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H. B. Robinson Nuclear Generating Station

Coordinates: 34°24′10″N 80°9′30″W / 34.40278°N 80.15833°W / 34.40278; -80.15833
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robinson Nuclear Plant
H.B. Robinson Nuclear Power Station seen from Lake Robinson
Map
Official nameH.B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant
CountryUnited States
LocationDarlington County, near Hartsville, South Carolina
Coordinates34°24′10″N 80°9′30″W / 34.40278°N 80.15833°W / 34.40278; -80.15833
StatusOperational
Construction beganApril 13, 1967 (1967-04-13)
Commission dateMarch 7, 1971
Construction cost$408.5 million (2007 USD)[1]
OwnerDuke Energy Progress, LLC
OperatorDuke Energy Progress, LLC
Nuclear power station
Reactor typePWR[2]
Reactor supplierWestinghouse
Cooling sourceLake Robinson
Thermal capacity1 × 2339 MWth[3]
Power generation
Units operational1 × 759 MW[2]
Make and modelWH 3-loop (DRYAMB)[3]
Nameplate capacity759 MWe[2]
Capacity factor98.2% (2019)[4]
78.60% (lifetime)
Annual net output6,426 GWh (2021) [4]
External links
WebsiteRobinson Nuclear, a pioneer in nuclear energy
CommonsRelated 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

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Generation (MWh) of H.B. Robinson Nuclear Generating Station[7]
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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ "EIA - State Nuclear Profiles". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Duke Energy - Robinson Nuclear Plant 2021 Fact Sheet" (PDF). www.duke-energy.com. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b "H.B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant, Unit 2 | NRC.gov". www.nrc.goc. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b "NEI - U.S. Nuclear Operating Plant Basic Information". www.nei.gov. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  5. ^ a b "The dawn of the atomic age in the Carolinas | Duke Energy | Nuclear Information Center". nuclear.duke-energy.com. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Robinson Nuclear Plant celebrates 35th anniversary". Progress Energy Inc. March 29, 2006. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  7. ^ "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "Nuclear neighbors: Population rises near US reactors". NBC News. 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  10. ^ "What are the odds? US nuke plants ranked by quake risk". NBC News. 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  11. ^ 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.
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