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Oconee Nuclear Station

Coordinates: 34°47′38″N 82°53′53″W / 34.79389°N 82.89806°W / 34.79389; -82.89806
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Oconee Nuclear Station
Oconee Nuclear Station
Map
CountryUnited States
LocationOconee County, near Seneca, South Carolina
Coordinates34°47′38″N 82°53′53″W / 34.79389°N 82.89806°W / 34.79389; -82.89806
StatusOperational
Construction beganNovember 6, 1967; 56 years ago (1967-11-06)
Commission dateUnit 1: July 15, 1973; 51 years ago (1973-07-15)
Unit 2: September 9, 1974; 50 years ago (1974-09-09)
Unit 3: December 16, 1974; 49 years ago (1974-12-16)
Construction cost$1.961 billion (2007 USD)[1]
OwnerDuke Energy
OperatorDuke Energy
Nuclear power station
Reactor typePWR
Reactor supplierBabcock & Wilcox
Cooling sourceLake Keowee
Thermal capacity3 × 2568 MWth
Power generation
Units operational1 × 847 MW
1 × 848 MW
1 × 859 MW
Make and modelB&W LLP (DRYAMB)
Nameplate capacity2554 MW
Capacity factor97.43% (2017)
81.20% (lifetime)
Annual net output22,206 GWh (2021)
External links
Websitewww.duke-energy.com/power-plants/nuclear/oconee.asp
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

The Oconee Nuclear Station is a nuclear power station located on Lake Keowee near Seneca, South Carolina, and has a power output capacity of over 2,500 megawatts. It is the second nuclear power station in the United States to have its operating license extended for an additional twenty years by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (the application for the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Maryland preceded it).

This plant has three Babcock & Wilcox pressurized water reactors, and is operated by Duke Energy.

History

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Oconee was the first of three nuclear stations built by Duke Energy. According to Duke Energy's web site, the station has generated more than 500 million megawatt-hours of electricity, and is "the first nuclear station in the United States to achieve this milestone."[2]

Constructing the dam on the Keowee River and creating Lake Keowee resulted in the submerging of historic sites: one was Keowee, an important Cherokee town that was destroyed by British forces in the late 18th century. Before this took place, the sites were excavated in archeological work conducted by the University of South Carolina. Thousands of artifacts, and evidence of human and animal remains were found at Keowee. In addition, the site of former Fort Prince George (South Carolina) was also excavated and artifacts recovered.

In the summer of 2011 Oconee became the first nuclear power station in the United States to have its sensors controlled digitally.[3] In 2021, Duke applied for a permit to keep Oconee operating until 2050.[4]

Oconee is unique as it is the only nuclear power plant in the United States that does not rely on emergency diesel generator sets for emergency power. Instead it relies on two hydroelectric units at the nearby Keowee hydroelectric station. In the event the Keowee units are both out of service, emergency power can alternatively be provided by combustion turbines at the nearby Lee fossil generating station. Both sources use alternative cables to supply Oconee's emergency systems; these are independent of the Oconee switchyard and transmission lines, which are the normal source of power.

Electricity Production

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Generation (MWh) of Oconee Nuclear Station[5]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual (Total)
2001 1,556,540 1,490,217 1,276,816 1,260,364 1,213,766 1,848,753 1,903,180 1,884,904 1,654,576 1,892,721 1,421,536 1,637,123 19,040,496
2002 1,933,474 1,745,334 1,748,028 1,248,796 1,913,490 1,853,050 1,895,601 1,798,224 1,822,768 1,485,668 1,305,767 1,934,892 20,685,092
2003 1,938,209 1,752,786 1,911,413 1,685,286 1,277,029 1,463,129 1,919,141 1,881,017 1,508,481 1,274,639 1,239,677 1,277,924 19,128,731
2004 1,720,979 1,756,460 1,632,799 1,220,727 1,282,041 1,489,055 1,916,822 1,903,919 1,788,626 1,436,128 1,241,711 1,278,228 18,667,495
2005 1,854,349 1,622,070 1,946,912 1,416,712 1,617,217 1,861,880 1,923,805 1,902,140 1,692,450 1,621,580 1,225,111 1,937,350 20,621,576
2006 1,947,293 1,759,202 1,946,970 1,703,485 1,284,522 1,601,171 1,922,693 1,814,012 1,715,414 1,392,268 1,254,270 1,577,798 19,919,098
2007 1,948,567 1,488,186 1,946,579 1,801,382 1,297,383 1,872,446 1,927,139 1,897,361 1,828,278 1,785,710 1,245,522 1,526,097 20,564,650
2008 1,946,910 1,819,903 1,763,726 1,379,319 1,288,116 1,829,340 1,911,897 1,893,710 1,739,243 1,769,327 1,179,511 1,660,099 20,181,101
2009 1,951,664 1,763,540 1,947,134 1,756,601 1,422,159 1,870,414 1,918,090 1,899,160 1,790,760 1,465,624 1,242,585 1,864,506 20,892,237
2010 1,949,036 1,722,094 1,946,932 1,545,344 1,290,943 1,811,748 1,927,083 1,818,373 1,833,564 1,720,581 1,433,009 1,944,318 20,943,025
2011 1,730,749 1,760,466 1,944,307 1,275,473 1,243,745 1,639,951 1,915,551 1,892,670 1,833,517 1,693,926 1,459,597 1,944,013 20,333,965
2012 1,946,180 1,817,640 1,925,119 1,436,272 1,281,521 1,705,979 1,814,181 1,886,454 1,828,446 1,807,132 1,258,356 1,940,200 20,647,480
2013 1,946,274 1,758,089 1,938,172 1,878,420 1,938,775 1,867,781 1,918,216 1,906,324 1,834,691 1,409,718 821,580 1,803,204 21,021,244
2014 1,948,084 1,759,876 1,941,839 1,531,390 1,629,054 1,869,525 1,917,212 1,899,880 1,832,551 1,835,614 1,308,895 1,719,461 21,193,381
2015 1,927,581 1,701,629 1,942,695 1,879,824 1,935,696 1,861,823 1,846,741 1,880,929 1,824,848 1,595,070 1,609,337 1,933,567 21,939,740
2016 1,903,401 1,817,437 1,457,114 1,692,041 1,596,040 1,865,465 1,910,254 1,887,096 1,818,094 1,899,729 1,390,767 1,939,665 21,177,103
2017 1,947,845 1,593,550 1,941,284 1,879,227 1,934,476 1,861,314 1,876,007 1,889,230 1,837,988 1,773,483 1,322,091 1,942,249 21,798,744
2018 1,946,748 1,757,994 1,938,179 1,578,181 1,544,209 1,870,494 1,924,331 1,908,836 1,834,602 1,635,991 1,572,432 1,782,248 21,294,245
2019 1,931,418 1,758,620 1,935,017 1,882,033 1,940,582 1,869,355 1,916,828 1,898,539 1,829,962 1,860,112 1,375,136 1,687,079 21,884,681
2020 1,947,639 1,824,721 1,943,108 1,447,355 1,742,141 1,880,869 1,929,218 1,911,407 1,847,195 1,610,335 1,503,768 1,954,511 21,542,267
2021 1,958,328 1,770,472 1,956,915 1,894,675 1,953,819 1,883,389 1,928,856 1,899,126 1,848,599 1,916,639 1,477,712 1,717,933 22,206,463
2022 1,953,222 1,278,362 1,944,969 1,824,677 1,405,092 1,878,834 1,923,538 1,904,448 1,843,856 1,852,970 17,809,968
2023

Surrounding population

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The Babcock & Wilcox nuclear steam generator is seen at the company's plant at Barberton, Ohio prior to shipment via the Penn Central Railroad and the Southern to the Oconee Nuclear Station, then under construction in 1970. This generator can convert more than 10 million pounds of water per hour into steam.

The NRC defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.[6]

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Oconee was 66,307, an increase of 11.5 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. This includes the main campus of Clemson University. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 1,404,690, an increase of 14.8 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Greenville (30 miles to city center).[7]

Seismic risk

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The NRC's estimate of the risk of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Oconee was once every 23,256 years, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.[8][9]

Flood risk

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Duke Energy estimated the probability of a random failure of Jocassee Dam at once every 130,000 years, when floodwaters might cause the loss of power and safety equipment at Oconee. Though the company believed "in worst possible conditions" flooding could lead to a significant release of radioactivity, it concluded "the contribution to core damage frequency from precipitation-induced external flooding is considered negligible." Duke informed the NRC about this flooding hazard as early as January 1996.[10] NRC has estimated the probability of a random failure of Jocassee Dam at once every 28,000 years.[11]

Subsequent to Fukushima, improvements were made to the Oconee site to prevent reactor core damage from flooding from a failure of Jocassee Dam. The NRC has expressed satisfaction as of June 2016 with the flood protection modifications, which included new or enhanced flood walls and moving some power lines and equipment to less flood-prone locations.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "EIA - State Nuclear Profiles". www.eia.gov. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  2. ^ "Oconee Nuclear Station". Duke Energy. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  3. ^ SC Nuclear Plant becoming 1st The Kansas City Star May 29, 2011 [dead link]
  4. ^ Ellis, Mike (June 2021). "Duke Energy applies to keep Oconee nuclear plant going into 2050s". The Greenville News.
  5. ^ "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  6. ^ "NRC: Emergency Planning Zones". United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  7. ^ "Nuclear neighbors: Population rises near US reactors". NBC News. April 14, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  8. ^ "What are the odds? US nuke plants ranked by quake risk". NBC News. March 16, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  9. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 25, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "Dam Failures and Flooding at US Nuclear Plants - All Things Nuclear". allthingsnuclear.org. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012.
  11. ^ 'Screening Analysis Report for the Proposed Generic Issue on Flooding of Nuclear Power Plant Sites Following Upstream Dam Failures page 9 http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/flooding.pdf
  12. ^ "NRC satisfied with Oconee plant flood protection upgrade".
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