FirstEnergy plans major overhaul of Beaver Valley nuclear power plant

FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. plans to replace the steam generator and reactor vessel head at its Beaver Valley Unit 2 nuclear reactor in 2017, according to Paul Harden, company senior vice president in charge of fleet engineering.

Eric Larson, FirstEnergy vice president at Beaver Valley, said the project costs will be "several hundred million dollars."

The major component replacements at Beaver Valley were discussed Tuesday at an informational meeting of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Moon, where FirstEnergy executives presented performance reviews and answered questions about its Beaver Valley reactors in Shippingport, Beaver County, its Davis-Besse nuclear plant near Toledo, Ohio, and its Perry power plant in Perry, Ohio.

Mr. Harden said the company will also begin a major project to replace the two steam generators at its Davis-Besse plant in February, during a longer-than-normal power outage to refuel the plant. Generator parts, made by Babcock & Wilcox of Canada, will begin arriving at the Davis-Besse site next month.

Both Beaver Valley units have been granted 20-year license extensions. The extension for Unit 1 runs until 2036, for Unit 2 until 2047. Together the pressurized water reactors produce more than 1,800 megawatts of power.
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