FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company said that the current refueling and maintenance shutdown of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio, would include replacement of two out of the plant's four 50-ton reactor coolant pump motors, which are capable of pushing more than 100,000 gallons of water per minute.
The pump motors are “50-ton, 16-foot tall, 9,000-horsepower motors,” First Energy said. The company, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., shut down the single-reactor Babcock and Wilcox Raised Loop pressurized water reactor at just after midnight on Saturday, March 26, for a scheduled outage.
Technicians will also replace about a third of the unit's 177 fuel assemblies. In addition, preventative maintenance and safety inspections will be conducted throughout the plant.
The two pump motors help control reactor power and ensure the fuel remains cooled. Davis-Besse is located 21 miles east-southeast of Toledo, Ohio, on the southwest shores of Lake Erie.