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Callaway Nuclear Generating Station

Coordinates: 38°45′42″N 91°46′48″W / 38.76167°N 91.78000°W / 38.76167; -91.78000
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Callaway Nuclear Generating Station
Containment building (center) and cooling tower (right) at Callaway Plant (NRC picture).
Map
Official nameCallaway Plant, Callaway Energy Center
CountryUnited States
LocationAuxvasse Township, Callaway County, near Steedman, Missouri
Coordinates38°45′42″N 91°46′48″W / 38.76167°N 91.78000°W / 38.76167; -91.78000
StatusOperational
Construction beganSeptember 1, 1975
Commission dateDecember 19, 1984
Construction cost$5.919 billion (2007 USD)[1]
OwnerAmeren Missouri
OperatorAmeren Missouri
Nuclear power station
Reactor typePWR
Reactor supplierWestinghouse
Cooling towers1 × Natural Draft
Cooling sourceMissouri River
Thermal capacity1 × 3565 MWth
Power generation
Units operational1 × 1215 MW
Make and modelWH 4-loop (SNUPPS)
Units cancelled1 × 1120 MW
1 × 1600 MW US EPR
Nameplate capacity1215 MW
Capacity factor78.34% (2017)
87.70% (lifetime)
Annual net output8338 GWh (2017)
External links
WebsiteCallaway Energy Center
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

The Callaway Plant is a nuclear power plant located in Callaway County, Missouri. The plant is Missouri's only nuclear power plant and is close to Fulton, Missouri.[2] The 2,767 acres (1,120 ha) site began operations on December 19, 1984. It generates electricity from one 1,190-megawatt Westinghouse four-loop pressurized water reactor and a General Electric turbine-generator. The Ameren Corporation owns and operates the plant through its subsidiary Ameren Missouri. It is one of several Westinghouse reactors designs called the "Standard Nuclear Unit Power Plant System," or SNUPPS.[3]

The plant produces 1,279 electrical megawatts (MWe) of net power.[4] As of 2019, Callaway has completed five "breaker-to-breaker" runs — operating from one refueling to the next without ever being out of service. It is one of only 26 U.S. reactors to achieve such a feat according to Ameren.[5]

History

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On November 19, 2005, its workers finished replacing all four steam generators in 63 days, 13 hours, a world record for a four-loop plant.[6]

In 2014, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission tests found contaminated ground water near the site.[7]

The plant experienced three unplanned shutdowns in 2020. On December 24, 2020, an electric fault on the non-safety main generator caused an extensive outage requiring the replacement of significant components. The components were replaced, inspected, and tested during subsequent months.[8][9] According to NRC inspection reports, on August 2, 2021, the reactor was restarted. Two days later on August 4, 2021, the main turbine generator was synchronized with the electrical grid and on August 8, the plant reached rated thermal power.[10][11]

According to Ameren, Callaway accounted for 23% of the utility's generation mix in 2022.[12]

Proposed Unit 2 and cancellation

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On July 28, 2008, Ameren Missouri applied to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a Combined Construction and Operating License (COL) to build a 1,600-MW Areva Evolutionary Power Reactor.[13] Ameren sought to construct this second reactor in order to meet their projected increase in demand for electricity over the next decade.[14]

In April 2009, the proposal was cancelled. One stumbling block was a law that forbids utilities to charge customers for the interest accrued on a construction loan before a new plant produces electricity. The new nuclear reactor would have cost at least $6 billion.[15][16]

In April 2012, Ameren Missouri and Westinghouse Electric Company announced their intent to seek federal funding for a new generation of nuclear reactors to be installed at the Callaway site. The U.S. Department of Energy could provide up to $452 million in research and development funds to Westinghouse. The new reactors would be smaller and, the companies claimed, safer in design than any currently operating. Ameren Missouri was to apply to license up five of the 225-megawatt reactors at the Callaway site, more than doubling its current electrical output.[17]

In August 2015, a month after Ameren had announced plans to build solar energy plants in Missouri,[18] all plans to expand nuclear-powered electricity generation at the site were scrapped.[19]

Electricity production

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Generation (MWh) of Callaway Nuclear Generating Station[20]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual (Total)
2001 864,162 778,452 698,802 112,310 170,080 818,314 841,436 843,774 823,728 858,914 832,611 741,657 8,384,240
2002 847,236 334,598 844,638 828,117 823,474 816,017 838,569 840,751 819,190 588,220 67,577 741,242 8,389,629
2003 872,905 784,805 584,814 773,625 863,342 831,288 851,080 851,040 829,346 749,941 835,235 872,168 9,699,589
2004 818,598 377,137 869,077 228,218 -11,505 410,640 860,440 859,831 835,856 868,542 839,923 873,936 7,830,693
2005 800,781 787,769 699,479 773,972 864,248 757,093 852,463 853,734 436,542 -5,959 292,891 917,564 8,030,577
2006 916,311 831,307 917,371 879,982 430,989 766,219 888,413 891,120 878,572 911,654 885,967 918,755 10,116,660
2007 921,372 832,148 773,355 17,380 592,863 866,741 894,646 888,978 869,464 906,068 888,687 920,253 9,371,955
2008 919,838 861,555 897,258 880,210 904,505 861,545 878,976 889,454 869,370 281,840 579,384 554,694 9,378,629
2009 928,441 535,798 826,689 796,254 909,950 836,422 898,752 899,588 878,322 918,753 891,471 926,676 10,247,116
2010 927,876 836,896 918,163 464,014 -15,004 490,633 889,828 890,830 872,584 908,084 889,371 922,758 8,996,033
2011 897,729 830,541 913,563 882,535 905,823 865,617 885,426 891,052 856,251 405,064 115,685 922,037 9,371,323
2012 921,614 861,869 911,230 875,067 901,235 867,320 887,705 896,292 874,142 911,923 889,995 919,937 10,718,329
2013 922,003 833,927 894,008 173,068 34,149 869,706 719,609 320,343 872,034 912,338 892,149 923,769 8,367,103
2014 924,177 834,469 919,722 883,867 903,051 864,887 891,422 889,432 871,396 287,811 210,125 795,997 9,276,356
2015 911,205 752,567 915,541 881,151 903,267 863,518 784,224 838,780 870,449 912,558 887,442 919,380 10,440,082
2016 922,994 862,506 879,028 18,165 538,222 865,798 888,624 893,101 848,513 905,695 883,658 923,875 9,430,179
2017 908,108 827,888 870,773 881,507 906,309 785,120 889,975 897,148 864,495 155,902 -11,834 328,736 8,304,127
2018 919,276 828,913 904,403 884,652 893,872 859,057 887,365 887,687 863,309 906,833 893,292 926,620 10,655,279
2019 911,445 813,601 912,224 -6,761 320,245 865,191 888,716 902,124 855,023 913,456 892,828 921,771 9,189,863
2020 937,229 844,721 885,725 777,262 907,007 862,345 887,515 892,758 748,775 0 0 -1,217 7,742,120
2021 -29,677 0 0 0 0 0 0 742,905 868,611 905,856 889,061 915,677 4,292,433
2022 800,111 831,706 916,291 79,882 11,462 854,993 889,796 892,284 872,105 913,732 891,085 921,322 7,062,362
2023 923,026 832,359 917,636 788,763 629,535 869,209 890,611 891,884 837,217 0 679,782

Facilities

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Cooling tower

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Callaway Nuclear Generating Station at sunrise in 2020, with cooling tower visible at left

The cooling tower at Callaway is 553 feet (169 m) tall. It is 430 feet wide at the base, and is constructed from reinforced concrete. It cools about 585,000 US gallons (2,210,000 L; 487,000 imp gal) of water per minute when the plant is operating at full capacity; about 15,000 US gallons (57,000 L; 12,000 imp gal) of water per minute are lost out the top from evaporation.[21] Another 5,000 US gallons (19,000 L; 4,200 imp gal) of water are sent to the Missouri River as "blowdown" to flush solids from the cooling tower basin. All water lost through evaporation or blowdown is replaced with water from the river, located five miles from the plant.[21] The temperature of the water going into the cooling tower is 125 °F (52 °C), and the tower cools it to 95 °F (35 °C). The tower is designed such that if it were to somehow topple over completely intact, it would not damage any of the critical plant structures.[citation needed]

Risks

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Surrounding population

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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination; and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.[22]

The 2010 population within 10 miles (16 km) of Callaway was 10,092, an increase of 3.8 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 population within 50 miles (80 km) was 546,292, an increase of 15.0 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Fulton (11 miles to city center), Jefferson City (26 miles to city center), and Columbia (32 miles to city center).[23]

Seismic risk

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In August 2010, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimated that the annual chance that an earthquake might damage the core at Callaway was 1 in 500,000,[24][25] the lowest probability of any U.S. reactor.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "EIA - State Nuclear Profiles". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Callaway, Unit 1, Current Facility Operating License NPF-30, Tech Specs, Revised 09/26/2017" (PDF). Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  3. ^ "SNUPPS - Nuclear Plant Construction at the Cutting Edge, 1972".
  4. ^ "Callaway Plant Profile". Archived from the original on 2009-04-11.
  5. ^ "Nuclear Energy | Ameren Missouri". www.ameren.com. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  6. ^ "Callaway Nuclear Plant Returns to Service Following Refueling and Maintenance; Sets World Record for Steam Generator Replacement". Ameren. 2005-11-21. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
  7. ^ Slavit, Mark (2014-08-05). "Callaway nuclear plant well water samples have radioactivity". KRCG. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  8. ^ "Callaway Energy Center still at zero power". News Tribune. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  9. ^ "CALLAWAY PLANT – INTEGRATED INSPECTION REPORT" (PDF). May 11, 2021. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  10. ^ "CALLAWAY PLANT – INTEGRATED INSPECTION REPORT 05000483/2021003" (PDF). November 8, 2021. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  11. ^ Directors, Clarion Energy Content (2021-08-10). "Ameren Missouri's 1.19-GW Callaway nuclear plant back in operation after generator rewind". Power Engineering. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  12. ^ "Ameren Missouri - Integrated Resource Plan". Ameren Missouri. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  13. ^ Dan Yurman (2008-07-28). "Ameren files for 2nd reactor with NRC". Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
  14. ^ "Ameren Missouri Submits Combined Construction and Operating License Application for a Second Nuclear Generating Unit". Ameren. 2008-07-28. Archived from the original on 2009-04-12. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
  15. ^ Nuke plant is, well, nuked. Not gonna happen
  16. ^ Terry Ganey. AmerenUE pulls plug on project Archived 2012-07-13 at the Wayback Machine Columbia Daily Tribune, April 23, 2009.
  17. ^ "Federal aid sought to build nuclear reactors in Missouri". The Kansas City Star. 2012-04-19. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
  18. ^ Barker, Jacob. "Ameren seeks to build massive solar array along I-70". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  19. ^ "Latest News | S&P Global Platts".
  20. ^ "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  21. ^ a b "Callaway Facts and Figures". Archived from the original on 2009-04-11.
  22. ^ "Backgrounder on Emergency Preparedness at Nuclear Power Plants". Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Retrieved 2019-12-22.
  23. ^ msnbc.com, Bill Dedman Investigative reporter (2011-04-14). "Nuclear neighbors: Population rises near US reactors". msnbc.com. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  24. ^ "What are the odds? US nuke plants ranked by quake risk". NBC News. 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  25. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-05-25. Retrieved 2011-04-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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