Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant
Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant | |
---|---|
Asea Brown Boveri | |
Cooling source | Back River |
Thermal capacity | 1 × 2630 MWth (decommissioned) |
Power generation | |
Make and model | ABB 3-loop design |
Units decommissioned | 1 × 860 MW |
Capacity factor | 68.2% (lifetime) |
External links | |
Website | Maine Yankee |
Commons | Related media on Commons |
] |
Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant was a nuclear power plant built at an 820-acre site on Bailey Peninsula of Wiscasset, Maine, in the United States. It operated from 1972 until 1996, when problems at the plant became too expensive to fix.[1] It was decommissioned and dismantled between 1997 and 2005, though some of the plant's nuclear waste is still stored on site, pending final disposal.
History
The Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company formed in 1966 with plans for a pressurized water reactor in Wiscasset, Maine, and a 40-year operating license.
Construction of the $231 million ($2,023,957,895 today
Opposition
Initial opposition for constructing the plant was led by
Closure
A lengthy Nuclear Regulatory Commission investigation started in 1995, following allegations of safety problems at the plant. The NRC staff identified so many problems that Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co. decided "it would be too costly to correct these deficiences to the extent required by the NRC and decided to shut the plant down".[1]
The $500 million decommissioning process ran from 1997 to 2005. In 2000, the first structures were gutted out by workers. In 2003, the reactor pressure vessel was shipped to Barnwell, South Carolina via barge. Finally, in 2004, the facility's containment building was brought down by explosives.[5]
As of 2022, questions remain about the final disposal of the plant's nuclear waste, following the scrapping of the planned national depository.[6][7]
References
- ^ In Mortal Hands: A Cautionary History of the Nuclear Age, Black Inc., p. 301.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Maine Yankee website
- ^ a b c d Bisgaard-Church, Eliana (25 September 2011). "Citizens protest against MaineYankee Nuclear Power Plant, Wiscasset, Maine, 1979-87". Global Nonviolent Action Database.
- ^ Maine Yankee Decommissioning Overview
- ^ Portland Press-Herald story, Aug. 2010: "Panel Looking at Maine Yankee's waste" Archived 2011-03-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Armed guards protect tons of nuclear waste that Maine can't get rid of". 19 July 2021.