Misplaced Pages

#960039

83-482: The plant is owned and operated by Constellation Energy and has two 2737 megawatt thermal (MWth) Combustion Engineering Generation II two-loop pressurized water reactors . Each generating plant (CCNPP 1&2) produces approximately 850 megawatt electrical (MWe) net or 900 MWe gross. Each plant's electrical load consumes approximately 50 MWe. These are saturated steam plants (non-superheated) and are approximately 33% efficient (ratio of 900 MWe gross/2700 MWth core). Only

166-578: A $ 10,000 project to observe local animal populations and the effects of secondary succession on abandoned farmland around the nuclear plant. In 1961, AEC chairman Glenn T. Seaborg established the Technical Analysis Branch (to be directed by Hal Hollister) to study the long-term biological and ecological effects of nuclear war. Throughout the early 1960s, this group of scientists conducted several studies to determine nuclear weapons' ecological consequences and their implications for human life. As

249-1076: A 10-megawatt solar array outside of Ocean City, Maryland . The array will provide the city with approximately 20% of its annual energy usage when completed. In October 2018, Constellation and the Tucson Unified School District completed a project that added solar generation capability to 82 of the district's buildings and facilities. The project is estimated to meet 47% of the district's electricity needs. In 2022, it became an independent company after Exelon split its utilities and power generation businesses. Former subsidiary Baltimore Gas & Electric remained part of Exelon. Constellation provides electric power to commercial and industrial customers. Its electricity supply business manages energy sales, dispatch, and delivery from Exelon's power generation portfolio to utilities, municipal co-ops, and energy retailers nationwide. As of 2018 , Constellation had around 360 megawatts of solar generation assets that are either in operation or under construction across

332-455: A 550-MW facility near Odessa, Texas. The purchase added 1,100 MW of capacity. On April 28, 2011, Exelon announced its intention to purchase Constellation Energy. The merger was completed on March 12, 2012. On May 27, 2011, Constellation Energy announced its intention to purchase StarTex Power, a retail electricity provider in Houston, Texas; the purchase was completed on June 1, 2011. In 2018,

415-533: A Delaware limited liability company , was jointly owned by Constellation Energy (CEG) and Électricité de France (EDF), the French builder and supplier of nuclear power plants. The proposed unit was to produce approximately twice the energy of each individual existing unit. On July 13, 2007, UniStar Nuclear Energy filed a partial application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to review its plans to build

498-430: A cooling heat-sink for the plant. Unit 1 went into commercial service in 1975 and Unit 2 in 1977. The total cost of the two units was approximately US$ 766 million, about $ 3.699 billion in 2024. Unit 1 had its two steam generators replaced in 2002 and its reactor vessel closure head replaced in 2006, while unit 2 had its two steam generators replaced in 2003, and its vessel closure head replaced in 2007. The water around

581-512: A decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 2,890,702, a decrease of 2.0 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Washington, D.C., (45 miles to city center). In 2001, when the Dominion Cove Point LNG plant was scheduled to reopen, many local residents were concerned about the proximity to this nuclear power plant (3 miles). Residents thought that

664-509: A fee would doom the project, “or the economics of any nuclear project, for that matter”. In November 2010 a deal to transfer Constellation Energy Group's stake in a nuclear development company to its French partner, EDF Group, closed, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission . A month prior, Constellation agreed to sell its 50 percent stake in UniStar Nuclear Energy to EDF for US$ 140 million, giving EDF sole ownership of

747-473: A fixed rate for purchasing ore through one of the mills in the area. This prompted individuals to discover and produce the ore, which the government would then buy. The AEC was the only legal buyer of uranium from the beginning of the program in 1947 through 1966. From 1966 to the end of the program in 1970, the AEC continued to buy uranium to support the market until private industry could develop sufficiently. Because

830-553: A holding company in 1999. On September 15, 2005, Constellation Energy announced a joint venture, UniStar Nuclear, with Areva to market the European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) in the United States. On December 19, 2005, FPL Group, Inc. announced the acquisition of Constellation Energy in a merger transaction valued at more than $ 11 billion, as well as the fact that it would adopt Constellation Energy as its name for

913-674: A merger with Exelon in 2012. When FERC approved the acquisition, Constellation Energy's energy supply business was re-branded as Constellation, an Exelon company. As part of the 2012 merger, Baltimore Gas and Electric , the regulated utility operated by Constellation Energy, became a regulated utility operating under Exelon Utilities. The current iteration of the company was founded in 2022 after splitting off from Exelon . Before merging with Exelon, Constellation Energy Group operated more than 35 power plants in 11 states (mainly Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, and California). Baltimore Gas and Electric created Constellation as

SECTION 10

#1732845106961

996-524: A national agency on funding bio-environmental research in the Arctic. Research took place at Cape Thompson on the northwest coast of Alaska, and was tied to an excavation proposal named Project Chariot . The excavation project was to involve a series of underground nuclear detonations that would create an artificial harbor, consisting of a channel and circular terminal basin, which would fill with water. This would have allowed for enhanced ecological research of

1079-550: A new nuclear power plant, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant 3 (CCNPP 3) based on the AREVA US Evolutionary Power Reactor (US-EPR), Generation III+, four loop pressurized water reactor. The third reactor was intended to address a need for more baseload power generation in the Mid-Atlantic region. The unit proposed to be located south of the existing units 1 and 2, set back from the shoreline. Although only

1162-615: A physical load-following energy supply contract. Constellation delivers approximately 730 billion cubic feet (21 billion cubic metres) of natural gas annually to customers, making it one of the ten largest natural gas marketers in the United States. The company oversees trading, transport, and storage of physical gas supply, pricing, hedging, and risk management. Constellation Technology Ventures (CTV), Constellation's venture capital fund, invests in start-up companies with emerging energy technologies. Their portfolio includes Proterra , ChargePoint and Aquion Energy Constellation

1245-426: A plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination , and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity. The 2010 US population within 10 miles (16 km) of Calvert Cliffs was 48,798, an increase of 86.4 percent in

1328-498: A result of exposure to radon gas in uranium mines. The AEC was connected with the U.S. Department of Defense by a "Military Liaison Committee"'. The Joint Committee on Atomic Energy exercised congressional oversight over the AEC and had considerable power in influencing AEC decisions and policy. The AEC's far-reaching powers and control over a subject matter which had far-reaching social, public health, and military implications made it an extremely controversial organization. One of

1411-504: A result, during the 1950s and 1960s, the U.S. government placed emphasis on the development and potential use of "clean" nuclear weapons to mitigate these effects. In later years, the AEC began providing increased research opportunities to scientists by approving funding for ecological studies at various nuclear testing sites, most notably at Eniwetok , which was part of the Marshall Islands . Through their support of nuclear testing,

1494-489: A single unit, its power plant footprint was almost twice the size of the existing units together. It was to have a closed-loop cooling system using a single hybrid mechanical draft cooling tower, incorporating plume abatement for no visible water vapor plume from the tower. Units 1 and 2 use an open-cycle heat dissipation system without cooling towers. The cooling tower of the Unit 3 reactor was to release two thirds of its waste heat to

1577-474: Is an American energy company headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland . The company provides electric power , natural gas , and energy management services. It has approximately two million customers across the continental United States. The company was known as Constellation Energy Group (former NYSE ticker symbol CEG), a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest electricity producers in the United States, until

1660-575: Is being considered in Case Number 9127. Opponents and supporters of the proposed third reactor at Calvert Cliffs were involved in a series of public hearings before officials of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission . In March 2009, Bill Peil of southern Calvert County asked the NRC to deny an emissions permit for the reactor due to health and safety concerns he asserted that the plant posed to

1743-399: Is returned to the bay no more than 12 °F (6.7 °C) warmer than the bay water. Unlike many other nuclear power plants, Calvert Cliffs did not have to utilize water cooling towers to return the hot water to its original temperature. As the water comes out very quickly and creates a sort of artificial rip current , it can be a dangerous place to fish. CCNPP 3 will only need about 10% of

SECTION 20

#1732845106961

1826-590: Is the United States' leading nuclear power plant operator, with over 19,000 megawatts. Constellation owns and operates a portfolio of fossil fuel and other sources generating more than 12,000 megawatts (MW) of power. Constellation's two hydroelectric plants generate 1,600 MW of power. Constellation has 27 wind projects in ten states, totaling nearly 1,400 megawatts (MW). Constellation owns Constellation Generation Solutions (CGS). CGS functions as an industry-leading maintenance and technical services organization emphasizing precision and quality, structured to streamline

1909-492: The Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP); previously Lilienthal had opposed his appointment. Lilienthal was told to "forgo your desire to place a bottle of milk on every doorstop and get down to the business of producing atomic weapons." Nichols became General Manager of the AEC on 2 November 1953. The AEC was in charge of developing the U.S. nuclear arsenal, taking over these responsibilities from

1992-464: The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 , which for the first time made the development of commercial nuclear power possible, and resolved a number of other outstanding problems in implementing the first Atomic Energy Act. The act assigned the AEC the functions of both encouraging the use of nuclear power and regulating its safety . The AEC's regulatory programs sought to ensure public health and safety from

2075-520: The Baltimore Museum of Industry . Constellation ranks second in local corporate giving among Baltimore-based companies and donated $ 7.10 million in 2017. The company also provides grants to local schools that implement education programs promoting science and technology. United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission ( AEC ) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by

2158-738: The Criterion Wind Project in Garrett County, Maryland , and to purchase 28 Clipper Liberty 2.5-MW wind turbines for the project. Construction was completed in December 2010. In May 2010, the firm acquired two natural gas combined-cycle generation facilities in Texas from Houston-based Navasota Holdings. The $ 365 million transaction included the Colorado Bend Energy Center, a 550-MW facility near Wharton, Texas, and Quail Run Energy Center,

2241-639: The Federal Energy Administration (FEA), the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA), the Federal Power Commission (FPC), and various other federal agencies. In creating the AEC, Congress declared that atomic energy should be employed not only in the form of nuclear weapons for the nation's defense, but also to promote world peace , improve the public welfare and strengthen free competition in private enterprise. At

2324-588: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission did not consider the risks could be caused by an attack or an explosion before opening the plant. The NRC's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Calvert Cliffs was 1 in 100,000 for Reactor 1 and 1 in 83,333 for Reactor 2, according to an NRC study published in August 2010. In the 1960s scientists at Johns Hopkins University became concerned that

2407-747: The Hanford site in Washington. In 1953, the AEC ran several studies on the health effects of radioactive iodine in newborns and pregnant women at the University of Iowa . Also in 1953, the AEC sponsored a study to discover if radioactive iodine affected premature babies differently from full-term babies. In the experiment, researchers from Harper Hospital in Detroit orally administered iodine-131 to 65 premature and full-term infants who weighed from 2.1 to 5.5 pounds (0.95 to 2.49 kg). In another AEC study, researchers at

2490-599: The Manhattan Project 's Los Alamos Laboratory , physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer voiced strong opinions to the AEC, as chairman of its general advisory board of nuclear scientists, against development of the "super" or hydrogen bomb along with Lilienthal. Subsequently, Lilienthal left the AEC at the White House's request in 1950 and Oppenheimer's appointment to the board was not renewed in 1952. With them removed, President Truman announced his decision to develop and produce

2573-525: The New York Stock Exchange to halt trading in Constellation. The next day, as the stock fell as low as $ 13 a share, the company announced it was hiring Morgan Stanley and UBS to advise it on "strategic alternatives" suggesting a buyout. On September 17, 2008, Constellation accepted an offer of $ 4.7 billion by MidAmerican Energy , a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway , but ultimately canceled

Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant - Misplaced Pages Continue

2656-565: The Toys-R-Us distribution center in Flanders, New Jersey, what was then the largest rooftop solar array ever constructed. In March 2014, it agreed to acquire ETC ProLiance Energy, a supplier of natural gas to customers in several states. In November 2014, it completed its acquisition of Integrys Energy Services, a competitive retail electricity and natural gas subsidiary serving customers in 22 states. In September 2016, it completed its acquisition of

2739-488: The U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S. Truman signed the McMahon/Atomic Energy Act on August 1, 1946, transferring the control of atomic energy from military to civilian hands, effective on January 1, 1947. This shift gave the members of the AEC complete control of the plants, laboratories, equipment, and personnel assembled during

2822-582: The University of Nebraska College of Medicine fed iodine-131 to 28 healthy infants through a gastric tube to test the concentration of iodine in the infants' thyroid glands. During the 1960s and early 1970s, the Atomic Energy Commission came under fire from opposition concerned with more fundamental ecological problems such as the pollution of air and water. Under the Nixon Administration, environmental consciousness grew exponentially and

2905-413: The 1950s, such concerns led the AEC to build a large ecology research group at their Oak Ridge National Laboratory , which was instrumental in the development of radioecology . A wide variety of research efforts in biology and medicine took place under the umbrella of the AEC at national laboratories and at some universities with agency sponsorship and funding. As a result of increased funding as well as

2988-497: The AEC exceptional freedom in hiring its scientists and engineers, AEC employees were exempt from the civil service system. The AEC's first order of business was to inspect the scattered empire of atomic plants and laboratories to be inherited from the U.S. Army. Because of the great need for security, all production facilities and nuclear reactors would be government-owned, while all technical information and research results would be under AEC control. The National Laboratory system

3071-474: The AEC gave ecologists a unique opportunity to study the effects of radiation on whole populations and entire ecological systems in the field. Prior to 1954, no one had investigated a complete ecosystem with the intent to measure its overall metabolism, but the AEC provided the means as well as the funding to do so. Ecological development was further spurred by environmental concerns about radioactive waste from nuclear energy and postwar atomic weapons production. In

3154-417: The AEC provided the most conspicuous example of the benefit of atomic age technologies to biology and medicine. Shortly after the Atomic Energy Commission was established, its Division of Biology and Medicine began supporting diverse programs of research in the life sciences, mainly the fields of genetics, physiology, and ecology. Specifically concerning the AEC's relationship with the field of ecology, one of

3237-610: The AEC to the new Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which began operations on January 19, 1975. Promotional functions went to the Energy Research and Development Administration which was later incorporated into the United States Department of Energy. Lasting through the mid-1970s, the AEC, along with other entities including the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society,

3320-789: The AEC, support was often given to research in these fields indirectly as an extension of their efforts for peaceful applications of nuclear energy. The AEC issued a large number of technical reports through their technical information service and other channels. These had many numbering schemes, often associated with the lab from which the report was issued. AEC report numbers included AEC-AECU (unclassified), AEC-AECD (declassified), AEC-BNL ( Brookhaven National Lab ), AEC-HASL (Health and Safety Laboratory), AEC-HW (Hanford Works), AEC-IDO (Idaho Operations Office), AEC-LA (Los Alamos), AEC-MDCC (Manhattan District), AEC-TID (Technical Information Division), and others. Today, these reports can be found in library collections that received government documents, through

3403-603: The AEC. The AEC was abolished by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 , which assigned its functions to two new agencies: the Energy Research and Development Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission . On August 4, 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Department of Energy Organization Act , which created the Department of Energy . The new agency assumed the responsibilities of

Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant - Misplaced Pages Continue

3486-771: The Manhattan Project, and various universities funded or conducted human radiation experiments . The government covered up most of these radiation mishaps until 1993, when President Bill Clinton ordered a change of policy. Nuclear radiation was known to be dangerous and deadly (from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945), and the experiments were designed to ascertain the detailed effect of radiation on human health. In Oregon, 67 prisoners with inadequate consent to vasectomies had their testicles exposed to irradiation. In Chicago, 102 volunteers with unclear consent received injections of strontium and cesium solutions to simulate radioactive fallout. For many years,

3569-576: The NRC extended the license of the plant for 20 additional years, making Calvert Cliffs the first nuclear plant in the United States to receive such an extension. President George W. Bush visited the plant in June 2005, the first time a president had visited a nuclear power plant in nearly two decades. UniStar Nuclear Energy announced plans to build a unit of the Evolutionary Power Reactor ( US-EPR variant) at Calvert Cliffs. UniStar Nuclear Energy,

3652-517: The Northeast, although a similar lab in Southern California did not eventuate. On 11 March 1948 Lilienthal and Kenneth Nichols were summoned to the White House where Truman told them "I know you two hate each other’s guts". He directed that "the primary objective of the AEC was to develop and produce atomic weapons", Nichols was appointed a major general and replaced Leslie Groves as chief of

3735-510: The StarTex brand was discontinued; Constellation served its existing customers instead. In May 2011, the company acquired MXenergy, a residential and small business energy provider with approximately half a million customers. In December 2011, it announced the acquisition of ONEOK Energy Marketing Co., a natural gas company with customers in the Midwest. In 2011, it contracted to construct and operate for

3818-416: The U.S. were stricken, and many planned nuclear plants were canceled. By 1974, the AEC's regulatory programs had come under such strong attack that Congress decided to abolish the agency. Supporters and critics of nuclear power agreed that the promotional and regulatory duties of the AEC should be assigned to different agencies. The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 transferred the regulatory functions of

3901-543: The United States, including Maryland, California, Arizona, New Jersey, and Texas. In 2011, Constellation was contracted to construct and operate what was then the largest rooftop solar array ever constructed for the Toys-R-Us distribution center in Flanders, New Jersey. The company's offsite renewables service (CORe) provides access to offsite renewable energy projects through a retail power contract. CORe combines location-specific renewable energy purchases and certificates with

3984-413: The agency grew. The AEC was chiefly held responsible for the health problems of people living near atmospheric test sites from the early 1960s, and there was a strong association of nuclear energy with the radioactive fallout from these tests. Around the same time, the AEC was also struggling with opposition to nuclear power plant siting as well as nuclear testing. An organized push was finally made to curb

4067-409: The arctic regions of the globe made ideal locations in which to pursue ecological research, especially since at the time there was minimal human modification of the landscape. All investigations conducted by the AEC produced new data from the Arctic, but few or none of them were supported solely on that basis. While the development of ecology and other sciences was not always the primary objective of

4150-402: The area in conjunction with any nuclear testing that might occur, as it essentially would have created a controlled environment where levels and patterns of radioactive fallout resulting from weapons testing could be measured. The proposal never went through, but it evidenced the AEC's interest in Arctic research and development. The simplicity of biotic compositions and ecological processes in

4233-557: The atmosphere. The proposed EPR design was a saturated steam plant with one high-pressure turbine in tandem with three low-pressure turbines and a main generator design similar to Unit 1 and 2. Alstom was to supply the main steam turbine and main generator. On November 13, 2007, UniStar Nuclear Energy filed an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity with the Maryland Public Service Commission for authority to construct CCNPP 3. This application

SECTION 50

#1732845106961

4316-512: The bay cooling water volume needed for Unit 1 and 2 combined. The increase in fish and shellfish impingement and entrainment will be less than 3.5% over Unit 1 and 2 existing conditions. In February 2009, Calvert Cliffs set a world record for pressurized water reactors (PWRs) by operating 692 days non-stop. In addition, Unit 2's capacity factor in 2008 was a world-record high of 101.37 percent. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants:

4399-456: The community. UniStar Nuclear Energy President and CEO George Vanderheyden urged the NRC to approve the air permit application. In October 2010, Constellation Energy said that it had reached an impasse in negotiations for a federal loan guarantee to build the proposed third reactor. The government sought a fee of $ 880 million on a guarantee of about $ 7.6 billion, to compensate taxpayers for the risk of default. Constellation Energy replied that such

4482-412: The deal on December 17, 2008, in favor of a $ 4.5 billion buyout from French power company Electricite de France (EDF) . In January 2009, Constellation Energy announced it would sell the majority of its London-based international commodities business to an affiliate of Goldman Sachs for an undisclosed price. In April 2010, Constellation Energy closed its agreement with Clipper Windpower to acquire

4565-551: The deployment of a European reactor in the US. Unit 2 at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant was shut down on September 5, 2013, after a malfunction during testing. It was re-opened September 10, 2013, after the required maintenance was performed. The Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant consist of two operational reactors, one additional was proposed in 2007 and withdrawn. Constellation Energy Constellation Energy Corporation

4648-645: The discharge of heated cooling water from the plant would be detrimental to a crucial element of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, the bay's famed blue crabs . Litigation pursuant to the 1970 National Environmental Policy Act led to a 1971 decision by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals requiring the Atomic Energy Commission (succeeded by the NRC in 1974) to consider the environmental impact of building and maintaining such an atomic energy plant. In 2000,

4731-479: The drafters of the McMahon Act, James R. Newman , famously concluded that the bill made "the field of atomic energy [an] island of socialism in the midst of a free-enterprise economy". Before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was created, nuclear regulation was the responsibility of the AEC, which Congress first established in the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 . Eight years later, Congress replaced that law with

4814-571: The environment was brought to the forefront of a growing public controversy that had been building since 1965. In search for an ideal location for a large-yield nuclear test, the AEC settled upon the island of Amchitka , part of the Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The main public concern was about their location choice, as there was a large colony of endangered sea otters in close proximity. To help defuse

4897-401: The exhaust of the single high-pressure main turbine is slightly superheated by a two-stage reheater before delivering the superheated steam in parallel to the three low-pressure turbines. Unit 1 uses a General Electric–designed main turbine and generator, while Unit 2 uses a Westinghouse–designed main turbine and generator. The heat produced by the reactor is returned to the bay, which operates as

4980-425: The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970. Along with rising environmental awareness came a growing suspicion of the AEC and public hostility for their projects increased. In the public eye, there was a strong association between nuclear power and nuclear weapons, and even though the AEC had made a push in the late 1960s, to portray their efforts as being geared toward peaceful uses of atomic energy, criticism of

5063-589: The first approved funding grants went to Eugene Odum in 1951. This grant sought to observe and document the effects of radiation emission on the environment from a recently built nuclear facility on the Savannah River in South Carolina. Odum, a professor at the University of Georgia, initially submitted a proposal requesting annual funding of $ 267,000, but the AEC rejected the proposal and instead offered to fund

SECTION 60

#1732845106961

5146-466: The government itself was not producing ore, it claimed that it had no obligation to regulate miner safety. A congressional report published in 1995 concluded that, "The government failed to act to require the reduction of the hazard by ventilating the mines, and it failed to adequately warn the miners of the hazard to which they were being exposed." The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 sought to compensate miners and families who developed cancer as

5229-431: The hazards of nuclear power without imposing excessive requirements that would inhibit the growth of the industry. This was a difficult goal to achieve, especially in a new industry, and within a short time the AEC's programs stirred considerable controversy. Stephanie Cooke has written that: the AEC had become an oligarchy controlling all facets of the military and civilian sides of nuclear energy, promoting them and at

5312-643: The hydrogen bomb. The first test firing of an experimental H-bomb (" Ivy Mike ") was carried out in the Central Pacific on November 1, 1952, under President Truman. Furthermore, U.S. Navy Admiral Lewis W. Strauss was appointed in 1953 by the new President Eisenhower as the Chairman of the AEC, to carry out the military development and production of the H-bomb. Lilienthal wanted to give high priority to peaceful uses, especially with nuclear power plants . However, coal

5395-408: The increased opportunities given to scientists and the field of ecology in general, a plethora of new techniques were developed which led to rapid growth and expansion of the field as a whole. One of these techniques afforded to ecologists involved the use of radiation, namely in ecological dating and to study the effects of stresses on the environment. In 1969, the AEC's relationship with science and

5478-560: The issue, the AEC sought a formal agreement with the Department of the Interior and the U.S. state of Alaska to help transplant the colony of sea otters to other former habitats along the West Coast. The AEC played a role in expanding the field of arctic ecology . From 1959 to 1962, the Commission's interest in this type of research peaked. For the first time, extensive effort was placed by

5561-506: The joint venture and its plans to develop a third unit at Calvert Cliffs in Southern Maryland. The deal called for EDF to transfer 3.5 million shares it owns, valued around US$ 110 million, to Constellation and give up its seat on the Constellation board. EDF designee Samuel Minzberg resigned. In April 2011 the NRC stated that UniStar is not eligible to build a third reactor, as it is not a US owned company since Constellation pulled out of

5644-488: The partnership in 2010. The NRC would continue to process the application, but a license would not be issued until the ownership requirements were met. The reactor was estimated to cost $ 9.6 billion. Constellation Energy merged into Exelon in 2012. In 2015 Areva, struggling with internal restructuring of its corporation, withdrew from the certification process for the US EPR reactor design, effectively putting on hold plans for

5727-436: The plant (see lower-right-center of photograph) is a very popular place for anglers . Unit 1 & 2 each takes in bay water (from the fenced-in area) to cool its steam driven turbine condensers plus other bay-water–cooled primary and secondary system heat exchangers. The bay water is pumped out at a nominal flow rate of 1.2 million gallons per minute (75,000 L/s) per unit (Unit 1 and 2) for each steam turbine condenser. The water

5810-425: The post-merger entity. The merger was canceled on October 25, 2006. In July 2008, Constellation Energy bought uranium trading firm Nufcor International from AngloGold Ashanti and FirstRand International . On September 15, 2008, after reports that Constellation had exposure to Lehman Brothers following that firm's bankruptcy filing, Constellation's stock price dropped 56% in a single day. The massive drop led

5893-563: The power held by the AEC, and in 1970 the AEC was forced to prepare an Environmental impact statement (EIS) for a nuclear test in northwestern Colorado as part of the initial preparation for Project Rio Blanco . In 1973, the AEC predicted that, by the turn of the century, one thousand reactors would be needed producing electricity for homes and businesses across the United States. However, after 1973, orders for nuclear reactors declined sharply as electricity demand fell and construction costs rose. Some partially completed nuclear power plants in

5976-516: The prosecution of the Rosenbergs for espionage. The AEC also began a program of regular nuclear weapons testing , both in the faraway Pacific Proving Grounds and at the Nevada Test Site in the western United States. While the AEC also supported much basic research, the vast majority of its early budget was devoted to nuclear weapons development and production. After serving as director of

6059-503: The retail electricity and natural gas business from ConEdison Solutions, a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison , Inc. In the purchase, Constellation acquired ConEdison's retail electricity and natural gas customer contracts and associated supply contracts serving approximately 15 TWh of electricity and 1 billion cubic feet per annum (28,000,000 m /a) of natural gas to more than 560,000 commercial, industrial, public sector and residential customers. In August 2018, it began constructing

6142-451: The same time attempting to regulate them, and it had fallen down on the regulatory side ... a growing legion of critics saw too many inbuilt conflicts of interest. The AEC had a history of involvement in experiments involving radioactive iodine . In a 1949 operation called the " Green Run ", the AEC released iodine-131 and xenon-133 to the atmosphere which contaminated a 500,000-acre (2,000 km ) area containing three small towns near

6225-477: The same time, the McMahon Act which created the AEC also gave it unprecedented powers of regulation over the entire field of nuclear science and technology. It furthermore explicitly prevented technology transfer between the United States and other countries, and required FBI investigations for all scientists or industrial contractors who wished to have access to any AEC controlled nuclear information. The signing

6308-450: The tailings of vanadium plants in the US West during World War II. The Colorado Plateau was known to contain veins of carnotite ore, which contains both vanadium and uranium. The AEC developed its program in accordance with the principle of free enterprise. Rather than discovering, mining, and processing the ore itself, the federal government provided geological information, built roads, and set

6391-626: The urgent demands of our nation's nuclear facilities, power grids, and critical supply chains. Constellation owns the archives of the Baltimore Gas & Electric Company, the former Consolidated Gas Light, Electric Power Company of Baltimore City, and its ancient predecessor, the Gas Light Company of Baltimore. The Baltimore Gas & Electric Company's photographic collection consists of approximately 250,000 photographic prints and negatives, in more than 50,000 series The archives are held by

6474-412: The war to produce the atomic bomb. An increasing number of critics during the 1960s charged that the AEC's regulations were insufficiently rigorous in several important areas, including radiation protection standards, nuclear reactor safety, plant siting, and environmental protection. By 1974, the AEC's regulatory programs had come under such strong attack that the U.S. Congress decided to abolish

6557-536: The wartime Manhattan Project . In its first decade, the AEC oversaw the operation of Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory , devoted primarily to weapons development, and in 1952, the creation of new second weapons laboratory in California, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory . The AEC also carried out the "crash program" to develop the hydrogen bomb (H-bomb), and the AEC played a key role in

6640-437: The work execution of the nuclear fleet. Constellation PowerLabs is a wholly owned subsidiary of Constellation. Since 1911, PowerLabs has transformed from supporting the power industry to becoming Exelon's primary calibrations and testing laboratory. It has four individual labs strategically located from the upper Midwest to the Northeast, enabling experienced staff in engineering, metrology, and nuclear power generation to support

6723-602: Was established from the facilities created under the Manhattan Project . Argonne National Laboratory was one of the first laboratories authorized under this legislation as a contractor-operated facility dedicated to fulfilling the new AEC's missions. Argonne was the first of the regional laboratories to involve universities in the Chicago area. Others were the Clinton (CEW) labs and the Brookhaven National Laboratory in

6806-521: Was still cheap, and the electric power industry was not interested. The first experimental nuclear power plant was started in Pennsylvania under President Eisenhower in 1954. The AEC developed a program for sourcing uranium domestically. Before 1947, the main sources for the mineral had been Canada and (what was then) the Belgian Congo, though the Manhattan Project also secretly processed uranium from

6889-404: Was the culmination of long months of intensive debate among politicians, military planners and atomic scientists over the fate of this new energy source and the means by which it would be regulated. President Truman appointed David Lilienthal as the first Chairman of the AEC. Congress gave the new civilian AEC extraordinary power and considerable independence to carry out its mission. To provide

#960039