NRC approves capacity increase for Catawba Nuclear Power Plant
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced on Wednesday that it has approved a request by Duke Energy to increase the generating capacity at the Catawba Nuclear Station Unit 1 by 1.7 percent.
After conducting an evaluation, NRC staff found that the Catawba Station could safely increase its generating capacity at the plant by increasing the output of its reactors. If done by measuring feedwater flow more accurately, NRC staff said that the increase in output could be achieved safely, given the overall design of the plant.
The NRC evaluated the request by looking at a number of factors related to safety, including instrumentation and control systems, electrical systems, nuclear steam supply systems, radiological consequences, accident evaluations, fire protections, technical specification changes, operations, training and testing. The NRC evaluation also included independent evaluations for specific areas and factors.
The Catawba plant is located 18 miles south of Charlotte, N.C. The station’s generating capacity will increase from 1,167 megawatts to 1,187 megawatts of electricity. Duke Energy intends to increase reactor output some time this month, within the jurisdiction of the NRC’s approval guidelines.
The NRC requested public comments related to Duke Energy’s request in Nov. 2014 to give residents and other stakeholders an opportunity to comment. The NRC evaluation is available for public review through the NRC’s ADAMS electronic file database.
