Davis-Besse is currently preparing for restart following a scheduled refueling where 24 of 69 control rod nozzles were modified using an industry-proven method to ensure their structural integrity. Installing the new head with nozzles made of material less susceptible to primary water stress corrosion cracking will further enhance safe and reliable operations at the unit.
- By Stephen Heiser -
FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., has announced plans to accelerate the replacement of the reactor head at the company's Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio. FENOC plans to shut down the 908-megawatt unit in the fall of 2011 to install the new reactor head. The project was originally scheduled for 2014.
"We are confident that the process used to modify the affected nozzles was successful," said James Lash, FENOC president and chief nuclear officer. "Post-modification inspections and tests indicate these nozzles will support continued safe and reliable operations. At the same time, advancing the installation of the new reactor head will provide additional margins of safety and reliability for long-term plant operations."
The new reactor head has been manufactured by AREVA and is currently stored in France. The head is expected to arrive at Davis-Besse in fall of 2010 where it will undergo a series of pre-service inspections. Plans to install the head are now under development.
Davis-Besse is expected to be returned to service by July. Fuel has been re-loaded into the reactor core and the reactor head has been installed. Pre-start-up testing is now underway.
The plant is a pressurized water reactor produces 898 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power 450,000 homes. The Davis-Besse plant began commercial operation in 1978 and the plant employs 833 people.
The plant pays more than $6.5 million annually in property taxes. In conjunction with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the plant operates and maintains the adjacent 730 acres of “Navarre Marsh”wetlands as part of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.
It emits no pollutants into the air and reduces our dependence on fossil fuels.A pressurized water reactor produces 898 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power 450,000 homes.
Davis-Besse is part of FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company which also operates the Beaver Valley Power Station in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, and the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry, Ohio.
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