Petitioners argue against 20-year license extension for nuclear power plant

Dec 1 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Roni Reino Foster's Daily Democrat, Dover, N.H.

Petitioners made their pitch Tuesday to stop NextEra Energy Seabrook's efforts to relicense its plant for an additional 20 years.

Citizen groups spent Tuesday morning asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reconsider allowing the power plant to continue its relicensing procedure.

"We're looking at specific deficiencies in their proposal," said Doug Bogen, executive director of the Seacoast Anti-Pollution League, arguing that plant officials "haven't addressed requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act."

NextEra Energy Seabrook's current license will expire March, 15, 2030. On May 25 this year it contacted the NRC seeking an extension to 2050.

Groups such as Beyond Nuclear, which aim to end nuclear power and nuclear weapon use, became aware of the application and filed two petitions.

One from Beyond Nuclear, the Seacoast Anti-Pollution League and the New Hampshire Sierra Club argues that the plant has not provided enough information about alternatives to nuclear power in its application.

The second was submitted by the New England Coalition and Friends of the Coast arguing four points, saying NextEra has underestimated the affects of a potential large-scale accident and issues surrounding the management of aging electrical components.

"They owe it to the people that are going to be using that energy to look at those alternatives and consider other options in the future," Bogen said.

Paul Gunter of Beyond Nuclear spoke on the first petition, arguing that wind power is a viable alternative to nuclear power and interconnected wind farms in the Gulf of Maine would be a feasible base power source by 2015. He said by 2014, the first 25 megawatts of offshore wind will be ready for collecting. By 2030, there can be 5,000 megawatts of wind generation in the region, he said.

"None of this is in the applicant's" environmental report, Gunter said of including information on wind power. "It's not there. It should be there, we believe."

NextEra Energy argued that there is no feasible argument wind power could provide enough energy to sustain the Seacoast area, saying the area can be calm at times, resulting in no wind.

NextEra Energy Seabrook can now generate up to 1,245 megawatts of power at any one time.

Antonio Fernandez, counsel for NextEra, argued the application process does not require them to provide an alternative to nuclear power that does not currently exist.

Ray Shadis, of the New England Coalition, argued that the plant, if it continues to function, presents a potential harm to the region with its aging underground piping, transformers and subsurface electrical cable, which are crucial to the safe operation of the plant. However, his petition was submitted with typos, errors and incorrect page numbers. The group has been given seven days to resubmit the petition with corrected errors, but no additional content.

NextEra has also been given that same week to check the content submitted.

NextEra Seabrook Station spokesman Alan Griffith said the operators are confident the company has submitted a comprehensive and accurate application to the NRC.

He also said the plant has an excellent safety record while maintaining around-the-clock maintenance. The renewal process allows the public to comment on the application and question what they believe needs to be addressed.

An NRC panel is expected to review the materials presented and come back in January with a decision on whether the arguments against the relicensing will require a hearing.