Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station | |
 The Fermi Station (NRC image)
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| Data | |
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| Country |  United States |
| Location | Monroe, Michigan |
| Coordinates | 41°57′46″N 83°15′27″W / 41.96278°N 83.2575°WCoordinates: 41°57′46″N 83°15′27″W / 41.96278°N 83.2575°W |
| Owner | DTE Energy |
| Operator | Detroit Edison |
| Start of commercial operation | Unit 1: 1957 Unit 2: January 23, 1988 |
| Ceased operation | Unit 1: September 22, 1972 |
| Reactors | |
| Reactor supplier | General Electric (Unit 2) |
| Reactor type | BWR (Unit 2) |
| Reactors active | 1 (1,122 MW) |
| Reactors shut down | 1 (94 MW) |
| Reactors canceled | 1 (1,122 MW) |
| Reactors planned | 1 (1,520 MW) |
| Power | |
| Total power generation in 2007 | 8,314 GW·h |
| Status | Operating |
| Other details | |
| Architect | Sargent & Lundy |
| License expires | March 3, 2025 |
| NRC region | Region 3 |
| NRC Region Three (Midwest) |
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| Illinois |
| Braidwood Byron Clinton Dresden LaSalle County Quad Cities |
| Iowa |
| Duane Arnold |
| Michigan |
| Donald C. Cook Enrico Fermi Palisades |
| Minnesota |
| Monticello Prairie Island |
| Ohio |
| Davis-Besse Perry |
| Wisconsin |
| Kewaunee Point Beach |
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The Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant on the shore of Lake Erie near Monroe, in Frenchtown Charter Township, Monroe County, Michigan, USA, approximately halfway between Detroit, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio. Two units have been constructed on this site. The first unit's construction started in 1963, and the second unit reached criticality in 1988.
The plant is named after the Italian-born American nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi, most noted for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, and for the development of quantum theory. Fermi won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity.
On August 8, 2008, John McCain conducted a 45-minute tour of the plant, becoming the first actively campaigning presidential candidate to visit a nuclear plant.[1]
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[edit] Fermi 1
The 94 MWe prototype fast breeder reactor Fermi 1 unit operated at the site from 1957 to 1972. On October 5, 1966 Fermi 1 suffered a partial fuel meltdown. There was no abnormal radiation release to the public, and no one was injured. At the time of the accident, two fuel rod subassemblies reached high temperatures of around 700°F (with an expected range near 580°F), causing an alarm. The reactor scrammed, and there was indication that fuel was melting. After a month of sweating, they tested enough subassemblies to limit the damage to six subassemblies. By January 1967, it was discovered that four subassemblies were damaged, with two stuck together, and it took until May 1967 to remove them.
When they had checked the sodium flow prior to the accident, they had detected a clapping noise. In August 1967 they were able to lower a periscope device into the meltdown pan and found that a piece of zirconium cladding had come loose and was blocking the sodium coolant nozzles. The zirconium cladding was part of the lining of the meltdown cone designed to direct the distribution of fuel material should a meltdown of the fuel occur. Such structures are necessary in a breeder reactor because of the possibliity of molten fuel reassembling itself in a critical configuration. This is not a possibility in an ordinary light water reactor because of the low level of enrichment of the uranium, but a fast breeder reactor is operated with a much higher level of enrichment. The phrase "China syndrome" was coined in regard to this accident as they were contemplating the possibilities should a meltdown of fuel with critical reassembly take place. The uncontrolled fission reaction could create enough heat to melt its way several meters into the earth, and some engineer remarked "it could go all the way to China".
With ingenious tools designed and built for the purpose, the piece of zirconium was fished out in April of 1968. In May of 1970, the reactor was ready to resume operation, but a sodium explosion delayed it until July of 1970. In October it finally reached a level of 200 megawatts. The total cost of the repair was about $132 million. In August of 1972 upon denial of the extension of its operating license, the shutdown process for the plant was initiated. [2][3] [4] Following an extended shutdown that involved fuel replacement and cleanup, Fermi 1 continued to operate until September 22, 1972. It was officially decommissioned December 31, 1975. It is currently in SAFSTOR with a gradual "final" decommissioning in progress. Details of the accident are verified by the book Fermi-1 New Age for Nuclear Power[5] published by the American Nuclear Society in 1979. It also inspired a book by John Grant Fuller[6] and a song by Gil Scott-Heron, both titled We Almost Lost Detroit.
[edit] Fermi 2
Fermi 2 is a 1,098 net MWe General Electric boiling water reactor operated by Detroit Edison and owned by DTE Energy. It was opened in January 1988 and is currently in operation.
As of March 2008, Fermi 2 is operating at full power.
[edit] Fermi 3
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This article or section contains information about a proposed, planned or under construction power station. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the construction and/or completion of the power station approaches, and more information becomes available. |
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In September 2008, Detroit Edison (DTE ENERGY) filed an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a Combined Construction and Operating License (COL) for a third reactor.[7] The new unit is supposed to be built on the same site, slightly to the southwest of Fermi 2. The reactor design selected is the 1,520 MWe GE-designed passive Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR). Review of the 17,000-page application could take four years, after which construction could take six years. The cost is estimated at as much as 10 billion dollars.[8] CEO Anthony Earley said that DTE's analysis "so far shows that nuclear power will, over the long term, be the most cost-effective baseload option for our customers, ... We expect nuclear to remain the low-cost option, but we will continue to evaluate nuclear against other resources and will commit to proceeding with construction only at the right time and at the right cost".[9]
In March 2009, a coalition of citizen groups asked federal regulators to reject plans for Fermi 3, contending that it would pose a range of threats to public health and the environment. The groups have filed 14 contentions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, claiming that a new plant would pose "radioactive, toxic and thermal impacts on Lake Erie's vulnerable western basin."[10][11]
This proposed plant should not be confused with the original Fermi 3 project which was to be a companion unit identical to Fermi 2. The original Fermi 3 was ordered in 1972 and cancelled in 1974. See DOE data page 67 and WNA Fermi 3 data.
[edit] Ownership
The plant is operated by the Detroit Edison Company and owned (100 percent) by DTE Energy.
[edit] References
- ^ NucNet. McCain Reiterates Support For Nuclear During Enrico Fermi Visit. August 8, 2008.
- ^ Hyper Physics, C.R. Nave, Georgia Stare University, 2005
- ^ NRC Fact Sheet
- ^ We Almost Lost Detroit, John G. Fuller, Ballantine Books, 1976
- ^ ISBN 0-89448-017-0
- ^ ISBN 0425067009
- ^ "Fermi, Unit 3 Application". U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). 2008-09-19. http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/fermi.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-19.
- ^ Lam, Tina (2008-09-19). "DTE applies for another nuclear plant". Detroit Free Press. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080919/NEWS05/809190398. Retrieved on 2008-09-19.
- ^ Dolley, Steven (2008-09-18). "Detroit Edison files with NRC for license to build new nuke unit". Platts Nucleonics Week (McGraw-Hill). http://www.platts.com/Nuclear/News/6953788.xml?src=Nuclearrssheadlines1. Retrieved on 2008-09-19.
- ^ Groups petition against new nuclear plant
- ^ Fermi 3 opposition takes legal action to block new nuclear reactor
[edit] External links
- "(Enrico) Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Michigan". Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). September 11, 2008. http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/reactors/enrico_fermi.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
- "Fermi 2 Boiling Water Reactor". Operating Nuclear Power Reactors. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). February 14, 2008. http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/ferm2.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
- "Fermi Unit 1". Sites Undergoing Decommissioning. NRC. February 14, 2008. http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/power-reactor/enrico-fermi-atomic-power-plant-unit-1.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
- Public Comments "Public Comments at the meeting re: FERMI 3 with the NRC. This includes youtube videos of speakers calling for an end to the new nuclear reactor project. Featured are a Professor from the U of M, Don't Waste Michigan members, Sierra Club members, and other concerned citizens."
