BALTIMORE (Sept. 19, 2022) — Fierce storms, 1,000-year floods and blazing heat dominated national weather patterns this summer, but customers of Constellation nuclear plants from the East Coast to the Midwest enjoyed some of the nation’s highest levels of generation reliability. Led by 12 carbon-free nuclear plants operating 24/7 and delivering clean energy to millions of homes from the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions westward to Illinois, the grid experienced no electricity supply constraints.
“One of the greatest challenges we face as a nation is eliminating carbon emissions and continuing to reliably and affordably power our communities in the face of extreme weather driven by climate change,” said Bryan Hanson, executive vice president and chief generation officer, Constellation. “Our nuclear plants are the most reliable sources of electricity on the planet, while also helping to address the climate crisis by providing carbon-free energy to millions of homes and businesses, when and where they need it.”
In the spring thousands of highly skilled workers performed technology upgrades and power plant equipment maintenance during refueling outages and summer preparedness projects at Constellation nuclear plants. The cutting-edge work and preventive maintenance efforts ensured millions of American homes and businesses had electricity produced from carbon-free nuclear reactors during the summer. Now, those workers will perform similar fall maintenance projects to ensure the power supply remains available to all residents during the cold winter months ahead.
“Americans are facing many challenges with extreme weather; our nuclear professionals are on site every day to ensure a reliable flow of carbon-free electricity to millions of residents,” said Dave Rhoades, chief nuclear officer, Constellation. “Our hard-working employees have dedicated themselves to making our nuclear fleet the best in the country, and that translates to an uninterrupted power supply, regardless of the weather.”
Constellation’s reliable nuclear stations provided around-the-clock, carbon-free electricity to millions of homes and businesses during the summer. The fleet’s near-perfect summer capacity factor of 99 percent means the reactors ran at nearly full power every second of every day this summer. That percentage is considerably higher than any other large scale energy sources.
Constellation’s nuclear fleet in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S. includes Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Maryland; Limerick Generating Station and Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania; and New York facilities Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant, Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, and Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station. Its Illinois nuclear fleet includes Braidwood Generating Station in Will County, Byron Generating Station in Ogle County, Clinton Power Station in DeWitt County, Dresden Generating Station in Grundy County, LaSalle County Generating Station, and Quad Cities Generating in Rock Island County.
Apr 22, 2024
