| Brunswick Nuclear Plant | |
|---|---|
 Brunswick Plant | |
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Smithville Township, Brunswick County, North Carolina, near Southport, North Carolina |
| Coordinates | 33°57′30″N 78°0′37″W / 33.95833°N 78.01028°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | February 7, 1970 |
| Commission date | Unit 1: March 18, 1977 Unit 2: November 3, 1975 |
| Construction cost | $2.490 billion (2007 USD)[1] |
| Owner(s) | Duke Energy |
| Operator(s) | Duke Energy |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | BWR |
| Reactor supplier | General Electric |
| Cooling source | Cape Fear River |
| Thermal capacity | 2 × 2923 MWth |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 1 × 938 MW 1 × 920 MW |
| Make and model | BWR-4 (Mark 1) |
| Nameplate capacity | 1858 MW |
| Capacity factor | 94.43% (2017) 75.20% (lifetime) |
| Annual net output | 15,468 GWh (2021) |
| External links | |
| Website | www |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
The Brunswick nuclear power plant, named for Brunswick County, North Carolina, covers 1,200 acres (490 ha) at 20 feet (6.1 m) above sea level about 5 miles (8.0 km) from the Atlantic Ocean. The site is adjacent to the town of Southport, North Carolina, and to wetlands and woodlands, and was opened in 1975.
The site contains two General Electric boiling water reactors, which are cooled by water collected from the Cape Fear River and discharged into the Atlantic Ocean.
Duke Energy Progress is the majority owner (81.7%) and operator of the Brunswick nuclear plant. The North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency owns the remaining 18.3%. In 2015, Duke Energy completed the process of buying the North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency's 18.3% stake at Brunswick nuclear power plant.[2] (Duke Energy completed its merger with Progress Energy on July 2, 2012.)
The Brunswick plants' proximity to the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean allowed the designers to take in cooling water from the Cape Fear river and discharge it into the Atlantic off the coast of Oak Island. Fish, crustaceans, and other debris are removed from the cooling water via a filtration system. The water then flows through the nuclear plant and discharges into a five mile long canal which passes under the Intra-Coastal Waterway at one point.
- ^ "EIA - State Nuclear Profiles". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ "Duke Energy Progress completes purchase of NCEMPA generation assets". Archived from the original on 2017-02-05. Retrieved 2015-07-31.