NNSA Completes Work on Y-12 Facilities Upgrade Project
NS&D Monitor
2/27/2015
The National Nuclear Security Administration has wrapped up work on a Y-12 National Security Complex project designed to upgrade a pair of aging facilities—Buildings 9212 and 9204-2E—and it said it has done it nearly 11 months ahead of schedule and $5.6 million under budget. The $75.7 million Nuclear Facilities Risk Reduction project refurbished mechanical, electrical, ventilation, and heating/cooling systems for enriched uranium operations in an effort to keep the two aging facilities up and running. Among the highlights of the project were the replacement of major portions of a 40-year-old ventilation system and the consolidation of 11 steam stations into seven.
Electrical switchgear and motor control center systems were also upgraded, and a more environmentally friendly brine chiller replaced a Kathabar dehumidification system. “The NFRR project was a really big step toward upgrading facilities in dire need of investment,” NNSA Production Office Manager Steve Erhart said in a statement. “The infrastructure improvements at the 9212 Building will enable the 70 year facility to continue to safely operate until replaced by the Uranium Processing Facility.”
Electrical Switchyard and Substation Planned for Y-12 in 2016
NS&D Monitor
2/27/2015
Construction of a new electrical switchyard and substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex is expected to begin in Fiscal Year 2016, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration. The project is associated with plans for the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12, but NNSA spokesman Steve Wyatt confirmed that the switchyard will serve the entire plant. “A new electrical switchyard will be constructed west of the main Y-12 complex and adjacent to the newly constructed haul road,” Wyatt said in an email response to questions. “The switchyard will provide electrical power for all of Y-12 to include UPF,” he added. “It will replace an obsolete electrical switchyard located on the eastern portion of Y-12. Design activities are ongoing in coordination with TVA, and construction is slated to begin in 2016.”
Wyatt declined to provide the estimate cost of the project or confirm whether or not the Tennessee Valley Authority will share in the costs. “Given that design remains underway, the cost is not known at this point,” he said. “DOE and TVA have only recently initiated discussions and therefore no decisions have been made with respect to roles and responsibilities.”
