Achievement Mirrors Constellation Energy’s 2008 Nuclear Performance, Including Generating a Record 32 Million Megawatt Hours of Electricity
– By April Murelio –
Constellation Energy has announced that its Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant Unit 2, located in Lusby, Md., was taken out service Sunday for a scheduled refueling outage, after completing a record-breaking, 692 days, five hours and 42 minutes. Unit 2 set a world record for continuous generation by a pressurized water nuclear reactor, topping the previous 689-day record held by Three Mile Island Unit 1.
“This phenomenal achievement is a tribute to Calvert Cliffs’ employees and their commitment to safe and reliable operation of our nuclear plants,” said Brew Barron, executive vice president, Constellation Energy, and chief nuclear officer of Constellation Energy subsidiary Constellation Energy Nuclear Group (CENG). “It is also a reflection of the superlative performance by our entire fleet of nuclear plants in 2008.”
Unit 2 has operated continuously since its last refueling outage two years ago, providing enough electricity to serve more than 1 million households and businesses in the region.
“This level of achievement would not be possible without our employees’ unwavering commitment to safety, human performance and equipment reliability,” said Jim Spina, site vice president, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant.
The previous Calvert Cliffs record for a continuous run was 489 days in March 2004.
Calvert Cliffs is a two-unit, 1,735-megawatt facility. Cliff Cliffs Unit 1 remains at 100 percent power. In addition to Calvert Cliffs, Constellation Energy operates two other nuclear power plant sites – Nine Mile Point in Scriba, N.Y., and R.E. Ginna near Rochester, N.Y. Together, the reactors have a generating capacity of 3,869 megawatts, enough to serve approximately 2.6 million households.
In 2008, CENG reactors generated a record 32 million megawatt hours of carbon-free electricity and recorded an impressive 94.7 percent capacity factor. Nine Mile Point Unit 1 contributed by operating continuously for 519 days through Oct. 23.
CENG’s two reactors that did not have refueling outages in 2008 operated virtually full time. Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 had a 99.3 percent capacity factor, while Nine Mile Point 1 operated at 98.2 percent capacity. Sites that completed refueling outages in 2008 also had stellar performance, including Calvert Cliffs Unit 1, which was rated first the nation with a 19.6-day outage. Among the 42 spring refueling outages in 2008 throughout the U.S., R.E. Ginna was third nationally with 20 days, and Nine Mile Point 2 was 11th, with a 27-day outage.