Plant ready for safe, reliable operating cycle
Operators at Exelon Generation’s Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant returned Unit 2 to 100 percent power after completing a planned refueling outage. The refueling outage helps prepare the unit to run safely and provide consistent, reliable power to the region for another two-year cycle.
While the unit was offline, technicians replaced nearly one-third of the reactor’s fuel and performed more than 10,000 inspections, tests, maintenance activities and modifications. Many of the tasks performed during the outage cannot be accomplished while the unit is online.
Additionally, this year, Calvert replaced a high pressure turbine on the non-nuclear side of the plant. This investment in state-of-the-art equipment is expected to result in an additional 19 megawatts of generation, enough energy to power approximately 200,000 homes.
“These plants have decades of safe, reliable operation left on their life. We will continue to invest in the technology that will provide the most electricity possible, using the most efficient methods, helping to keep Maryland’s wholesale electricity prices low,” said Site Vice President George Gellrich.
Calvert Cliffs is located on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County and is Maryland’s only nuclear energy facility. The station is home to two pressurized water reactors capable of generating 1,775 megawatts combined, enough to power more approximately 30 percent of all homes and businesses in the state of Maryland. Follow us on Twitter@ExelonNuclear and the Exelon Generation channel on You Tube.