Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant
The Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant is an electricity-generating facility located in Red Wing, Minnesota, along the Mississippi River, and adjacent to the Prairie Island Indian Community reservation.
| Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Station | |
|---|---|
Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant in April 2011 | |
| Official name | Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Station, Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Red Wing, Goodhue County, Minnesota |
| Coordinates | 44°37′18″N 92°37′59″W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | Unit 1: June 25, 1968 Unit 2: June 25, 1969 |
| Commission date | Unit 1: December 16, 1973 Unit 2: December 21, 1974 |
| Construction cost | $993.3 million (2007 USD) |
| Owner(s) | Xcel Energy |
| Operator(s) | Northern States Power Company |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | PWR |
| Reactor supplier | Westinghouse |
| Cooling towers | 4 × Mechanical Draft |
| Cooling source | Mississippi River |
| Thermal capacity | 2 × 1677 MWth |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 1 × 522 MW 1 × 519 MW |
| Make and model | WH 2-loop (DRYAMB) |
| Nameplate capacity | 1041 MW |
| Capacity factor | 95.90% (2017) 86.75% (lifetime) |
| Annual net output | 9099 GWh (2021) |
| External links | |
| Website | Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Station |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
The nuclear power plant, which began operating in 1973, has two nuclear reactors (pressurized water reactors) manufactured by Westinghouse that produce a total 1,076 megawatts of power. Units 1 and 2 are licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to operate through 2033 and 2034, respectively. The plant is owned by Northern States Power Company (NSP), a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, and is operated by Xcel Energy.
Prairie Island is one of two nuclear power plants in Minnesota (the other being Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant in Monticello). Prairie Island has attracted controversy in the early 21st century for its operator Xcel Energy's decision to store nuclear waste in large steel casks on-site. As this area is a floodplain of the Mississippi, many opponents of the decision fear the risk of water contamination through breach of the casks during seasonal flooding of this important river. They opposed renewal of the federal license at the Prairie Island facility.
In April 2008, Xcel requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) renew the licenses of both reactors, extending them for an additional twenty years. The license renewals were approved in June 2011.
The company has also requested NRC approval to use a similar storage system at its Monticello plant, which is currently licensed through 2030.
In May 2006 repair workers at the plant were exposed to very low levels of radiation due to inhalation of radioactive iodine-131 (131I) gas. The gas leaked from the steam generators, which were opened for inspection. 131I gas is normally removed by means of a carbon-based filter; in this case the filter had developed a small leak. The NRC deemed this event to be of very low safety significance. It said that no overdose of radiation resulted in any of the workers.
The winter net electrical generation is 560 MW (Unit 1) and 554 MW (Unit 2). The gross electrical generation for both units is 592 MW.