Minnesota Nuclear Industry
| Nuclear Power Plants in Minnesota Net Generation and Capacity, 2008 |
|||||
| Plant Name | Unit Number |
Net Capacity MW |
Net Generation
Thousand Kwh |
Capacity Factor
(percent) |
Operator/Owner |
| Prairie Island | 1 | 551 | 4,059 | 84 | Northern States Power Company/Same |
| Prairie Island | 2 | 545 | 4,059 | 85 | |
| Total | 1,096 | 8,119 | 85 | -- |
|
| Monticello | 1 | 572 | 4,878 | 97 | Northern States Power Company/Same |
| Source: Form EIA-860, "Annual Electric Generator Report," and Form EIA-906, "Power Plant Report." | |||||
Senate Approves Prairie Island Nuclear storage Bill[1]
Summary: The Minnesota Senate approved a plan that will enable the Prairie Island power plant to store additional waste on site, making it possible to operate the plant through 2014. The bill now goes to the House for final approval. Hotly debated is the role of the legislature after 2014. Under the current bill, lawmakers are not required to participate in future decisions on waste storage.
Minnesota Nuclear Highlights
- In 2008, the State of Minnesota ranked 21st in nuclear capacity and 21st 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.
- The Prairie Island nuclear power plant ranks second in capacity among Minnesota’s power plants. The Monticello nuclear plant ranks fourth in the State.
| Nuclear Generation in Minnesota, 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 Minnesota, Share of Electricity Output, by Fuel, 2004 to 2007 | ||||||
| Year | Coal | Hydroelectric | Natural Gas |
Nuclear | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 59 | 1 | 7 | 24 | 9 | |
| 2006 | 62 | 1 | 5 | 25 | 7 | |
| 2005 | 62 | 1 | 5 | 24 | 7 | |
| 2004 | 65 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 5 | |
| 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), license renewal applications have not yet been received for any of the commercial nuclear reactors in the State of Minnesota. The current license application for the Monticello nuclear power plant expires in 2010, the earliest of the three commercial reactors. The current license for Prairie Island unit 1 expires in 2013, and that for unit 2 expires in 2014.
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 Minnesota
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 Minnesota ranked 28th highest in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2007. The State's electric industry ranked 25th highest in sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and 16th highest in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
| Minnesota Airborne Emissions, Electricity Sector, 1990-2007 Metric Tons |
|||
| Year | Carbon Dioxide CO2 |
Sulfur Dioxide SO2 |
Nitrogen Oxides NOx |
| 1990 | 31,201,938 | 101,753 | 161,099 |
| 1991 | 30,377,997 | 90,146 | 173,435 |
| 1992 | 30,867,114 | 104,257 | 159,109 |
| 1993 | 32,966,861 | 122,012 | 175,781 |
| 1994 | 33,406,938 | 125,889 | 172,614 |
| 1995 | 33,533,090 | 110,609 | 171,534 |
| 1996 | 34,137,301 | 117,072 | 96,935 |
| 1997 | 34,823,827 | 135,981 | 103,714 |
| 1998 | 35,935,930 | 129,615 | 97,684 |
| 1999 | 34,617,159 | 101,103 | 91,793 |
| 2000 | 37,467,340 | 106,175 | 97,008 |
| 2001 | 35,979,123 | 103,728 | 87,066 |
| 2002 | 37,290,533 | 107,086 | 90,048 |
| 2003 | 39,636,955 | 113,038 | 94,059 |
| 2004 | 37,605,090 | 107,955 | 89,792 |
| 2005 | 38,878,815 | 100,835 | 85,758 |
| 2006 | 37,564,924 | 94,428 | 85,198 |
| 2007 | 37,706,385 | 88,957 | 84,353 |
| Source: EIA-767 and EIA-906 Survey, Energy Information Administration | |||
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Info on State's Nuclear Industry