Report Shows Fleet Operates at More Than 90 Percent of Capacity
Jackson, Miss. – Nuclear energy
continues to be the most reliable energy source in the United States with
Entergy’s nuclear fleet leading the way, according to a report released by the
American Nuclear Society.
In the report released in May 2010,
the median rating capacity factor for Entergy’s 11 nuclear plants was 90.8
percent during the three-year period between 2007 and 2009. This means overall
Entergy’s nuclear plants were online producing safe, low-cost energy more than
90 percent of the time, ranking third in the industry among companies owning
five or more nuclear plants.
Entergy’s nuclear accomplishments are
significant when compared to the capacity factors of other forms of energy.
According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, over the same three-year period steam
turbine coal plants managed a capacity factor of 70.8 percent while combined
cycle natural gas plants only managed to produce a capacity factor of 41.7
percent and wind at 31.1 percent.
Considering production costs at
nuclear power plants in 2008 averaged 1.87 cents per
Kilowatt-hour, cheaper than coal
(2.75 cents) and natural gas-fueled (8.09 cents) plants, the reliability
demonstrated by these results equates to significant savings on customer’s
energy bills.
This time frame also saw significant
improvement in performance among plants within the Entergy fleet. Grand Gulf
Nuclear Station in Port Gibson, Miss, which recorded a capacity factor of 84.5
percent in 2007, improved to 92.4 percent at the end of 2009. With its recent
refueling outage, Grand Gulf began activities for its energy power upgrade,
which will make the plant the single most powerful unit in the nation,
increasing Grand Gulf’s output by 178 Megawatts (MW) and bringing total output
to 1,478 MW. One megawatt is enough to power 1,000 homes.
River Bend Nuclear Station in St.
Francisville, La., which recorded a capacity factor of only 84.1 percent in
2007, improved to 94.5 percent in 2009.
Leading Entergy’s fleet in reaching
its full capacity was James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Facility in Oswego, New York,
recording an average capacity factor of 97.9 percent and ranking fourth
nationally during the three-year period. Close behind was Entergy’s Indian Point
Energy Center’s Unit 2 in Buchanan, New York, with a median capacity factor of
94.5 percent. Vermont Yankee Energy Center in Brattleboro, Vermont, logged a
three-year average of 92.2 percent.
“Our obligation to our customers is to provide safe, reliable, affordable energy
every day of the year,” said John Herron, chief nuclear officer for Entergy
Corporation. “This can only be done through a commitment to performance
excellence that cannot be compromised.”
Entergy Corporation is an integrated
energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail
distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with
approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the
second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers
electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi
and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $10 billion and more than
15,000 employees.
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