Byron Nuclear Power Plant
| Byron Nuclear Power Plant | ||
|---|---|---|
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| location | ||
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| Coordinates | 42 ° 4 '30 " N , 89 ° 16' 55" W | |
| Country: | United States | |
| Data | ||
| Owner: | Exelon generation | |
| Operator: | Exelon generation | |
| Project start: | 1973 | |
| Commercial operation: | Sept 16, 1985 | |
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Active reactors (gross): |
2 (2,421 MW) | |
| Energy fed in in 2006: | 194,757 GWh | |
| Energy fed in since commissioning: | 322,625 GWh | |
| Website: | The nuclear power plant on the side of the operator (English) | |
| Was standing: | August 15, 2008 | |
| The data source of the respective entries can be found in the documentation . | ||
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The Byron nuclear power plant ( English Byron Nuclear Generating Station ) near Byron , Rockford in Ogle County in northern Illinois in the USA , about 90 kilometers west of Chicago., Which consists of two pressurized water reactors , has a total output of 2,421 MW. The owner and operator is the Exelon generation. It supplies electricity for the north of the state of Illinois as well as for the city of Chicago .
Reactors
The Byron nuclear power plant consists of the two pressurized water reactors Byron-1 and Byron-2. Construction began on both reactors on December 31, 1975. The first unit became critical for the first time on February 2, 1985 , and the second on January 9, 1987. On March 1, 1985 Byron-1 was first synchronized with the power grid and located has been in commercial operation since September 16, 1985. The first network synchronization of the Byron-2 reactor took place on February 6, 1987, after more than eleven years of construction it went into commercial operation on August 21, 1987. The reactors were supplied by Westinghouse . and some cost 4.5 billion US dollars . The electricity produced in Byron is enough to supply two million average US homes with electricity, with around 690 employees working there. Exelon pays real estate taxes of $ 28 million annually.
power
The net electrical output of the Byron-1 reactor is 1164 MW , the gross output 1225 MW. Byron-2 has a net output of 1136 MW and a gross output of 1196 MW.
cooling
The nuclear power plant has two natural draft wet cooling towers, each 495 feet high. Cooling water is taken from the nearby Rock River to cool the reactors.
safety
After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 , the security facilities around the power plant were tightened considerably. There is a so-called safety zone around the power plant, which cannot be built on.
Since February 2006, Exelon has been working with the Illinois EPA to investigate tritium contamination in groundwater.
On October 19, 2007, there was a leak in a cooling water pipe in the non-nuclear part of the facility, which was discovered during an inspection. This was the first time since the mid-1990s that both units were out of service at the same time. On October 31, 2007, the reactors went back into operation.
On January 30, 2012, steam containing tritium was released, probably as a result of a defect in a component of a switchgear that supplies power to the reactor . The reactor was shut down and powered by diesel generators, and the incident was rated by the US nuclear authorities as an "unusual event" with the lowest of the four hazard levels.
Economic situation and possible early shutdown
In March 2014, it was announced that all Exelon power plants were losing money and that the Byron plant, along with two others, Clinton and Quad Cities, was one of the most unprofitable. The reason is the strong competition from high natural gas reserves due to the widespread fracking in the United States . The operator wanted to seek state subsidies for CO 2 -free energy sources, similar to wind and solar power plants, in order to restore the profitability of the systems.
After the state of Illinois did not approve the required subsidies, the situation came to a head in August 2015 and there was speculation that the three nuclear power plants would soon be shut down. In a tender for the sale of electricity from the systems, the system in Byron was able to assert itself, so that its operation is initially secured until the end of May 2019. Quad Cities failed to bid for 2018 and 2019, so this facility can initially continue to operate until the end of May 2018. The unprofitable facility in Clinton was not affected by the tender because it transfers its electricity to another power grid.
In September 2015, it was announced that Exelon was postponing the decision to shut down the Byron and Quad Cities facilities for one year, while Clinton's situation remains critical and uncertain.
Operating license
In the USA, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission grants an operating license for a nuclear power plant for a period of up to 40 years. The 40 year period was originally based on the fixed asset depreciation period . The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 allows the operating license to be extended (even several times) by 20 years at a time.
The original operating license for Block 1 was granted to the operator Exelon Generation Co., LLC on February 14, 1985 by the NRC until October 31, 2024. It was extended on November 19, 2015 to October 31, 2044 .
The original permit for Block 2 was granted on January 30, 1987 to November 6, 2026. It was extended on November 19, 2015 to November 6, 2046 .
Data of the reactor blocks
The Byron nuclear power plant has a total of two units :
| Reactor block | Reactor type | net power |
gross power |
start of building | Network synchronization |
Commercialization of essential operation |
operating permit |
switching off processing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byron-1 | Pressurized water reactor | 1164 MW | 1225 MW | 1st October 1974 | March 1, 1985 | September 16, 1985 | 10/31/2044 | |
| Byron-2 | Pressurized water reactor | 1136 MW | 1196 MW | 1st October 1974 | February 6, 1987 | August 21, 1987 | 11/06/2046 |
See also
Web links
- Photos of the nuclear power plant
- Satellite image of the power plant with text about the power plant
Individual evidence
- ^ Byron Nuclear Power Station, Rockford, IL. USA (English)
- ↑ a b c The nuclear power plant on the operator's side ( Memento of the original from September 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ a b c Power Reactor Information System of the IAEA : "United States of America: Nuclear Power Reactors - Alphabetic" (English)
- ↑ Fact Sheet 1 - Exelon Byron Nuclear Generating Station ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ eia.doe.gov - US Nuclear Plants - Byron (English)
- ↑ Exelon Byron Nuclear Generating Station ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ Leaks shut down Byron nuclear plant ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ Byron Nuclear Power Plant Back On-line (English)
- ↑ Incident in nuclear reactor releases tritium. sueddeutsche.de, January 31, 2012, accessed February 4, 2012 .
- ^ As Exelon threatens to shut nuclear plants, Illinois town fears fallout. chicagotribune.com, March 9, 2014, accessed September 19, 2015 .
- ↑ Will Exelon Shutter Quad Cities, Clinton Or Byron NPPs In The Land Of Lincoln? qctimes.com, September 10, 2014, accessed September 19, 2015 .
- ↑ Will Exelon Shutter Quad Cities, Clinton Or Byron NPPs In The Land Of Lincoln? (No longer available online.) Mywebtimes.com, September 10, 2014, formerly in the original ; Retrieved September 19, 2015 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Backgrounder on Reactor License Renewal. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), accessed August 18, 2016 .
- ^ Subsequent License Renewal Background. NRC, accessed August 18, 2016 .
- ↑ Byron Station, Unit 1. NRC, accessed August 18, 2016 .
- ^ A b NRC Renews Operating Licenses of Byron Nuclear Power Plant in Illinois. (PDF 357 KB) NRC, November 19, 2015, accessed on August 18, 2016 .
- ^ Byron Station, Unit 2. NRC, accessed August 18, 2016 .
