Millstone Nuclear Power Plant
The Millstone Nuclear Power Station is the only nuclear power plant in Connecticut and the only multi-unit nuclear plant in New England. It is located at a former quarry (from which it takes its name) in Waterford. With a total capacity of over 2 GW, the station produces enough electricity to power about 2 million homes. The operation of the Millstone Power Station supports more than 3,900 jobs, and generates the equivalent of over half the electricity consumed in Connecticut.
| Millstone Power Station | |
|---|---|
| Country |
|
| Location | Waterford, New London County, Connecticut |
| Coordinates | 41°18′37.9614″N 72°10′3.7194″W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | Unit 1: May 1, 1966 Unit 2: November 1, 1969 Unit 3: August 9, 1974 |
| Commission date | Unit 1: March 1, 1971 Unit 2: December 26, 1975 Unit 3: April 23, 1986 |
| Decommission date | Unit 1: July 1, 1998 |
| Construction cost | $8.845 billion (2007 USD, Units 2–3 only) |
| Owner(s) | Dominion Energy |
| Operator(s) | Dominion Energy |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | Unit 1: BWR Units 2–3: PWR |
| Reactor supplier | Unit 1: General Electric Unit 2: Combustion Engineering Unit 3: Westinghouse |
| Cooling source | Long Island Sound |
| Thermal capacity | 1 × 2011 MWth (decommissioned) 1 × 2700 MWth 1 × 3650 MWth |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 1 × 869 MW 1 × 1229 MW |
| Make and model | Unit 1: BWR-4 (Mark 1) Unit 2: CE 2-loop (DRYAMB) Unit 3: WH 4-loop (DRYSUB) |
| Units decommissioned | 1 × 641 MW |
| Nameplate capacity | 2098 MW |
| Capacity factor | 89.99% (2017) 71.23% (lifetime) |
| Annual net output | 17,216 GWh (2021) |
| External links | |
| Website | Millstone Power Station |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
The Millstone site covers about 500 acres (2 km²). The power generation complex was built by a consortium of utilities, using Long Island Sound as a source of secondary side cooling. Millstone Units 2 and 3, both pressurized water reactors (one from Westinghouse and one from Combustion Engineering), were sold to Dominion Resources by Northeast Utilities in 2000 and continue to operate.
The plant has had numerous safety-related shutdowns and at times been placed on enhanced examination status by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In 1999, Northeast Utilities, the plant's operator at the time, agreed to pay $10 million in fines for 25 counts of lying to federal investigators and for having falsified environmental reports. Its subsidiary, Northeast Nuclear Energy Company, paid an additional $5 million for having made 19 false statements to federal regulators regarding the promotion of unqualified plant operators between 1992 and 1996.
On November 28, 2005, after a 22-month application and evaluation process, Millstone was granted a 20-year license extension for both units 2 and 3 by the NRC.