RICHLAND, WA – The Columbia Generating Station resumed operations and reconnected to the Northwest power grid last week, marking the completion of its scheduled biennial refueling outage.
Over the course of two months, crews at the plant undertook thousands of tasks and projects. Key work included the installation of a new adjustable speed drive system, repairs to the circulating water basin, inspection of the electrical generator, and the replacement of a reactor recirculation pump and motor. Additionally, 256 of the 764 nuclear fuel assemblies in the reactor core were replaced with fresh fuel.
“The work accomplished during this outage enhances Columbia’s reliability and strengthens our mission to provide carbon-free, cost-effective energy,” said Energy Northwest CEO Bob Schuetz. “The team completed an impressive amount of work, and we’re pleased to once again be producing much-needed electricity for the region.”
Columbia Generating Station undergoes refueling every two years. During this process, fresh nuclear fuel is added to the reactor core for the next operating cycle. Used fuel assemblies, which have been in use for six years, are moved to the plant’s used fuel pool and will later be transferred to on-site dry cask storage.
Refueling outages also allow maintenance that cannot be performed while the reactor is online. Energy Northwest and the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) coordinate the timing of these outages to coincide with spring snowmelt and runoff, taking advantage of higher hydroelectric output to reduce the impact of the plant being offline.
The Columbia Generating Station, located about 10 miles north of Richland, sells electricity at cost to BPA and officially came back online at 5:02 p.m. on June 16.