Michigan Nuclear Industry
| Nuclear Power Plants in Michigan Net Generation and Capacity, 2008 |
|||||
| Plant Name | Unit Number |
Net Capacity MW |
Net Generation
Thousand Kwh |
Capacity Factor
(percent) |
Operator/Owner |
| D.C. Cook | 1 | 1,009 | 5,640 | 64 | Indiana Michigan Power Company/Same |
| D.C. Cook | 2 | 1,060 | 9,397 | 101 | |
| Total | 2,069 | 15,036 | 83 | -- |
|
| Fermi | 2 | 1,122 | 9,613 | 98 | Detroit Edison Company/Same |
| Palisades | 1 | 778 | 6,835 | 100 | Entergy Nuclear Generation Company/Entergy Nuclear Palisades, LLC |
| Source: Form EIA-860, "Annual Electric Generator Report," and Form EIA-906, "Power Plant Report." | |||||
COLUMBUS
Business First
LATEST NEWS
January 16, 2003
Nearby fire idles AEP nuclear plant in Michigan
...The fire triggered an automatic shutdown of the reactor, and AEP (American Electric Power Company, Inc.) is still working to estimate when it will come back on line…
[Editor's note: The preceding line concerning a fire in a transformer might seem like a prelude to harsh criticism of the nuclear industry in general, and the Cook power plant (where this problem occurred) in particular. Problems can (and sometimes do) occur at nuclear power plants, just like they do in non-nuclear plants. One fact is often overlooked in articles and discussions about the potential for an accident at a nuclear plant. Nuclear power plants have built-in safeguards, many of which escape public attention. Such safeguards, as in this case, can take over even when the problem is not at the plant but potentially affects its operation.]
Michigan Nuclear Highlights
- In 2008, the State of Michigan ranked 11th in nuclear capacity and 12th in nuclear generation. Monthly and cumulative nuclear generation and annual nuclear capacity for each State and each reactor is reported in a table elsewhere on this site.
- In 2002, the Donald C. Cook nuclear plant ranked second in capacity among Michigan's power plants. The Fermi plant, which has both fossil and nuclear units, ranked 9th.
- The Detroit Edison Company, operators of the Fermi nuclear power plant, ranked first among Michigan's utilities in retail sales . Detroit Edison's sales of electricity totaled 48,345,861 megawatt hours. Indian Michigan Power Company, operators of the Donald C. Cook plant, ranked third with 3,039,931 megawatt hours.
| Nuclear Generation in Michigan, 1960 through 2003 Million Kilowatt Hours |
 Sources: Energy Information Administration, State Energy Data Report 1999, and Electric Power Annual, Volume 1, 2001, and EIA Survey Form 906. |
Competing Fuels
| Electricity Market in Michigan, Share of Electricity Output, by Fuel, 2004 to 2007 | ||||||
| Year | Coal | Hydroelectric | Natural Gas |
Nuclear | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 59 | 1 | 11 | 26 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 60 | 1 | 10 | 26 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 58 | 1 | 11 | 27 | 3 | |
| 2004 | 58 | 1 | 12 | 26 | 3 | |
| Source: EIA Survey 923, "Power Plant Operations Report" and Predecessor Forms. | ||||||
In 2007, coal accounted for 60 percent of the electricity generated by the State. The percentage of electricity generated by coal, gas, nuclear, and hydropower for each state with at least one commercial reactor is reported in the Electricity Market table.
License Renewal
According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), no applications for license renewal have yet been received for any of Michigan's commercial reactors. An application for units 1 at 2 at the D.C. Cook power plant is anticipated in December 2003. The current license for the Palisades plant's reactor expires in 2007. The license for Enrico Fermi's unit 2 does not expire until after 2020.
Information on the current status of all license renewal applications appears on the NRC web site at http://www.nrc.gov . To locate the data, select "index,"then select the letter "l"and click on "License Renewal."
Air Quality in Michigan
Total greenhouse emissions for the electric power industry of each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia, are reported for the most current data year.
Of the 50 States plus the District of Columbia, the electric industry of the State of Michigan ranked 11th highest in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2007. The State's electric industry ranked 8th highest in sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and 11th highest in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
| Michigan Airborne Emissions, Electricity Sector, 1990-2007 Metric Tons |
|||
| Year | Carbon Dioxide CO2 |
Sulfur Dioxide SO2 |
Nitrogen Oxides NOx |
| 1990 | 70,928,741 | 382,740 | 310,568 |
| 1991 | 71,493,888 | 386,446 | 311,355 |
| 1992 | 68,086,431 | 354,298 | 294,896 |
| 1993 | 69,655,608 | 373,839 | 311,615 |
| 1994 | 75,298,963 | 405,502 | 320,280 |
| 1995 | 74,525,717 | 382,642 | 303,835 |
| 1996 | 75,964,962 | 398,112 | 194,156 |
| 1997 | 75,764,775 | 422,464 | 199,485 |
| 1998 | 79,581,080 | 401,465 | 222,281 |
| 1999 | 78,986,425 | 418,273 | 200,247 |
| 2000 | 76,304,043 | 384,810 | 173,057 |
| 2001 | 75,332,720 | 348,229 | 157,554 |
| 2002 | 74,322,840 | 342,726 | 148,659 |
| 2003 | 73,278,139 | 364,299 | 129,891 |
| 2004 | 77,205,888 | 350,797 | 120,635 |
| 2005 | 78,725,525 | 360,396 | 123,419 |
| 2006 | 75,633,484 | 326,515 | 113,088 |
| 2007 | 79,090,202 | 353,360 | 117,458 |
| Source: EIA-767 and EIA-906 Survey, Energy Information Administration | |||
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