Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station

Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant
Fort Calhoun plant, seen from U.S. Highway 75
Map
CountryUnited States
LocationWashington County, near Blair, Nebraska
Coordinates41°31′13″N 96°4′38″W / 41.52028°N 96.07722°W / 41.52028; -96.07722
StatusBeing decommissioned
Construction began1966
Commission dateAugust 9, 1973 (1973-08-09)
Decommission date2058 (2058)[1]
Construction cost$754.65 million (2007 USD)[2]
OwnerOmaha Public Power District
OperatorExelon Nuclear Partners
Nuclear power station
Reactor typePressurized Water Reactor (PWR)
Reactor supplierCombustion Engineering
Power generation
Units cancelled1 × 1136 MW
Units decommissioned1 × 478.6 MW
Nameplate capacity
  • 502 MW
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station is a shut-down nuclear power plant located on 660 acres (2.7 km2) between Fort Calhoun, and Blair, Nebraska adjacent to the Missouri River between mile markers 645.6 and 646.0. The utility has an easement for another 580 acres (2.3 km2) which is maintained in a natural state. The power plant is owned by the Omaha Public Power District of Omaha, Nebraska. When operational, the plant accounted for 25 percent of OPPD's net generation capabilities.[3]

The plant's single Combustion Engineering pressurized water reactor generated 484 megawatts of electricity.[4] This was the smallest rated capacity among all operating commercial power reactors in North America, and as a single-unit plant, this also qualified it as the smallest rated capacity nuclear power plant. OPPD's two Nebraska City coal-fired plants at 682 (opened 2009) and 649 (opened 1979) MW are both significantly larger.[3][5]

Fort Calhoun houses spent fuel rods in a 40-foot (12 m) deep spent fuel pool next to the reactor, and when the pool had nearly reached capacity in 2006, OPPD began to store spent fuel rods above ground in dry cask storage as well. In total, the Ft. Calhoun reactor has 600,000 to 800,000 pounds (270,000 to 360,000 kg) of high level nuclear waste.[6] The storage was not designed to house spent fuel permanently, but when plans for Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository were terminated, OPPD stated that they are "prepared to safely store material on-site as long as necessary".[7]

The plant underwent refurbishment in 2006 by having its steam generators, pressurizer, reactor vessel head, low pressure turbines and main transformer replaced. In 2003, the plant had its operating license renewed for an additional twenty years. With the renewal, the license for Fort Calhoun was extended from August 9, 2013, to August 9, 2033.[8]

The 2011 Missouri River floods surrounded the plant with flood water. The nuclear reactor had been shut down and defueled in April 2011 for scheduled refueling. A fire caused electricity to shut off in the spent fuel pools resulting in 90 minutes without cooling[9] qualifying as a "red event", signifying a high-level threat to Fort Calhoun operations.[10] The flood and resulting fire was called "one of the most serious safety incidents in recent years" and resulted in a three-year cold shut-down of the plant.[11]

In August 2012 OPPD signed a deal for Exelon Nuclear Partners to manage the plant although OPPD would maintain ownership.[12] In February 2017, OPPD ended the service contract with Exelon by paying a $5 million fee, but will also be subject to "wind-down" fees.[13]

The plant was shut down on October 24, 2016.[14]

  1. ^ Cole Epley (2017-06-16). "Fort Calhoun decommissioning is underway, first step — $1.2 million fuel rod inspection". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  2. ^ "EIA - State Nuclear Profiles". eia.gov. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b "OPPD flood bill so far: $26M". Omaha.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2011-07-13.
  4. ^ "Fort Calhoun Station". Omaha Public Power District. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  5. ^ "Nebraska City Station - Omaha Public Power District". Oppd.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2011-07-13.
  6. ^ Kaku, Michio (July 1, 2011). "United States Hit With a Triple Nuclear Threat - How Dangerous is it? (Part 1/2) | Dr. Kaku's Universe". Big Think. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
  7. ^ "Fort Calhoun plant may store spent fuel rods permanently". Washington County Enterprise and Pilot Tribune (Enterprisepub.com). 2011-06-25. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
  8. ^ "NRC renews license for fort Calhoun nuclear power plant for an additional 20 years" (PDF) (Press release). U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. November 4, 2003.
  9. ^ Gaarder, Nancy (May 11, 2012). "NRC staff criticizes official's handling of Fort Calhoun". Omaha.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  10. ^ Tracy, Ryan; Johnson, Keith (May 9, 2012). "NRC Manager Blocked Safety Concerns, Letter Says". The Wall Street Journal.
  11. ^ Tracy, Ryan; Johnson, Keith (May 9, 2012). "NRC Manager Blocked Safety Concerns, Letter Says". The Wall Street Journal.
  12. ^ "Ft. Calhoun Plant To Be Managed By Private Company". WOWT Channel 6. August 16, 2012. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  13. ^ Epley, Cole. "OPPD billed $5 million to end contract with operator of Fort Calhoun nuclear plant". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference wnn-20161025 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).