The Perry nuclear power plant, 35 miles north of Cleveland, Ohio, has been restarted with the new fuel type that operators expect will mean mean fewer rod replacements in future refueling outages.
By Monday morning, the plant was up to 96 percent power, local media reported. During the refueling shutdown that began March 9, crews also replaced a major transformer and two large pre-heating water tanks.
The reactor is expected to reach 100 percent power by mid-week and remain at full capacity for two years. Currently, a third of its fuel has been upgraded to 5 percent enriched uranium fuel.
With a regulatory blessing, technicians upgraded the plant with Global Nuclear Fuel or GNF high burn-up fuel that is more efficient than the 3 percent enriched uranium fuel the plant had used since its first start up in 1987.
The 3,758 MWt boiling water reactor, a General Electric Type 6 unit, has an operating license that is good for the next 11 years with an expiration date of March 18, 2026.
While the Perry plant was restarted, FirstEnergy shut down the Beaver Valley Unit 1 reactor near Pittsburgh for its scheduled refueling and maintenance outage.
The maintenance work during the Beaver Valley shut down will be fairly routine, including inspections of the plant's steam generators and valves.
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