Quad Cities opens new training centre
03 July 2018
Exelon Generation has opened an expanded employee training centre at the Quad Cities nuclear power plant, in the same month that the plant would have closed had the state of Illinois not passed its Future Energy Jobs Act.
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Ribbon-cutting ceremony at Quad Cities' new training centre (Image: Exelon Generation)
Construction of the USD7 million Quad Cities Professional Learning Centre began after the state passed the act, which became law in December 2016. The project is part of USD20 million in construction and facility improvements carried out at Quad Cities over the past year. Other projects include an expansion of the plant's used fuel storage pad and construction of a new maintenance facility.
"This ribbon cutting is more than just the opening of our newly expanded Professional Learning Center, it represents the next chapter in Quad Cities' bright future," Site Vice President Ken Ohr said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on 29 June. "June 2018 was the exact month Quad Cities was to be shut down, but thanks to Governor Rauner, legislative leaders and our many local supporters, we continue to deliver carbon-free power and good-paying jobs for Illinois families."
The Future Energy Jobs Act recognises the contribution of nuclear power generation to Illinois' zero-carbon emission generation and ensures that the Clinton and Quad Cities nuclear power plants can remain open. Without the legislation, both plants had faced closure.
Oyster Creek closure date set
The closure of Exelon's Oyster Creek nuclear power plant has been brought forward from October to September, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said this week at a public webinar reported in the Jersey Shore Online. According to the Post-Shutdown Activities Report submitted to the NRC on 21 May, Exelon now intends to close the unit on 17 September.
The single-unit 619 MWe boiling water reactor has been in commercial operation since December 1969, making it the joint oldest operating power reactor in the USA alongside Nine Mile Point unit 1. Although licensed to operate until 2029, Exelon decided to retire the plant early after revisions to New Jersey water use rules would have required it to build new cooling towers at an estimated cost of over USD800 million.
Researched and written by World Nuclear News