The facility’s units produced 22.43 million megawatt-hours of carbon-free energy last year, enough to power two million homes
– Edited by Chris Smith –
The South Texas Project produced more electricity in 2009 than any other two-unit nuclear power facility in the nation, and has been the top producer for six consecutive years.
Together, the facility’s units produced 22.43 million megawatt-hours of carbon-free energy last year, enough to power two million homes. STP Unit 2 placed second among the 104 reactors nationwide, and fourth among all 437 units globally, in electric generation. STP Unit 1 ranked ninth in the U.S. and 20th worldwide.
Currently, there are 33 two-unit nuclear plants in the U.S.
“Our employees work hard each and every day to safely and reliably meet the growing energy needs of our state,” said Ed Halpin, STP Nuclear Operating Company President and CEO. “The foundation of our success is our strong collaborative culture and an unyielding commitment to safety in every decision we make.”
STP also has earned more industry honors than any other plant nationwide. It has received the industry’s highest commendation, the B. Ralph Sylvia Best of The Best Award, three times and is the only repeat-winner of the recognition. STP also has won seven of the industry’s annual Top Industry Practice awards; Project of The Year Award for Best Nuclear Project worldwide; and the American Nuclear Society’s Utility Achievement and Utility Leadership awards.
STP is an industry leader in both safety and production. The facility’s recent highlights include:
• STP reached a Total Safety Industrial Accident Rate of 0.0 in February 2009 and has now operated for 31 months – 10 million labor-hours – without a restricted duty or lost-time injury among its employees and contractors.
• The company has an industry-leading three-year net capacity factor – a measure of reliability – of 98.87 percent.
• Late last year, the facility broke its own 50-year industry record when it completed a fifth consecutive breaker-to-breaker production run by operating a unit continuously for 18 months between refuelings.
STP supplies approximately 7.5 percent of the electricity used in Texas. The plant is managed by the STP Nuclear Operating Company and owned by Austin Energy, CPS Energy and NRG Texas. STP's twin reactors produce 2,700 megawatts of carbon-free energy, powering more than two million homes throughout Texas. To learn more about STP, visit www.stpnoc.com.
These rankings are based on 2009 generation data published in Platt’s Nucleonics Week magazine.