LUSBY, MD – Operators at Exelon Generation’s Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant returned Unit 1 to full power Sunday, March 18, successfully completing the station’s annual refueling outage. The inspections, maintenance and testing performed during the outage will help the unit run even more efficiently and reliably for another two-year operating cycle.
During this year’s refueling outage, Calvert also replaced 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 11 megawatts of generation, enough energy to power approximately 10,000 homes with carbon-free electricity.
“We continually invest in the latest technology to ensure that Calvert Cliffs continues to operate at world-class levels of safety and reliability,” said Site Vice President Mark Flaherty. “These investments help ensure that we can provide carbon-free energy to the region, during all types of weather, for many years to come.”
While the unit was offline, technicians also replaced nearly one-third of the reactor’s fuel and performed more than 7,500 inspections, tests, maintenance activities and modifications. Many of the tasks performed during the outage cannot be accomplished while the unit is online.
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 1,775 megawatts combined, enough to power more approximately 30 percent of all homes and businesses in the state of Maryland.