Unit 2 at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant near Lusby, Maryland, is back up and running this week.
Operators said the outage, which began on Tuesday, Dec. 1, was due to an issue involving a steam-generator feed pump. The facility said technicians were successful in making repairs to the system. This outage did not impact the first unit at the facility, which was able to remain in operation.
The steam-generator pump is a component that allows the turbine within the reactor to be moved during the operational process.
Additional maintenance activity was performed during the outage to facilitate enhancements for the plant’s reliability and safety.
The Calvert Cliffs plant is located on Chesapeake Bay and is currently the only nuclear facility in operation in the state. The facility is capable of producing approximately 1,768 megawatts of electricity when operating at full capacity. Exelon Corp., the plant’s owner and operator, said it is capable of providing electricity to support approximately 1 million typical U.S. residences.
The facility began operations in 1975 with the launch of Unit 1, and the second unit at the facility was started in 1977. The facility employs approximately 900 employees.
Exelon Generation operates three nuclear power plants, 12 fossil-fuel power plants, two landfill gas plants and one pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant in the state.
