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Atomic Insights

Atomic energy technology, politics, and perceptions from a nuclear energy insider who served as a US nuclear submarine engineer officer

Corvallis to Richland and back

October 28, 2014 By Rod Adams

After an informative tour of the NuScale facilities in Corvallis, OR on October 20, I continued my quick visit to the Pacific Northwest.

I had originally arranged my travel plans to fly into Portland, OR instead Richland, WA — which was my ultimate destination — for a variety of reasons. It enabled the visit to NuScale; it was cheaper to fly into Portland and rent a car for three days than to fly into Richland; and it provided a good opportunity to for a scenic drive in a place I’d never before visited. For an energy-obsessive like me, the drive provided some fascinating scenery — both long-established hydro-electric dams and numerous ridges recently populated by massive wind turbines.

With a recommendation for an interim stop from my NuScale hosts, I left Corvallis aiming for Hood River, an outdoorsy, historic town with good restaurants, affordable lodging (at least during slow seasons like mid October) and a number of stores catering to hikers, bikers, kayakers, and windsurfers. In other words, my kind of place, even if I was only going to spend a night.

After a pleasant evening and decent night’s sleep, I drove east on what must be one of the most beautiful interstate highways in America, I-84. It runs through the Columbia River Gorge and in the early to mid morning, offers amazing vistas with the sun glinting off of the massive river. On the morning I drove the Gorge, there were low-lying black clouds with patches of bright sunlight. At least three rainbows were visible during the two and half hours I was on the road. I never bothered to count the wind turbines, which were spinning gently on the morning of my trip east.

At 10:30, I pulled into the parking lot of the campus of the Columbia Basin College where I was scheduled to participate in the ribbon cutting for the ATOM (Advanced Technology Orientation Model). Carl Holder was not only my point of contact, but also one of the key players in recognizing the value of the ATOM as an historical artifact, a valuable public information opportunity and a training tool for new nuclear professionals.

ATOM was originally constructed to support the construction of a 1250 MWe B&W pressurized water reactor with a Westinghouse steam turbine that was one of a pair of power plants that was eventually cancelled after partial completion. That project was partially responsible for the WPPS default; one of the reasons that its cost and schedule ran out of control was the virtual moratorium from the NRC on B&W plant construction that lasted for several years after the TMI accident.

DSCN2731

Following the ribbon cutting ceremony, I provided some thoughts about the importance of nuclear energy, the value of practical, hands-on, training/education, and the great future in store for the graduates of nuclear technology programs like the one at Columbia Basin College. I got a few laughs as I described my own “trade school” education and pointed out my decision to wear a trade school tie for the talk.

CBC is particularly well-situated for people that want to become nuclear professionals; its instructors are mostly part-time teachers with full time jobs in a number of different nuclear-related fields either at Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station or at the Hanford Site. There are also new opportunities being developed at NuScale and at Terrapower. Successes at those start-up companies will bring suppliers, spinoffs and exciting opportunities for young, energetic and ambitious people and provide them with a deepening understanding of what nuclear energy development can mean to a more prosperous and environmentally friendly future.

One of the best things about being invited to speak at a university, college or training facility is the opportunity to talk with students, either young and straight out of high school or more experienced but working to enhance their skills and marketability. After my talk at CBC, I had some great conversations that kept going as the caterers and facility people cleaned up after lunch and broke down the tables and chairs. More than an hour after the event officially ended, we were still chatting but decided to snap a few photos for posterity.

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After putting the final touches onto a presentation that remains a bit of a work in progress, I walked from my hotel to the site of the Eastern Washington ANS meeting. There is a scenic and well-used trail along the Columbia River in Richland; the local economy must be doing okay since I passed what seemed to be a very nice yacht club along with some impressive looking boats in the associated basin. That facility was surprising and felt out of place compared to the desert scenery I’d passed since leaving Hood River.

It was great to see some old friends and some people that introduced themselves as frequent Atomic Insights readers or Atomic Show listeners.

As usual, the ANS audience was supportive, attentive and provided good body language feedback. That is always appreciated from a speaker’s point of view. You can see the talk and hear the questions and answers at Purposely imposed fear prevents properly using radiation benefits.

The next day, I had plenty of time available for sightseeing since I had scheduled a red-eye flight back to Lynchburg. This time, few of the wind turbines were spinning and the river looked like a mirror.

Sample ridge line along Columbia Gorge
Sample ridge line along Columbia Gorge

Though it was a sunny day when I left Richland, by the time I got to Hood River it was raining hard with no sign of letting up. My rain gear and hiking boots hadn’t made the cut for my carry-on luggage, so the sight-seeing was more limited than initially planned.

Plans that depend on cooperative weather often provide disappointing results. A similar statement holds true for energy production facilities.

Red line represents Oct 22 travel time through the Columbia River Gorge. Notice value of generation from 4,500 MWe of capacity
Red line represents Oct 22 travel time through the Columbia River Gorge. Notice value of generation from 4,500 MWe of capacity

I need to plan another trip to the area, this time with more time available to tour its unique sites. My dear friend Wanda Munn told me I really need to see the reactor compartment unloading facility. Others suggested visits to tanks, the “VIT” facility, or even the currently inactive, but often sorely missed Fast Flux Test Facility.

During one of my many conversations while in Richland, I learned that the FFTF is not quite as dead as I thought it was. In light of our current testy relationship with Russia, the home to one of the few facilities in the world that can perform the kinds of tests done at FFTF, perhaps it is time to reconsider the long term plans for FFTF. The folks at TerraPower might worry a little less about their ability to succeed if they had an alternative site for their current testing program.

Related Posts

  • FFTF restoration would provide the fastest, most efficient path to fast spectrum neutron testing
  • Purposely imposed fear prevents properly using radiation benefits
  • Tour of NuScale control room and test facility

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Nuclear Communications, Nuclear professionals, Nuclear workforce

About Rod Adams

Rod Adams is Managing Partner of Nucleation Capital, a venture fund that invests in advanced nuclear, which provides affordable access to this clean energy sector to pronuclear and impact investors. Rod, a former submarine Engineer Officer and founder of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., which was one of the earliest advanced nuclear ventures, is an atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience. He has engaged in technical, strategic, political, historic and financial analysis of the nuclear industry, its technology, regulation, and policies for several decades through Atomic Insights, both as its primary blogger and as host of The Atomic Show Podcast. Please click here to subscribe to the Atomic Show RSS feed. To join Rod's pronuclear network and receive his occasional newsletter, click here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bonds 25 says

    October 28, 2014 at 1:03 PM

    Rod,

    Next time, you need to make sure to tour the Northwest’s only Nuclear Power Plant!!

  2. Engineer-Poet says

    October 28, 2014 at 1:14 PM

    I drove I-84 once more or less by accident; I’d been heading south from Washington trying to see Crater Lake, but the weather was not good and I couldn’t find any reports for the area.  I gave up and headed east on I-84, back towards Michigan.  Not only did I get to see Craters Of The Moon, I caught some interesting attractions by the roadside as well.

  3. Rod Adams says

    October 28, 2014 at 4:04 PM

    @JohnGalt

    So if they have a surplus of power, why do they need the electricity generated from wind? After all, that power is subsidized with payments from all US taxpayers to the tune of $23 per megawatt-hour.

    • Rod Adams says

      October 29, 2014 at 8:26 AM

      BPA does not own or operate the wind turbines, but they are forced to purchase the power that the turbines produce, whether they want it or not.

  4. Eino says

    October 28, 2014 at 8:42 PM

    Bonneville Dam is worth seeing too. It’s just off the Interstate.

    • Rod Adams says

      October 28, 2014 at 9:54 PM

      Stopped at the visitor center and saw the underwater view of the fish ladders. Too wet for a dam tour.

  5. Ed Leaver says

    October 28, 2014 at 9:10 PM

    BPA has been exporting power long as I can remember, and no-doubt much longer than that. I toured Bonneville thirty years ago, was awe struct by the display describing the Pacific Direct Current Intertie: 800 kV DC, Columbia River to L.A.

    And those power plots — look at the ramp rates of Columbia River hydro!

    Must be nice…

    • mjd says

      October 29, 2014 at 10:42 AM

      Ed, yes the load graph is fascinating, including the hydro ramp rate. The graph contains a textbook full of info. It illustrates the load curve every utility must cope with, two daily M thru F peaks and the weekend load drop. Everybody wants day shift work and weekends off. Imagine Trojan was still in the mix; what would it look like then? Or imagine a utility coping with it without hydro, which might be the norm. And then there is that pesky wind peak on the 23rd at min load, not to mention the whole weekend wind peak. Maybe it’s a simple Load Dispatcher problem. Why do they let the wind blow when they don’t need the power? Or better yet, why do they buy it? As an operator, if I was chasing that load demand curve with a load following nuke plant, I think I’d have a totally different relationship with Xe. Good thing it rains all the time there; keeps the dams full for the hydro and doesn’t add solar to the confusion. I guess we’re lucky we have 50 different state utility commissions regulating, and fossil fuel prices don’t affect the mix; or political agendas either. Can’t even imagine a better way to supply a product that’s considered a luxury in most parts of the world.

  6. Jeff Walther says

    October 29, 2014 at 12:32 PM

    I find it interesting that EL and “JohnGalt” are playing tag team in the article comments. You see one or the other, but not both. Could this be “JohnGalt”‘s homework assignment before he’s assigned to some other website by the oil & gas public relations people?

    • EL says

      October 29, 2014 at 12:46 PM

      Are you guys always so paranoid?

      • Rod Adams says

        October 29, 2014 at 2:05 PM

        Even paranoid people have enemies.

      • Rod Adams says

        October 29, 2014 at 2:33 PM

        Notice how both EL and JohnGalt refer to the rest of the people participating in this conversation in the second or third person? Neither one says “we.”

        • EL says

          October 29, 2014 at 4:32 PM

          @Rod Adams

          Huh?

          Why would I accuse myself of something I am not doing. Your comment makes no sense (grammatical or otherwise).

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