Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station

Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station
Location of Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station
Country	United States
Location	Fairfield County, South Carolina
Coordinates	34°17′55″N 81°18′53″W
Status	Operational
Commission date	January 1, 1984
Licence expiration	November 12, 2042
Owner(s)	South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (66.7%) South Carolina Public Service Authority (33.3%)
Operator(s)	SCE&G
Architect(s)	Gilbert Associates
Reactor information
Reactors operational	1 x 1000 MW
Reactors planned	2 x 1100 MW
Reactor type(s)	pressurized water reactor
Reactor supplier(s)	Westinghouse
Power generation information
Annual generation	8,479 GW·h
As of 2009-02-13

The Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station occupies a site near Jenkinsville, South Carolina, in Fairfield County, South Carolina, approximately 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Columbia. The nuclear power station includes the decommissioned experimental Carolinas-Virginia Tube Reactor (CVTR) unit, just outside the site of the old town of Parr, SC. The CVTR was a 17 MWe, heavy water reactor. Its cooling water is supplied by the Monticello Reservoir (not to be confused with the Monticello Nuclear Generating Station in Minnesota), which is also used by a pumped storage (hydroelectric) unit.

This plant has one Westinghouse pressurized water reactor, which has received approval of a 20-year license extension, taking the license expiration from 2022 to 2042.

In 2001, the Summer unit operated at 79.9 percent of capacity, producing 6.76 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. In 2007 it produced 8.48 billion kilowatt-hours, increasing its capacity factor to 100.2 percent.

About two-thirds (66.7 percent) of the Summer plant is owned by its operator, the South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G, a subsidiary of the SCANA corporation). The remaining 33.3 percent is owned by the South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper).

The plant is named after Virgil C. Summer, the former Chairman and CEO of SCE&G.

Units 2 and 3

On March 27, 2008, South Carolina Electric & Gas applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a Combined Construction and Operating License (COL) to build two 1,100 MW AP1000 pressurized water reactors at the site. On May 27, 2008, SCE&G and Santee Cooper announced an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract had been reached with Westinghouse. Costs are estimated to be approximately $9.8 billion for both AP1000 units, plus transmission facility and financing costs. The operators are filing an application to increase customers bills by $1.2 billion (2.5%) during the construction period to partially finance capital costs. Presuming that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issues the construction licenses in 2011, SCE&G plans to bring the first of the new units online in 2016, with the second in 2019.

Surrounding population

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Summer was 17,599, an increase of 26.2 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 1,187,554, an increase of 14.3 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Columbia (30 miles to city center).

Seismic risk

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Summer was 1 in 26,316, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.

Reactor data

The Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station consists of one operational reactor, with two additional units under construction.

Reactor unit	Reactor type	Capacity		Construction started	Electricity grid connection	Commercial operation	Shutdown
		Net	Gross
Virgil C. Summer-1	Westinghouse 3-loop	966 MW	1003 MW	21.03.1973	16.11.1982	01.01.1984
Virgil C. Summer-2 (planned)	AP1000	1117 MW	MW
Virgil C. Summer-3 (planned)	AP1000	1117 MW	MW

External links

• "Summer Pressurized Water Reactor". Operating Nuclear Power Reactors. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). February 14, 2008. http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/sum.html. Retrieved 2009-02-13.