U.S. Nuclear Production Rises as Comanche Peak 2 Reactor Starts
U.S. nuclear-power output increased from 4½-year lows as Energy Future Holdings Corp. started the Comanche Peak 2 reactor in Texas, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.
Power generation nationwide increased 857 megawatts from yesterday to 72,898 megawatts, or 72 percent of capacity, according to an NRC report today and data compiled by Bloomberg. Twenty-six of the nation’s 104 reactors were offline.
Energy Future is operating the 1,150-megawatt Comanche Peak 2 at 1 percent of capacity. The 1,200-megawatt Comanche Peak Unit 1 is producing at full power.
The Comanche Peak plant is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) southwest of Dallas.
Southern Co. (SO) boosted the 1,109-megawatt Vogtle 1 reactor in Georgia to full power from 30 percent of capacity yesterday after it automatically tripped offline April 20. The cause is under investigation, the NRC said April 21.
The 1,127-megawatt Vogtle 2 is operating at full capacity. The plant is 26 miles southeast of Augusta.
Exelon Corp. (EXC) increased output from the 1,164-megawatt Byron 1 reactor in Illinois to 65 percent of capacity from 40 percent yesterday after a refueling outage. Another unit at the site, the 1,136-megawatt Byron 2, is operating at full power. The plant is located 85 miles west of Chicago.
Limerick 2
Exelon boosted the 1,134-megawatt Limerick 2 reactor in Pennsylvania to 97 percent of capacity from 34 percent yesterday after returning from a refueling and maintenance outage.
Another reactor at the site, the 1,134-megawatt Limerick 1, is operating at full capacity. The plant is about 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
Progress Energy Inc. (PGN) boosted the 937-megawatt Brunswick 2 unit in North Carolina to 99 percent of capacity from 89 percent yesterday. The 938-megawatt Brunswick 1 is operating at full power at the Cape Fear site 130 miles south of Raleigh.
Constellation Nuclear Energy Group LLC, a joint venture of Constellation Energy Group Inc. (CEG) and Electricite de France SA, slowed the 621-megawatt Nine Mile Point Unit 1 in New York to 78 percent of capacity from full power yesterday.
Another unit at the site, the 1,140-megawatt Unit 2, is operating at full power. The plant is located about 6 miles northeast of Oswego.
Vermont Yankee
Entergy Corp. (ETR) lowered output from the 620-megawatt Vermont Yankee reactor to 76 percent of capacity from full power yesterday. The plant is located in Vernon, in the southeast corner of Vermont, 80 miles northwest of Boston.
Entergy slowed both units at the Arkansas Nuclear One plant. The 843-megawatt Unit 1 reduced output to 42 percent of capacity and the 995-megawatt Unit 2 dropped to 78 percent of capacity. Each unit was operating at full power yesterday at the plant located 65 miles northwest of Little Rock.
Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL) slowed the 551-megawatt Prairie Island 1 reactor in Minnesota to 96 percent of capacity from full power yesterday. The 545-megawatt Prairie Island 2, another reactor at the site about 40 miles southeast of Minneapolis, is operating at full power.
Some reactors close for maintenance and refueling during the spring and fall in the U.S., when demand for heating and cooling is lower. The outages can increase consumption of natural gas and coal to generate electricity.
The average U.S. reactor refueling outage lasted 41 days in 2009, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute.
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
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