Nuclear plant begins spring refueling

RICHLAND, Washington – Operators disconnected the Columbia Generating Station, a nuclear power plant, from the northwest power grid Friday evening to commence its refueling.

The nuclear power facility is scheduled to be offline for 35 days so that fresh nuclear fuel can be added to the reactor’s core. Workers will also perform maintenance projects that can be accomplished only when the reactor is offline.

Energy Northwest, which owns and operates the Columbia Generating Station along with the Bonneville Power Administration, time the station’s refueling to coincide with spring snow melt and runoff that maximizes power output from the region’s hydroelectric dams and minimizes the impact of taking the nuclear plant offline.

Located 10 miles north of Richland, the Columbia Generating Station will restart and reconnect to the Northwest power grid in mid-June. It’s the only nuclear power plant operating in the Pacific Northwest.

Photo via Energy Northwest

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Elkhorn Media Group

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