NRC CONSIDERING REQUEST BY WISCONSIN TO BE AN AGREEMENT STATE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering a request from Wisconsin to assume part of the agency's regulatory authority over certain nuclear materials in the State.  If the request is accepted, Wisconsin will become the 33rd State to sign such an agreement with the NRC.

Under the proposed agreement, the NRC would transfer to Wisconsin the responsibility for licensing, rulemaking, inspection, and enforcement activities for:  (1) radioactive materials produced as a result of processes related to the production or utilization of special nuclear material; (2) uranium and thorium source materials, and (3) special nuclear material in quantities not sufficient to support a nuclear chain reaction...

NRC News, No. 03-042

Wisconsin Nuclear Highlights

• In 2008, the State of Wisconsin ranked 22nd in nuclear capacity and 22nd 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.
• Wisconsin's first commercial reactor, Point Beach 1 is one of the oldest reactors still in service.  It went into commercial service in December 1970 (one year after the two oldest reactors, Oyster Creek and Nine Mile Point 1). 
• The Kewaunee reactor and New York's R.E. Ginna reactor are equal in size (net capacity 498 MWe each).  Of the Nation's 104 commercial reactors, only Nebraska's Fort Calhoun reactor (478 MWe) is smaller in capacity.
• In August 2002, Platts Power Magazine rated Kewaunee first among the "Top 50 Nuclear Plants"for lowest  O&M (Operations and Maintenance) Costs, and rated the Point Beach power plant first for efficiency.
• Applications were submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for uprating the capacity of each of Wisconsin's three commercial reactors and all three applications were approved.  On November 29, 2002 the NRC approved an uprate of 21.5 Megawatts/electric for each of the Point Beach reactors (1.4 percent increase).  On July 7, 2003, an increase of 23 Megawatts/electric was approved for the Kewaunee reactor (also 1.4 percent).

The System at Work[1]

Red can be a very unpopular color at a nuclear power plant.  Under the U.S. Nuclear Commission's (NRC) inspection system, "red"designates a problem of "high safety significance."   According to an NRC press release, inspectors concluded that problems with pumps at the Point Beach Nuclear Plant merited a "red" finding for the number 2 reactor and a "yellow"finding (second highest on the scale) for Point Beach 1. 

This is very disappointing news for the Nuclear Management Company, operators of the plant, but there is at least one bright spot. Apparently, the system worked:  or to be more precise, the employees and inspectors identified the problem, put safety first, and have taken and are taking steps to correct it.  Plant personnel discovered the problem in the auxiliary feed water system in October 2002.   This is a backup system that provides cooling water for the reactor.  "The utility took action to revise procedures and train reactor operators to address the immediate safety concerns..."   NRC inspectors determined that the system might become clogged under certain conditions. 

The net result of people doing their best to identify and correct the problem is that both reactors are shut down until the problem is fixed and the reactors are approved for re-start.   Putting public safety first often carries a heavy price tag, but the alternative might be unthinkable.

Nuclear Generation in Wisconsin, 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.

Update:  Electricity output by nuclear plants in Wisconsin and Other States in 2003

Competing Fuels

In 2007, coal accounted for two thirds 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 been received for any of Wisconsin's three reactors. The earliest that any of the three licenses expires is October 2010 (Point Beach 1). Information on the current status of all license renewal applications appears on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov. To locate the data on this site, select "index"at the top and then choose the letter "l". Click on "license renewal."

Air Quality in Wisconsin

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 Wisconsin ranked 20th highest in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in 2007. The State's electric industry ranked 17th highest in sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions and 20th highest in nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions