Perry Nuclear Generating Station Explained

Perry Nuclear Power Plant
Coordinates:41.8008°N -81.1433°W
Country:United States
Location:North Perry, Lake County, Ohio
Status:O
Construction Began:[1] [2]
Commissioned:November 18, 1987
Cost:$6.024 billion (2007 USD)[3] ($ in dollars)
Owner:Energy Harbor Corp. (Formerly FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.)
Operator:Energy Harbor Corp. (Formerly FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.)
Np Reactor Type:BWR
Np Reactor Supplier:General Electric
Ps Cooling Source:Lake Erie
Ps Cooling Towers:2 × Natural Draft
(one in use)
Ps Units Operational:1 × 1256 MW
Ps Units Manu Model:BWR-6 (Mark 3)
Ps Units Cancelled:1 × 1205 MW
Ps Thermal Capacity:1 × 3758 MWth
Ps Electrical Capacity:1256
Ps Electrical Cap Fac:89.18% (2017)
80.80% (lifetime)
Ps Annual Generation:9703 GWh (2021)
Website:Perry
Extra:700+ employees

The Perry Nuclear Power Plant is located on a 1100acres site on Lake Erie, 40miles northeast of Cleveland in North Perry, Ohio, US. The nuclear power plant is owned and operated by FirstEnergy-subsidiary Energy Harbor Corp. (Formerly FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.).

The reactor is a General Electric BWR-6 boiling water reactor design, with a Mark III containment design. The original core power level of 3,579 megawatts thermal was increased to 3,758 megawatts thermal in 2000, making Perry one of the largest BWRs in the United States.

Perry was expected to close in 2021 as it is no longer profitable to run when competing against natural gas plants.[4] To avert this, Ohio House Bill 6 was signed into law in July 2019 which added a fee to residents' utility bills that funded subsidies of $150 million per year to Perry and the Davis–Besse nuclear plant to keep both plants operational.[5] However, the bill was alleged to be part of the Ohio nuclear bribery scandal revealed by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in July 2020.[6] [7]

History

Perry was originally designed as a two-unit installation, but construction on Unit 2 was suspended in 1985 and formally cancelled in 1994. At the time of cancellation, all of the major buildings and structures for the second unit were completed, including the 500adj=midNaNadj=mid cooling tower. It is possible that a second unit could be constructed on the site, but current economic and regulatory conditions are not conducive to doing so (in addition to back taxes that would be due to the "abandon in place" designations on many objects in Unit 2).

Eleven hundred acres at the Perry plant were designated in 1993 as an urban wildlife sanctuary by the National Institute for Urban Wildlife. The area has trees, shrubs, streams and ponds; and a habitat for heron, belted kingfisher, ducks and geese. The forested area is ideal for the crane-fly orchid, a rare species in Ohio. The site includes a wetland that contains spotted turtles, an endangered species in Ohio.[8]

On March 28, 2010, there was a fire in a lubrication system for one of the water pumps that feeds water for generation of steam. Reactor power automatically lowered to 68% due to the reduction in feed water flow, and the fire was extinguished in less than three hours. Two plant fire brigade personnel were brought to a local hospital for "heat stress" following the fire. No customers lost power during this event.[9] On February 9, 2016, the plant was unexpectedly shut down for maintenance to a recirculation pump. The reactor was brought back to full power by February 20, 2016.[10]

In addition to Perry, Energy Harbor also owns and operates the Davis-Besse and Beaver Valley nuclear plants.[11]

In July 2023, Energy Harbor applied for a license renewal for the Perry nuclear power plant, requesting an additional 20 years of operation.[12]

 Unit 1Unit 2
Reactor TypeBWR-6
Reactor ManufacturerGeneral Electric
Turbine Manufacturer
Thermal Power3,758 megawattsUnit canceled in 1994
Electrical Output1,260 megawatts
Transmission System Connection345,000 volts
Construction Permit IssuedMay 3, 1977May 3, 1977 (construction suspended in 1985)
Initial CriticalityJune 1986Unit canceled in 1994
First Electrical GenerationNovember 13, 1986
Operational DateNovember 18, 1987
Expiration of Original LicenseMarch 18, 2026

Electricity Production

Generation (MWh) of Perry Nuclear Power Plant[13] !Year!Jan!Feb!Mar!Apr!May!Jun!Jul!Aug!Sep!Oct!Nov!Dec!Annual (Total)
2001822,248402,972123,568798,883142,023802,067324,672912,057900,239930,817900,034719,8647,779,444
2002918,229799,411939,038900,714930,813481,701909,817918,977594,820745,370904,754931,1669,974,810
2003930,209764,817788,52582,043-7,910867,503919,276678,084809,632920,924856,928935,1458,545,176
2004903,869876,390916,173900,902624,410694,868918,960919,636872,942919,947899,443779,78610,227,326
2005121,586549,786-8,878-12,730640,649888,993912,172910,533890,892912,803902,642938,2007,646,648
2006904,098848,230936,789880,942798,087894,530906,324915,903878,179918,424903,221690,64610,475,373
2007925,628841,117906,7388,911294,340684,060168,786931,004898,058929,063837,810632,7328,058,247
2008951,553891,180886,866598,092940,362880,150921,451928,586890,697950,446914,227936,98310,690,593
2009944,877657,957-6,802-10,609392,649676,761907,675928,035904,217440,263812,520948,9297,596,472
2010948,792844,351929,709890,359680,413827,853903,208921,538899,634924,231910,835938,78810,619,711
2011937,494834,829876,861436,568-8,539543,044918,578927,009875,211373,434911,926934,4348,560,849
2012941,442886,315795,538373,434932,521619,344914,450869,909875,608926,623911,517926,4059,973,106
2013721,885827,548462,974-7,203404,866620,070928,048916,126777,536940,124901,938947,5108,441,422
2014949,623825,826906,476911,860875,284898,595925,829917,719873,851699,994728,750941,46410,455,271
2015933,301789,395200,060133,474943,412902,981934,710936,036892,341948,465922,161946,5099,482,845
2016709,583622,146946,537914,375943,605814,486915,017902,059850,547935,958922,911946,02610,423,250
2017889,629730,05681,611799,786854,715900,496922,662924,360901,953938,167921,095947,8469,812,376
2018952,931849,443951,635919,725934,198890,632906,864904,012882,733931,505914,087896,97110,934,736
2019809,277556,333177,752670,859941,856841,553780,669747,528859,887939,869923,556923,9639,173,102
2020928,860893,210932,277917,959941,610891,452889,355909,725892,399936,477914,074943,56410,990,962
2021892,962731,469134,313643,595940,469886,554917,399891,878897,857935,011919,089913,2729,703,868
2022902,658845,250920,347883,206914,023866,926883,939848,346822,350887,1978,774,242
2023

Surrounding population

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of, concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about, concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.[14]

The 2010 U.S. population within of Perry was 83,410, an increase of 8 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within was 2,281,531, a decrease of 3.0 percent since 2000. Cities within 50miles include Cleveland (36miles to city center). Canadian population is not included in these figures.[15]

Seismic risk

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Perry was 1 in 47,619, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.[16] [17]

Security threats

At around 6:00pm EDT on April 7, 2021, the FBI's Cleveland Field Office tweeted that there was an ongoing security situation at the plant that necessitated a bomb squad.[18] The following day, law enforcement disclosed that a 33-year-old Michigan man drove to the power plant and told plant security officers that there was a bomb in the trailer he was towing with his pickup truck. No bomb was found; the man was arrested.[19]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Andrew. Cass. Perry Nuclear Power Plant celebrates 30 years of commercial operation. The News-Herald. November 17, 2017. November 19, 2017.
  2. Web site: PRIS - Reactor Details. www.iaea.org. International Atomic Energy Agency. 27 November 2017.
  3. Web site: EIA - State Nuclear Profiles. www.eia.gov. 3 October 2017. en.
  4. News: John. Funk. FirstEnergy Solutions will close its nuclear power plants, but is silent on bankruptcy restructuring. The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. March 28, 2018. March 29, 2018 . During months of hearings, the company argued that its uncompetitive old coal and nuclear plants would become competitive once the price of natural gas increased. And at that point, customers would see credits on their monthly bills, they argued. Opponents cited federal predictions that natural gas would stay cheap for decades and customers would just keep on paying higher rates..
  5. Web site: Nuclear bailout bill passes Ohio legislature, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine. Jeremy . Pelzer . The Plain Dealer. July 23, 2019. July 25, 2019.
  6. https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6999130/Ohio-House-complaint.pdf. U.S. v. Larry Householder, Jeffery Longstreth, Neil Clark, Matthew Borges, Juan Cespedes, and Generation Now. S.D. Ohio. July 16, 2020. August 3, 2020.
  7. News: Ohio House Speaker Arrested In Connection With $60 Million Bribery Scheme . Wamsley . Laura . . 2020-07-21 . 2020-07-21 . Last year's nuclear bailout law tacked on a charge to residents' power bills, sending $150 million a year to the nuclear power plants. They are owned by the company Energy Harbor, which was previously known as FirstEnergy Solutions. .
  8. Web site: Ecological Stewardship of the Nuclear Energy Industry. Nuclear Energy Institute. 3 August 2012.
  9. Web site: Event Notification Report for March 29, 2010. U.S.N.R.C.. 3 August 2012.
  10. Web site: Power Reactor Status Reports for 2016. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 3 April 2016.
  11. Web site: FirstEnergy. FirstEnergy. 3 August 2012.
  12. Web site: Energy Harbor files for Perry life extension . ans.org . 21 July 2023 . 2023-08-08.
  13. Web site: Electricity Data Browser . 2023-01-07 . www.eia.gov.
  14. Web site: NRC: Emergency Planning Zones. United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 2019-12-22.
  15. Web site: 2011-04-14 . Nuclear neighbors: Population rises near US reactors . 2024-08-16 . NBC News . en.
  16. [Bill Dedman]
  17. Web site: Archived copy . 2011-04-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170525170632/http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/NEWS/quake%20nrc%20risk%20estimates.pdf . 2017-05-25 . dead .
  18. 1379980932300435456. FBICleveland. The FBI is assisting local law.... 8 April 2021.
  19. Web site: Michigan man who claimed he had bomb outside nuclear plant arrested.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Perry Nuclear Generating Station".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.