| Nuclear power
plant back in service, bigger than ever
The Associated Press
November 23, 2004
Newsday
BUCHANAN, N.Y. (AP) _ The Indian Point 2 nuclear power plant,
packing more power than ever, has returned to service after
a 30-day hiatus during which it was refueled and upgraded,
its owner said Tuesday.
The reactor was brought back online Monday evening and should
be at full power by the weekend, said Jim Steets, spokesman
for Entergy Nuclear Northeast. Full power is now about 1,040
megawatts of electricity, up from about 995, he said.
Entergy plans to do the same upgrade at Indian Point 3,
its twin plant, when that reactor is taken out of service
for refueling in the spring. Combined, the upgrades would
mean enough additional power to serve about 90,000 homes.
They are accomplished by swapping out some equipment to accommodate
a higher volume of the steam generated when nuclear energy
is used to boil water, Steets said.
The environmental group Riverkeeper, which spearheads a
movement to shut down Indian Point, expressed concerns that
pushing the plants to higher outputs would degrade equipment
and possibly endanger workers. But the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission gave its approval for the Indian Point 2 upgrade
and is considering the proposed upgrade at Indian Point 3.
In September, Indian Point 2 had to be taken out of service
three times because of problems with valves.
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