STP spared brunt of Hurricane Ike
15 September 2008
The South Texas Project (STP) nuclear power plant continued to operate safely and reliably throughout Hurricane Ike, STP Nuclear Operating Co announced. The company said that both reactors at the plant remained at full power on 13 September as the storm made landfall near Galveston and moved inland. STP is some 96 km southwest of Galveston. The plant was subjected to winds of about 53 kph, with gusts up to 80 kph. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requires plants to shut down if winds reach hurricane strength. STP's two reactors have a combined capacity of 2700 MWe, approximately 7.5% of the electricity used in Texas. A significant portion of the plant's generation is distributed to the south and west, away from the path of Ike.