U.S. nuclear-power output fell to the lowest level in almost 4 ½ years after a tornado forced Surry Units 1 and 2 in Virginia to shut yesterday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.
Power generation nationwide fell 3,730 megawatts, or 4.9 percent, from April 15 to 72,425 megawatts, or 71 percent of capacity, the smallest amount since Oct. 22, 2006, according to an NRC report today and data compiled by Bloomberg. Twenty-nine of the nation's 104 reactors were offline.
The Surry reactors, operated by Dominion Resources Inc. with a capacity of 799 megawatts each, automatically shut down when a tornado touched down in the switchyard and knocked out offsite power, the NRC said. The incident was declared an "unusual event," the lowest of four categories in the federal agency's emergency classification system. Unit 1 was operating at full power and Unit 2 at 98 percent of capacity on April 15.
No Injuries
There were no injuries at the plant, 17 miles (27 kilometers) northwest of Newport News, and the company said it is working to restore electrical service to the station.
Dominion notified authorities that about 100 gallons of oil leaked from an above-ground storage tank and 200 gallons of oil spilled from a damaged transformer, the NRC said.
Entergy Corp. (ETR) idled the 685-megawatt Pilgrim 1 reactor in Massachusetts after it was operating at 86 percent of capacity on April 15. The plant is 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) east of Plymouth. Scana Corp. (SCG) closed the 966-megawatt Virgil C. Summer reactor, which was operating at 40 percent of capacity on April 15. The plant is near Jenkinsville, South Carolina, about 26 miles northwest of Columbia.
Exelon Corp. (EXC) shut the 1,152-megawatt Braidwood 2 reactor in Illinois, operating at 91 percent of capacity on April 15. Another reactor on the site, the 1,178-megawatt Braidwood 1 unit, was operating at full power. The plant is about 54 miles southwest of Chicago.
Ohio Reactor Idled
FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) idled the 1,235-megawatt Perry nuclear reactor in Ohio for refueling. The plant, located on Lake Erie about 35 miles northeast of Cleveland, was operating at 86 percent of capacity on April 15.
FirstEnergy started the 940-megawatt Beaver Valley 1 reactor in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, about 26 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. It was operating at 82 percent of capacity today. Another 940-megawatt unit at the plant, Beaver Valley 2, is operating at full power.
The Tennessee Valley Authority boosted output from the 1,104-megawatt Browns Ferry 2 reactor in Alabama to full power from 92 percent of capacity on April 15.
Browns Ferry Units 1 and 3, which have respective capacities of 1,065 megawatts and 1,115 megawatts, are operating at full power. The plant is 84 miles north of Birmingham near the Tennessee line.
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.
