US Constellation is investing approximately $100m to upgrade critical electrical systems and plant equipment at Calvert Cliffs Clean Energy Centre in Maryland. This aims to ensure continued operation and enable a potential renewal of the plant’s operating licences and increased power output.
“With prudent energy policies and customer demand for clean and reliable energy, there is an opportunity for hundreds of millions of dollars of additional investment at Calvert to upgrade the plant and ensure that it can power Maryland for decades to come, supporting thousands of good-paying jobs for families,” said Constellation President & CEO Joe Dominguez.
Work will begin on many of the equipment upgrades later in February during the plant’s Spring refuelling outage. This year’s outage schedule includes refurbishment and replacement of critical pumps, motors, valves and control rod systems, as well as an overhaul of the plant’s 13 kV transformer. Many of the tasks performed during the outage cannot be accomplished while the unit is online.
In addition, Constellation is also investing $68m in 24 state-of-the-art electrical breakers to upgrade its substation. Preliminary analysis indicates that further upgrades at Calvert Cliffs could increase electricity production by roughly 10%.
The annual Spring outages boost the local economy, with additional employment and retail activity in the communities near the facility. More than 2,000 skilled electricians, pipefitters, welders, carpenters, labourers, steamfitters and other tradespeople will come to the site from across the US to perform inspections, tests and maintenance activities.
The two-unit Calvert Cliffs Clean Energy Centre comprises two 850 MWe Combustion Engineering pressurised water reactors. Unit 1 has a General Electric–designed main turbine and generator, and unit 2 a Westinghouse–designed main turbine and generator. Unit 1 went into commercial service in 1975 and unit 2 in 1977.
Baltimore-based Constellation operates 14 nuclear units in the US with a combined generating capacity of more than 19,000 MWe. These are: Braidwood, Byron, Calvert Cliffs, Clinton, Dresden, FitzPatrick, LaSalle, Limerick, Nine Mile Point, Peach Bottom, Quad Cities, R E Ginna, Salem and South Texas Project.
