, and radiation protection.

2003The NRC grants a 20-year license extension for Peach Bottom Power Plant’s reactors and talks begin about a renewal application for TMI, whose operating license ends in 2014.

1982Shippingport Power Plant, Pennsylvania’s first nuclear power plant, is decomissioned and Beaver Valley Power Station takes over nuclear service of Pittsburgh and surrounding areas.

Pennsylvania’s Role in the Nuclear World

Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/states/statespa.html

Pennsylvania’s Nuclear Power Generation (millions of kilowatt-hours.

Currently, 31 states use commercial nuclear facilities but a third of the country’s nuclear capacity lies in just 4 states: Illinois, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and South Carolina. In terms of total nuclear capacity and generation, Pennsylvania ranks second only to Illinois. As of 2004, 36% of Pennsylvania’s entire electricity market is fueled by nuclear power.

A Tour of Pennsylvania’s Nuclear Facilities

Beaver Valley Power Plant

Limerick Generating Station

Source: http://www.co.berks.pa.us/ema/lib/ema/images/limerick_effects.jpg

Source: http://www.powermag.com/Assets/Image/110108_Beaver_Fig1.jpg

Source: http://www.esm.versar.com/PPRP/powerplants-new/images/peach.jpg

Peach Bottom Power Station

Source: http://www.powermag.com/Assets/Image/Imports/2008-02/06-03.jpg

Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant

Three Mile Island

Source: http://www.ohiocitizen.org/campaigns/electric/2004/ph_three_mile_island500.jpg

Nuclear Power Plant

Beaver Valley Power Plant

Source: http://www.powermag.com/Assets/Image/110108_Beaver_Fig1.jpg Owned and Operated by First Energy Nuclear Operating Corporation

Site Size: 500 acres

Total Number of Operating Reactors: 2 Pressurized Light-Water

Reactors

Net Capacity: 1,652 Electrical Megawatts

Net Generation: 13,970 Million Kilowatt Hours

Share of State Nuclear Generation: 18%

Shippingport, Pennsylvania

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Peach Bottom Power Station

Source: http://www.esm.versar.com/PPRP/powerplants-new/images/peach.jpg

York County, Pennsylvania

Owned and Operated by Exelon Corporation


Total Number of Operating Reactors: 2 Boiling Water Reactors




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Limerick Generating StationMontgomery County, Pennsylvania

Source: http://www.co.berks.pa.us/ema/lib/ema/images/limerick_effects.jpg



Total Number of Operating Reactors: 2 Boiling

Water Reactors




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Susquehanna Nuclear Power PlantLuzerne County, Pennsylvania

Source: http://www.powermag.com/Assets/Image/Imports/2008-02/06-03.jpg

Jointly Owned by Pennsylvania Power & Light and Allegheny

Electric

Cooperative, Operated by PPL Susquehanna, LLC.

Site Size: 1,075 acres

Total Number of Operating Reactors: 2 Boiling Water Reactors




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Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania



Total Number of Operating Reactors: 1 Pressurized Light-

Water Reactor

Net Capacity: 810 Electrical Megawatts



Source: http://www.ohiocitizen.org/campaigns/electric/2004/ph_three_mile_island500.jpg

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An Uncertain FutureNuclear Power Pros:

Nuclear Power Cons:

- High and rising capital costs, possibly causing electricity

price hikes

- Long construction periods to build new facilities

- Competition with unlimited geothermal, solar, and wind

power sources.

- Limited space for safe and secure waste storage

- Location restrictions due to nuclear power’s large-scale

water use

+ Low operational costs

+ Sustainable, carbon-free source of power with zero

emissions

+ Safer working conditions than electric plants fueled by coal

or oil

+ Decrease in demand for foreign oil

+ Advanced security to ensure safe use and transport of

nuclear material

The Wave of the Future

Source: http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN_A_look_at_the_future_of_nuclear_power_0311082.html


Engineers are developing plans for future nuclear facilities that take on a more earth-friendly appearance, like those pictured above and below. “Green” barriers on the plant’s main structures would protect from external hazards and scientists could use bio-skins, sustained by rainwater, to turn cooling towers from an eyesore into a natural feature that changes through the seasons.

Nuclear plants of the future may also take the shape of pyramids or function as underwater factories. Undersea facilities have easy access to cooling water while pyramid-shaped plants provide safety against seismic activity.


South Africa boasts an innovative, new generation of nuclear power plant called the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor. The reactor encases Uranium or Plutonium in cermic spheres the size of a tennis

ball. The heat that is generated is transferred into a helium gas. The pressure from the safe helium gas is then used to turn a turbine and create electricity. To melt the ceramic spheres containing Uranium and release radioactive material, it would take temperatures of 3000°C but the inside only ever rises to temperatures of about 900°C.

Sources“A Look at the Future of Nuclear Power.” World Nuclear News. 03 Nov. 2008. <http://www.world-nuclear-

news.org/NN_A_look_at_the_future_of_nuclear_power_0311082.html>.

Lehr, Jay. “Testimony on the Future of Nuclear Power.” The Heartland Institute. 16 Sept. 2008. 16 March

2009 <http://www.heartland.org/policybot/results/23772/Testimony_on_the_Future_of_

Nuclear_Power_.html>.Little, E. A. “Development of Radiation Resistance Materials for Advanced Nuclear Power Plant.” Materials

Science and Technology 22 (2006): 491-518. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Harrisburg

Area Community College Library, York, PA. 12 Feb. 2009 <http://www.ebscohost.com>.

Romm, Joseph. “The Self-Limiting Future of Nuclear Power.” Center For American Progress Action Fund.

02 June 2008. 16 March 2009 <http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2008/nuclear_

power_report.html>.

Moens, John. “State Nuclear Industry – Pennsylvania.”18 Aug. 2006. Energy Information Administration. 12

Feb. 2009 <http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/states/statespa.html>.

“The Future of Nuclear Power.” Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2003. 16 March 2009 <http://

web.mit.edu/nuclearpower>.

Pennsylvania and the Future of Nuclear Power

Education

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