Xcel Energy - Nuclear Power

Nuclear Power

Nuclear energy is America’s largest source of clean-air, carbon-free electricity, producing no greenhouse gases or air pollutants. The industry’s commitment to the environment extends to protecting wildlife and their habitats.

Xcel Energy owns and operates two nuclear power plants, Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant near Monticello, Minn., and Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant near Red Wing, Minn., which produce more than 25 percent of the electricity we provide to customers in the Upper Midwest.

In Minnesota, Xcel Energy’s nuclear power plants help us avoid producing hundreds of millions of tons of green house gases/air pollutants.

And our analysis shows that extending the operating licenses for the Monticello and Prairie Island plants for 20 years will save Minnesota electricity customers about $1 billion.

As an integral part of the U.S. energy mix, nuclear power is a secure energy source that the nation can depend on. Nuclear power plants:

Produce electricity uninterrupted for extended periods—for as long as 24 months. They help supply the necessary level of baseload electricity for the electricity transmission network, or grid, to operate. Nuclear power plants are a key element in the stability of our country's electrical grid.
Are the workhorses of the U.S. electricity system, along with coal- and natural gas-fired power plants, producing nearly 20 percent of our nation’s electricity. Nuclear plants are the lowest-cost producers of baseload electricity in terms of operating, maintenance and fuel costs.

What’s New…

Nuclear Compliance Report Filed with MN-PUC

Pursuant to the Commission's August 5, 2009 Order related to our 2007 Resource Plan (Docket No. 07-1572), we filed a Nuclear Waste Compliance Report with the MN-PUC on December 3, 2009. The filing contains an evaluation of spent fuel storage and disposal options for the life of the Prairie Island nuclear generating plant and the Monticello nuclear generating plant and can be viewed at the above link.

Prairie Island applications proceeding in state and federal dockets

Xcel Energy’s applications to renew the operating licenses for the two reactors at Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant to increase generating capacity and for additional dry cask storage continue to move forward.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Nov. 12, 2009, approved the company’s requests for additional dry cask storage and increased generation capacity. The company requested up to 35 additional casks to support 20-year life extension for each of the plant’s two reactors, allowing operation to 2033 and 2034. (Current state authorization is for 29 casks to store used fuel, and there are 25 casks now on site.) The company also asked to make plant modifications that would result in an additional 82 megawatts of generating capacity per unit, called an extended power uprate, which would bring total plant capacity to 1,240 megawatts.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Thursday (Nov. 12, 2009) approved the company’s requests for additional dry cask storage and generation capacity expansion. The company requested up to 35 additional casks to support 20-year life extension for each of the plant’s two reactors, allowing operation to 2033 and 2034. (Current state authorization is for 29 casks to store used fuel, and there are 25 casks now on site.) The company also asked to make plant modifications that would result in an additional 82 megawatts of generating capacity per unit, called an extended power uprate, which would bring total plant capacity to 1, 240 megawatts.

The Minnesota commission voted 5 to 0 in favor of the company’s requests for Certificates of Need for both projects and a site permit for the power uprate, with some conditions that Xcel Energy accepts. The commission’s decision on the additional cask storage is stayed through the regular 2010 session of the Minnesota Legislature to allow lawmakers to review it if they wish.

The plant’s license renewal application still awaits action by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is expected in 2010, and the company will submit a license amendment application for the extended power uprate to the NRC after the federal commission acts on license renewal. The plant’s current operating licenses are set to expire in 2013 and 2014.

View the license renewal application, a timeline and other documents.

Both the federal and state proceedings have provided extensive opportunity for public input at hearings, meetings and via written communications during the past year.

New Fuel Design for Prairie Island

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently approved a new fuel design for Prairie Island. The plant is changing to a new Westinghouse fuel called V422+ (also known as "Heavy Bundle"). The new larger-diameter design allows each fuel assembly to contain more uranium. The new design also allows for longer fuel cycles, which will help with the planned power uprate of Prairie Island.

Xcel Energy nuclear plants earn Governor's Safety Award of Excellence

The Monticello and Prairie Island stations were recognized again in 2009 by the Minnesota Safety Council with a Governor's Safety Award of Excellence in Workplace Safety and Health at the annual Governor's Safety Awards luncheon at the Minneapolis Convention Center in May. Since 1934, the annual Governor's Safety Awards have spotlighted Minnesota employers with above-average safety records. Participants submit injury information, which is compared with state and national data, as well as the entrant's past performance. The Governor's Safety Award luncheon is part of the Minnesota Safety & Health Conference, coordinated by the Minnesota Safety Council. The conference is the oldest and largest gathering of workplace safety and health professionals in the region. The Minnesota Safety Council, founded in 1928, is a non-governmental, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in Minnesota by preventing injuries.

Prairie Island

Our application to renew the operating licenses of the two reactors at Prairie Island is pending before the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Nov. 12, 2009, approved our request for up to 35 additional casks to store used nuclear fuel. The additional casks are needed to accommodate operations during a 20-year license extension period. The commission’s decision on the additional cask storage is stayed through the regular 2010 session of the Minnesota Legislature to allow lawmakers to review it if they wish.
The state commission on Nov. 12, 2009, also approved our request to expand the generating capacity of each of the two 538-megawatt units at Prairie Island by 82 megawatts.

Monticello

Federal regulators in November 2006 approved a 20-year license extension for the Monticello nuclear plant.
To accommodate operations to 2030, we also sought and gained approval from Minnesota regulators for expanded on-site storage of used nuclear fuel at Monticello. The dry storage facility was built in 2008, and it currently houses 10 containers of used fuel.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has approved our request to expand generating capacity at the Monticello Nuclear Plant. Federal action on our request is pending.

Federal Issues

President Obama’s administration has proposed cutting funding for the proposed national nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada and reviewing the nation’s nuclear waste strategy.
Xcel Energy is among utilities that have sued the U.S. Department of Energy for its failure to begin disposing of used nuclear fuel by a January 1998 deadline, as required by contracts. In 2007, a judge ruled in the company’s favor, and a second lawsuit is pending.

Government & Industry Links