The Quad Cities nuclear power plant. (Photo: Constellation)
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting a special inspection at Constellation’s Quad Cities nuclear plant to review two events caused by battery issues. Neither event had any impact on public health or plant workers.
Summer progress; Waterford news; safety report of Northeast plants
Unit 1 of the VC Summer nuclear power plant. (Photo: DJ Slaw)
Here’s a look at some recent announcements from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Summer SLR: The NRC this month published its final environmental impact statement for Summer Unit 1’s subsequent license renewal application. Dubbed a supplemental EIS, the report is an important step in determining if Dominion Energy can continue operating its 966-MWe Westinghouse pressurized water reactor unit for an additional 20 years beyond August 6, 2042, the current end of its license.
Fig. 1. Median capacity factor of all reactors. The median DER net capacity factor of the 92 reactors included in this survey for the three-year period 2022–2024 is 90.96 percent. The 92 reactors in this survey are being compared with 94 reactors in 2019–2021 (when Indian Point-3 and Palisades were also included); 98 in 2016–2018; 99 in 2013–2015. There were 104 reactors in the five three-year periods prior to that. There were 53 reactors in the database in 1980–1982, and in the five subsequent periods there were 60, 77, 97, 102, and 103.
Nuclear generation has inertia. Massive spinning turbines keep electricity flowing during grid disturbances. But nuclear generation also has a kind of inertia that isn’t governed by the laws of motion.
Starting—and then finishing—a power reactor construction project requires significant upfront effort and money, but once built a reactor can run for decades. Capacity factors of U.S. reactors have remained near 90 percent since the turn of the century, but it took more than a decade of improvements to reach that steady state. The payoff for nuclear investments is long-term and reliable.
January 24, 2025, 3:09PMUpdated April 9, 2025, 2:58PMNuclear NewsMatt Wald (Photo: Used with permission from Constellation)
When Exelon Generation shut down Three Mile Island Unit 1 in September 2019, managers were so certain that the reactor would never run again that as soon as they could, they had workers drain the oil out of both the main transformer and a spare to eliminate the chance of leaks. The company was unable to find a buyer because of the transformers’ unusual design. “We couldn’t give them away,” said Trevor Orth, the plant manager. So they scrapped them.
Now they will pay $100 million for a replacement.
The turnaround at the reactor—now called the Crane Clean Energy Center—highlights two points: how smart Congress was to step in with help to prevent premature closures with the zero-emission nuclear power production credit of 0.3 cents per kilowatt-hour (only two years too late), and how expensive it is turning out to be to change course.
Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant. (Photo: Constellation)
Nuclear powerhouse Constellation Energy announced Tuesday it will spend roughly $100 million to upgrade critical electrical systems and plant equipment at its Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant, where the company may pursue license renewals.
The Duane Arnold nuclear power plant, in Iowa. (Photo: NextEra Energy)
Iowa’s lone nuclear plant may soon see new life as NextEra Energy takes a step toward relicensing the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant.
U.S. General Services Administration seeks protection from future energy price hikes
The U.S. General Services Administration has announced a historic long-term purchase of electricity, including carbon-free electricity, from Constellation New Energy Inc. to power 13 federal agencies. In combination with another GSA contract, Constellation secured more than $1 billion from the deal.
The Susquehanna nuclear power plant. (Photo: Talen)
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has denied plans for Talen Energy to supply additional on-site power to an Amazon Web Services’ data center campus from the neighboring Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.
An aerial photo of Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. (Photo: Constellation)
The pursuit of returning two of the country’s retired nuclear plants into service is not only unusual—it is unprecedented and promises to make history.
That’s according to a piece coauthored by former assistant secretary for nuclear energy Katy Huff in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists regarding plans from Holtec and Constellation to restart Michigan’s Palisades plant and Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island Unit 1, respectively.
Before shutdown of the plant, the working cooling towers of TMI-1 are on the right. The dormant cooling towers on the left are for Unit 2, which was permanently closed because of the 1979 accident. (Photo: Constellation Energy)
Nuclear powerhouse Constellation announced today the signing of a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft that will pave the way for the restart of Three Mile Island Unit 1—under a new name to honor Chris Crane, former chief executive of Exelon when Constellation was part of the larger company.
Byron nuclear power plant. (Photo: Constellation)
The Ogle County Board has approved a zoning change that designates 524 acres around the Byron nuclear power plant, located in northern Illinois, as industrial rather than agricultural.
The company has awarded nearly $6 million for STEM education and research programs since the program launched in 2010
Constellation is taking applications for its 2024 E2 Energy to Educate grant program, which provides funding for student projects focusing on energy innovation.
Educators and students in grades 6–12 can apply for program grants of up to $25,000, and those in two- and four-year colleges can apply for grants of up to $50,000.