| Robinson Nuclear Plant | |
|---|---|
 H.B. Robinson Nuclear Power Station seen from Lake Robinson | |
 | |
| Official name | H.B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Darlington County, near Hartsville, South Carolina |
| Coordinates | 34°24′10″N 80°9′30″W / 34.40278°N 80.15833°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | April 13, 1967 |
| Commission date | March 7, 1971 |
| Construction cost | $408.5 million (2007 USD)[1] |
| Owner(s) | Duke Energy Progress, LLC |
| Operator(s) | Duke Energy Progress, LLC |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | PWR[2] |
| Reactor supplier | Westinghouse |
| Cooling source | Lake Robinson |
| Thermal capacity | 1 × 2339 MWth[3] |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 1 × 759 MW[2] |
| Make and model | WH 3-loop (DRYAMB)[3] |
| Nameplate capacity | 759 MWe[2] |
| Capacity factor | 98.2% (2019)[4] 78.60% (lifetime) |
| Annual net output | 6,426 GWh (2021) [4] |
| External links | |
| Website | Robinson Nuclear, a pioneer in nuclear energy |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
The H. B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant, also known as Robinson Nuclear Plant, is a nuclear power plant located near Hartsville, South Carolina. The plant consists of one Westinghouse 759 MW pressurized water reactor. The site once included a coal-fired unit that generated 174 MW (which was retired in October 2012 and demolished 2016) and a combustion turbine unit that generated 15 MW.
The Robinson plant is named for H. Burton Robinson, a former executive vice president of Carolina Power & Light.[5] The plant is located adjacent to the 2,250-acre (910 ha) Lake Robinson.[2] The Robinson nuclear unit was the first commercial nuclear power plant in the southeastern United States and was then the largest such in the world.[5][6]
Electricity Production[edit]
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual (Total) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 540,948 | 485,156 | 453,881 | 71,550 | 322,819 | 506,318 | 520,469 | 516,173 | 508,435 | 534,692 | 521,411 | 533,187 | 5,515,039 |
| 2002 | 524,920 | 489,299 | 525,922 | 513,185 | 514,973 | 505,947 | 515,778 | 513,572 | 505,457 | 174,514 | 270,465 | 552,079 | 5,606,111 |
| 2003 | 558,647 | 500,860 | 557,167 | 533,475 | 541,560 | 522,429 | 535,031 | 534,703 | 520,176 | 547,930 | 529,668 | 558,253 | 6,439,899 |
| 2004 | 558,604 | 523,102 | 556,761 | 335,258 | 33,302 | 520,894 | 535,932 | 539,049 | 528,171 | 510,844 | 538,888 | 561,397 | 5,742,202 |
| 2005 | 561,889 | 507,489 | 551,113 | 538,546 | 547,235 | 525,379 | 535,730 | 533,878 | 273,355 | 90,846 | 542,777 | 561,902 | 5,770,139 |
| 2006 | 562,980 | 507,683 | 580,864 | 524,009 | 550,676 | 525,071 | 538,030 | 535,996 | 525,620 | 507,454 | 541,935 | 562,380 | 6,462,698 |
| 2007 | 560,132 | 508,107 | 549,343 | 92,159 | 257,258 | 525,429 | 525,101 | 535,744 | 525,693 | 550,437 | 544,248 | 564,272 | 5,737,923 |
| 2008 | 564,514 | 528,053 | 552,687 | 541,202 | 554,155 | 524,773 | 538,858 | 536,268 | 423,082 | -1,964 | 141,211 | 524,457 | 5,427,296 |
| 2009 | 568,589 | 513,513 | 566,438 | 504,260 | 555,017 | 526,657 | 543,523 | 542,487 | 530,671 | 552,952 | 503,638 | 565,446 | 6,473,191 |
| 2010 | 568,020 | 513,258 | 507,069 | -2,232 | -868 | -1,364 | 166,828 | 537,121 | 429,803 | 102,256 | 207,498 | 566,507 | 3,593,896 |
| 2011 | 566,951 | 510,718 | 560,001 | 535,294 | 545,803 | 518,213 | 509,154 | 513,636 | 447,962 | 551,148 | 542,286 | 562,637 | 6,363,803 |
| 2012 | 280,817 | -1,415 | 59,723 | 549,745 | 569,928 | 544,005 | 541,957 | 557,355 | 544,194 | 577,212 | 571,922 | 591,253 | 5,386,696 |
| 2013 | 592,116 | 506,497 | 588,968 | 533,120 | 577,147 | 547,683 | 562,215 | 562,450 | 231,715 | -1,857 | 401,543 | 593,006 | 5,694,603 |
| 2014 | 542,167 | 537,610 | 129,981 | 422,027 | 575,031 | 544,806 | 561,389 | 0 | 548,378 | 575,721 | 566,103 | 594,249 | 5,597,462 |
| 2015 | 595,960 | 538,523 | 591,128 | 562,369 | 204,463 | 70,596 | 556,478 | 556,453 | 547,677 | 580,971 | 329,140 | 589,964 | 5,723,722 |
| 2016 | 584,083 | 555,606 | 585,606 | 563,757 | 561,010 | 537,521 | 551,596 | 415,119 | 441,462 | 496,234 | 549,817 | 590,377 | 6,432,188 |
| 2017 | 591,130 | 452,452 | -4,247 | 392,198 | 566,109 | 544,333 | 555,753 | 557,543 | 547,931 | 569,005 | 560,667 | 592,959 | 5,925,833 |
| 2018 | 595,109 | 534,231 | 590,430 | 562,807 | 556,891 | 388,135 | 548,790 | 548,396 | 371,425 | -2,024 | 9,127 | 572,801 | 5,276,118 |
| 2019 | 588,734 | 532,031 | 587,358 | 566,783 | 571,329 | 552,883 | 567,974 | 179,951 | 494,085 | 579,093 | 569,012 | 587,086 | 6,376,319 |
| 2020 | 587,243 | 549,663 | 585,375 | 564,645 | 579,280 | 558,497 | 569,631 | 570,454 | 555,981 | 530,420 | 86,392 | 387,045 | 6,124,626 |
| 2021 | 586,010 | 529,021 | 581,871 | 488,087 | 577,221 | 553,582 | 563,384 | 564,832 | 551,348 | 319,452 | 523,543 | 588,122 | 6,426,473 |
| 2022 | 588,962 | 531,083 | 586,048 | 566,098 | 579,290 | 550,779 | 570,102 | 568,729 | 432,579 | 387,298 | 5,360,968 | ||
| 2023 |
Surrounding population[edit]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.[8]
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Robinson was 32,675, an increase of 2.6 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 893,536, an increase of 10.3 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Columbia (49 miles to city center).[9]
Environmental Impact Statement[edit]
NUREG-1437, "Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants," Supplement 13, Regarding H.B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant, Unit No. 2, was published by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in December 2003.
This supplement documents the NRC staff's review of the environmental issues at Robinson, Unit 2 in support of Carolina Power & Light Company's (CP&L) application for license renewal of that facility. The supplement was prepared in accordance with 10 CFR 51.71. This supplemental environmental impact statement includes the staff's analysis that considers and weighs the environmental effects of the proposed action, the environmental impacts of alternatives to the proposed action, and alternatives available for reducing or avoiding adverse impacts. It also includes the staff's recommendation regarding the proposed actions.
Safety Evaluation Report[edit]
The NRC staff reviewed the Robinson license renewal application for compliance with the requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 54, "Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants," and prepared this report to document its findings. The document was first issued in August 2003, as "Safety Evaluation Report with Open Items Related to the License Renewal of H.B. Robinson, Unit 2". The report is available in ADAMS under accession number ML032370382.
In March 2004, the report "Safety Evaluation Report - Related to the License Renewal of the H. B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant, Unit 2," was issued as NUREG-1785. The report is also available in ADAMS under accession number ML040200981.
Ownership[edit]
The operator and owner is Duke Energy Progress, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Duke Energy. Formerly the plant was owned and operated by Progress Energy Inc and Carolina Power & Light.
Seismic risk[edit]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Robinson was 1 in 66,667, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.[10][11]
References[edit]
- ^ "EIA - State Nuclear Profiles". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Duke Energy - Robinson Nuclear Plant 2021 Fact Sheet" (PDF). www.duke-energy.com. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ a b "H.B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant, Unit 2 | NRC.gov". www.nrc.goc. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ a b "NEI - U.S. Nuclear Operating Plant Basic Information". www.nei.gov. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ a b "The dawn of the atomic age in the Carolinas | Duke Energy | Nuclear Information Center". nuclear.duke-energy.com. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ "Robinson Nuclear Plant celebrates 35th anniversary". Progress Energy Inc. March 29, 2006. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- ^ "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
- ^ "Backgrounder on Emergency Preparedness at Nuclear Power Plants". United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 2012-10-03. Archived from the original on October 2, 2006. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
- ^ Bill Dedman, Nuclear neighbors: Population rises near US reactors, NBC News, April 14, 2011 http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42555888 Accessed May 1, 2011.
- ^ Bill Dedman, "What are the odds? US nuke plants ranked by quake risk," NBC News, March 17, 2011 http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42103936 Accessed April 19, 2011.
- ^ Patrick Hiland (2010-09-02). "Memorandum to Brian W. Sheron, Director Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research" (PDF). MSNBC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-05-25. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
External links[edit]
- Robinson operating license
- NukeWorker
- "H.B. Robinson Nuclear Plant, South Carolina". U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). October 3, 2008. Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- "Robinson 2 Pressurized Water Reactor". Operating Nuclear Power Reactors. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). February 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-17.