Unfortunately Indian Point Not Shut Down Before the Sixth Seal

Riverkeeper: Indian Point shutdown confirms power plant’s ‘time has come and gone’
Indian Point’s Unit 2 reactor automatically shut down on March 15 and resumed generating power around 2 a.m. on March 24, only to go down some 13 hours later. It has been closed since.
THOMAS C. ZAMBITO | ROCKLAND/WESTCHESTER JOURNAL NEWS | 6 hours ago
• “It’s evidence that this plant’s time has come and gone,” Riverkeeper’s Paul Gallay said
• Unit 2 resumed generating power around 2 a.m. on March 24 but was back down again some 13 hour later
• This is the first time since 2009 that both reactors have been down at the same time.
What will happen to Indian Point spent nuclear fuel rods? Thomas Zambito for lohud reports.
RICKY FLORES/FRANK BECERRA JR./LOHUD
Indian Point’s two nuclear reactors remain without power while workers try to fix a stubborn malfunction in an electric generator on the non-nuclear side of the Buchanan power plant.
It’s unclear when the plant’s Unit 2 reactor will resume generating power for electric users in Westchester County and New York City, said Jerry Nappi, a spokesman for Entergy, Indian Point’s owner.
The 45-year-old reactor automatically shut down around 3 p.m. on March 15 when a problem was detected in an exciter, which provides the electrical current that produces the magnetic field necessary to create electricity, Nappi said.

The Indian Point Energy Center nuclear power plant in Buchanan as seen from across the Hudson River in Tomkins Cove March 21, 2019.
PETER CARR/THE JOURNAL NEWS
The reactor resumed generating power around 2 a.m. on March 24 but shut down again some 13 hours later when a similar malfunction arose.
The forced shutdowns, or scrams, took place while the plant’s other reactor – Unit 3 – is down for its biennial maintenance and refueling. It was the first time the two reactors had been down at the same time since the spring of 2009 when Unit 2 had an unplanned shutdown while Unit 3 was being refueled.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) continues to monitor Entergy’s troubleshooting efforts. Spokesman Neil Sheehan could not say when Unit 2 would be up and running again.
On Tuesday, Riverkeeper president Paul Gallay said Indian Point’s recent troubles confirm the environmental group’s concerns about the plant.
“It’s concerning that they’ve had two shutdowns in the past week or so,” Gallay said. “We are hopeful that Entergy and NRC and New York State are doing everything they need to do to keep us safe. It’s evidence that’s this plant’s time has come and gone.”
Riverkeeper joined the state of New York and Entergy in the landmark 2017 agreement to shut down Indian Point. Unit 3 is scheduled to close next year and Unit 2 in 2021.
Over the years, Riverkeeper pursued several legal challenges against Entergy, citing the potential dangers posed by a nuclear power plant being located so close to a heavily populated region and its impact on the Hudson River.
Entergy denied both assertions, claiming the shutdown agreement was a nod to marketplace pressures created by the low price of natural gas and the ongoing legal challenges.
“All equipment responded as designed and operators reacted as expected during the safe shutdowns,” Nappi said Tuesday. “Indian Point has been safely and reliably generating power for more than 40 years, and will continue to do so until permanent shutdown in 2021.”
Gallay said Indian Point’s closure will hasten a shift in the state’s power grid that will lead to greater reliance on renewables like wind and solar power.
“Everybody knows this plant is closing,” Gallay said. “And when it comes to replacement energy we’re well on our way.”