Major project at Shippingport nuclear plant slated in 2017

Major project at Shippingport nuclear plant slated in 2017

SHIPPINGPORT, Pa. (AP) — Officials say a major replacement project at a western Pennsylvania nuclear plant is scheduled to begin in four years.

FirstEnergy says the steam generators and reactor vessel head in Unit 2 at the Beaver Valley nuclear plant will be replaced in 2017 during a scheduled refueling outage.

Company spokeswoman Jennifer Young told the Beaver County Times that the work is expected to cost “hundreds of millions” of dollars.

She said the project is expected to take slightly longer than a normal refueling, which usually lasts about 30 days.

A similar replacement and maintenance project was completed on Unit 1 of the Shippingport plant in 2006.

Both units have been granted 20-year license extensions running until 2036 for Unit 1 and 2047 for Unit 2.