U.S. Nuclear Output Rises as NextEra Starts Wisconsin Reactor

U.S. nuclear output rose 0.4 percent after NextEra Energy Inc. started its Point Beach 2 reactor in Wisconsin, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported.

Production from U.S. plants increased by 376 megawatts from yesterday to 97,220 megawatts, or 96 percent of capacity, according to the report today from the NRC and data compiled by Bloomberg. Four of 104 power reactors were offline.

NextEra Energy Inc. switched on its 514-megawatt Point Beach 2 reactor located 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Green Bay, Wisconsin. It is operating at 55 percent of capacity.

The 512-megawatt Point Beach 1, another reactor at the site, is operating at full power.

Southern increased output at its 876-megawatt Hatch 1 reactor to 98 percent of capacity from 86 percent yesterday after repairing a feedwater pump.

Another reactor at the site, the 883-megawatt Hatch 2, is operating at full power. The plant is located 74 miles west of Savannah, Georgia.

To contact the reporter on this story: Colin McClelland in Toronto at cmcclelland1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net