Calvert Cliffs Refueling Outage Powers Local Economy

LUSBY, Md. – Operators at Exelon Generation’s Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant removed Unit 2 from service just after midnight on Sunday to begin a planned refueling outage. The refueling outage will help ensure the unit runs safely and provides consistent, reliable power to the region for another two-year cycle.

While the unit is offline, technicians will replace nearly one-third of the reactor’s fuel and perform more than 10,000 inspections, tests, maintenance activities and modifications. Many of the tasks performed during the outage cannot be accomplished while the unit is online.

Additionally, this year, Calvert will be replacing a high pressure turbine on the non-nuclear side of the plant. This investment in state-of-the-art equipment is expected to result in an additional 19 megawatts of generation.

“We are proud to have the opportunity to operate our nuclear power plant here in Calvert County. We want to continue meeting the region’s energy needs when they need us most: during the freezing temperatures of winter or the extreme heat of summer,” said Calvert Cliffs Site Vice President George Gellrich. “By investing in equipment and performing the right maintenance during the outage, we ensure safe, reliable operations for years to come.”

To support the refueling outage, approximately 2,000 additional workers will travel to Calvert for several weeks, filling nearby hotels to capacity and increasing foot traffic in restaurants and shops.

“The annual refueling outage at Exelon Generation’s Calvert Cliffs station has been a positive economic boost for the businesses in Calvert County for many years,” said President/CEO of the Calvert County Chamber of Commerce Bill Chambers. “This year will be no exception. The Calvert Chamber continues to field numerous inquiries from outage personnel coming into the County for housing, dining and amenity options. The outage is just another example of Exelon Generation contributing so much to the vitality of the Calvert business community.”

Calvert Cliffs is located on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County and is Maryland’s only nuclear energy facility. The station is home to two pressurized water reactors capable of generating 1,756 megawatts combined, enough to power more approximately 30 percent of all homes and businesses in the state of Maryland. Follow us on Twitter and YouTube.