AREVA has delivered two replacement steam generators to the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant in Red Wing, Minnesota, USA.

The 330-ton RSGs arrived at the site on 11 April, after a ten week journey from AREVA’s Chalon/Saint-Marcel facility in France.

They will now be stored securely on site before being installed in a planned refuelling outage in autumn 2013, according to AREVA.

The steam generator replacement is part of Xcel Energy’s investment to keep Prairie Island (two approx. 560 MW pressurized water reactors) operating safety and reliably for a further 20 years. In June 2011, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) renewed the operating licenses for the Prairie Island 1&2 for an additional 20 years; they now expire in August 2033 and October 2034, respectively.


Photo: Copyright AREVA Warren Wright