Catawba Nuclear Station

Catawba Nuclear Station
Company type	Nuclear power plant
Industry	Energy
Founded	1985
Headquarters	York, United States
Products	Electricity generation
Parent	Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC and others

The Catawba Nuclear Station is a nuclear power plant situated on the "Concord Peninsula," which juts into Lake Wylie in York, South Carolina, United States. The facility operates two pressurized water reactors, each featuring four loops, manufactured by Westinghouse.

Under the Megatons to Megawatts Program, Catawba received and conducted trials on four fuel assemblies composed of MOX fuel containing plutonium derived from dismantled nuclear weapons. Due to rising concerns about nuclear proliferation associated with plutonium-based fuel, stricter security protocols were introduced. Nevertheless, performance issues with the test assemblies led to the suspension of further MOX fuel initiatives.

History

In 2005, Unit 1 at Catawba Nuclear Station experimented with four mixed oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies, each incorporating approximately 140 kg of plutonium recycled from retired nuclear arms. The MOX pellets originated from the Cadarache reprocessing plant and were assembled at the Melox facility in France. This testing was part of the "Megatons to Megawatts" agreement under the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement between the United States and Russia.

Plant design

The emergency containment system at Catawba Nuclear Station utilizes ice condensers as passive heat sinks. These systems employ substantial quantities of ice to moderate pressure during accidental steam releases, allowing for more compact containment structures and lowering construction material expenses.

Ownership

Unit 1:
- Operator: Duke Power
- Ownership: Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC (38.5%), North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation (61.5%)
Unit 2:
- Operator: Duke Power
- Ownership: Piedmont Municipal Power Agency (25%), North Carolina Municipal Power Agency (64.9%), Central Electric Power Cooperative (13.1%)

Electricity production

2024 17534810 16378710 12853000 12744160 17309600 16651400 17103880 17128740 14749840 8053900 16906800 17241090 18465593 2025 16631590 15851010 17488140 16885160 17378050

**Catawba Nuclear Station Annual Generation (**MWh)
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total Annual Output
2001	1,671,335	1,462,179	1,737,585	1,672,110	1,721,716	1,654,284	1,709,720	1,702,385	1,170,383	1,068,325	1,670,098	1,310,995	18,551,115
2002	1,740,710	1,571,618	1,734,597	1,532,925	1,212,857	1,659,167	1,708,874	1,710,585	1,660,580	1,729,505	1,650,216	1,742,277	19,653,911
2003	1,743,858	1,512,361	912,609	1,671,090	1,721,709	1,650,118	1,697,853	1,600,603	1,406,979	1,729,959	1,003,519	845,427	17,496,085
2004	1,702,735	1,418,812	1,690,239	1,673,869	1,682,122	1,653,108	1,705,420	1,678,886	1.096.441	958.323	1598492	1688362	18.546.809
2005	1658617	1570439	1736885	1671870	980240	1465393	1702543	1700258	1653652	1726471	1675805	1734266 !19276439
2006	1736915	1571168	1332939	937368	1191552	1364006	1706519	1706801	1659937	1733099	1113628	840246 !16894178
2007	1697813	1572426	1690933	1677856	1724757	1637435	1710571	1702658	1206734	856104	1201448	1739568 !18418303
2008	1742948	1627530	1733084	1675673	909504	1054683	1710824	1710635	1661102	1732359	1685682	1732428 !18976452
2009	1742656	1567048	1017887	1128962	1719732	1655153	1709855	1705063	1658645	1720029	986820 11300413 !17912263
2010	1741469 1399749 1728681 1673175 1713619 1627291 1700712 1684985 1255669 1086800 1612856 1739073 !18964079
2011	1743066 1571220 1734331 1443238 852062 1420227 1702547 1705816 1661207 1691559 1661395 1591908 !18778576
2012	1740898 1626096 1100980 781818 1720056 1663117 1703209 1703930 1660642 1728086 1481566 918901 !17829299
2013	1737441 1573282 1739066 1675622 1685666 1640751 1692965 1707313 1168059 1129551 1681536 1734713 !19165965
2014	1740115 1565583 1733807 1669146 991827 873188 1641203 1704720 1654441 1721033 1680861 1735585 !18711509
2015	1736047 \|1540119 \|854017 \|1518922 \|1718829 \|1650967 \|1700041 \|1686178 \|1652902 \|1722098 \|1388895 \|1208446 !18377461
2016	1738844 \|1626326 \|1730136 \|1674615 \|1726508 \|1636484 \|1713351 \|1712102 \|1069035 \|1480081 \|1695728 \|1755054 !19558264
2017	1751829 \|1581891 \|1748544 \|1589689 \|1064050 \|1670040 \|1719206 \|1720779 \|1673269 \|1738195 \|1695885 \|1753306 !19706683
2018	1755287 \|1573055 \|1281077 \|1277492 \|1722303 \|1666757 \|1718028 \|1717259 \|1660307 \|1727977 \|1259451 \|1420722 !18779715
2019	1751198 \|1579420 \|1745956 \|1680423 \|1724880 \|1660481 \|1706108 \|1695654 \|1144585 \|1469475 \|1690270 \|1745157 !19593607
2020	1744732 \|1518522 \|1733869 \|1658878 \|877325 1631148 1712914 1712250 16341001 16946780 16872960 17509570 !19356670
20212	1749100 15816460 15688770 843909 16268120 16665000 17029050 15884100 16694590 12507880 15871000 17502130 !18585719
20222	17587700 15846850 17477820 15303650 17343660 16694410 17095190 17158180 10742300 9879870 16940260 17558750 !19487864
20233	17507500 15786390 17291960 12705980 9191760 16750700 17139480 17032230 16435450 17372630 16945630 17495510 !19865522

Surrounding population

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) designates two distinct emergency planning zones around nuclear facilities: a 10-mile plume exposure pathway zone, which addresses airborne radioactive contamination, and a 50-mile ingestion pathway zone, which focuses on the risk of consuming contaminated food and beverages.

As of 2010, the number of residents living within a 10-mile radius of Catawba was 213,407, marking a 53.3% growth compared to the previous decade. The population within 50 miles reached 2,559,394, reflecting a 25% increase since 2000. Notable urban centers nearby include Charlotte, North Carolina, situated approximately 35 miles away.

Seismic risk

The NRC's 2010 assessment estimated the annual probability of an earthquake causing core damage at the Catawba plant as one in 27,027.

15 May 2013

A release exceeding 100 gallons of water containing radioactive tritium occurred. The contamination levels stayed below half of the Environmental Protection Agency’s threshold, and the leak was successfully contained before it could infiltrate groundwater sources.

18 July 2017

During a standard inspection, the NRC identified that Catawba personnel did not carry out required preventive maintenance after an electrical part in an emergency diesel generator failed its test. This prompted heightened regulatory supervision until corrective actions were completed. The event was classified as having low to moderate safety significance.

External links