Outage Season Buttresses Nuclear Energy's Unmatched Reliability

Replacing the old steam generator at Unit 2.

Earlier today, Unit 1 at Xcel Energy's Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Station went offline after a record 644-day non-stop run. But in order to match that record or beat it next time, the 550-megawatt reactor will now head into a scheduled refueling outage to make sure the plant is ready to provide power during what is projected to be a harsh winter.

To get a better idea of what a refueling outage looks like, you might want to review a photo album we posted online earlier this year with a wide selection of photos from around the industry - including a shot from Prairie Island's Unit 2 when it replaced one of its steam generators. The album was part of a larger package on nuclear reliability that we originally posted over the summer. We also ought to point folks back to an interview we did last November with Curtis Wilson, who tweets under the moniker of the "Nuke Roadie." In the spring and fall, it's the efforts of outage workers like Wilson who make sure nuclear plants are running at or near 100% capacity when demand is highest in the summer and winter months.

Comments

Anonymous said…

Congrats to the folks at PI for a great run. PI has always been a great plant.

Bob Fraser

October 9, 2014 at 8:08 PM

Anonymous said…

I concur whole heartedly with Bob Fraser's PI atta boy!

Bill Brennan

October 9, 2014 at 11:50 PM

Anonymous said…

To all at PINGP congrates and thanks for demonstrating that with the right people and processes, nuclear plants can achieve remarkable reliability.

Mike Wadley

October 10, 2014 at 9:08 AM

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The following is a guest post from Matt Wald, senior communications advisor at NEI. Follow Matt on Twitter at @MattLWald.

From the batteries in our cell phones to the clothes on our backs, "nanomaterials" that are designed molecule by molecule are working their way into our economy and our lives. Now there’s some promising work on new materials for nuclear reactors.

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