South Texas 2 reactor to return by mid-April

March 1, 2012

Reuters News Service

HOUSTON, March 1 (Reuters) – The 1,280-megawatt Unit 2 at the South Texas Project nuclear station in Texas is expected to be back in service by mid-April, well before the state’s peak electric demand, NRG Energy officials told investors this week.

The unit has been shut since Nov. 29, when the main generator malfunctioned due to a ground fault that resulted in damage to rotor and stator coils, South Texas Nuclear Operating Co officials said previously.

The 72 coils have been replaced and the damaged rotor is being refurbished at a Siemens facility in North Carolina.

The Texas grid agency and regulators are watching the state’s generating supply after a heatwave in 2011 sent electric demand soaring, straining resources. The grid operator was forced to curtail power to some industrial customers on certain days, but avoided rolling outages.

The 1,280-MW Unit 1 has continued operating at full power.
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PLANT BACKGROUND/TIMELINE
STATE:	Texas
COUNTY:	Matagorda
TOWN:	Bay City, 90 miles (145 km) south of Houston
OPERATOR:	STP Nuclear Operating Co
OWNERS:	NRG Energy, 44 percent; City of San Antonio’s CPS Energy, 40 percent; City of Austin’s Austin Energy, 16 percent
CAPACITY:	2,700 MW
UNITS:	1 – 1,280 MW pressurized water reactor 2 – 1,280 MW pressurized water reactor
FUEL:	Nuclear
DISPATCH:	Baseload

TIMELINE:
1976 –	Start of plant construction
1988 –	Unit 1 enters commercial operation
1989 –	Unit 2 enters commercial operation
2007 –	NRG files license application to build two new Advanced Boiling Water Reactors (ABWR) at the site
2010 –	STP files application to renew operating licenses for units 1 and 2 for an additional 20 years
2011 –	NRG ends investment in new reactors after Fukushima accident; COL process continues
2011 –	Regulators approve amended ABWR design
2027 –	Unit 1 license to expire unless renewed
2028 –	Unit 2 license to expire unless renewed

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