Point Beach Nuclear Generating Station
Encyclopedia
Point Beach Nuclear Plant is a nuclear power plant
located on Lake Michigan
north of Two Rivers, Wisconsin
, USA.
The plant is currently owned and operated by NextEra Energy Resources
(prior to 2009 - FPL Energy), of Juno Beach, Florida
. The plant was built by Wisconsin Electric Power Company
(now We Energies, a subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corporation), and previously operated by the Nuclear Management Company
.
NextEra Energy Resources
purchased the plant from Wisconsin Electric Power Company
in October 2007. As part of the sale, We Energies agreed to repurchase all of the power produced by the plant for at least 20 years. In 2000–2007 the plant was managed by the Nuclear Management Company
.
This plant has two Westinghouse
pressurized water reactor
s. There is also a visitors' center located at the Point Beach plant.
In 2005, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) approved the license renewal application for the Point Beach plant, extending the operating license from forty years to sixty.
Most of the power from this plant goes to the Green Bay
area and communities along the Lake Michigan
shoreline of Southeastern Wisconsin. The plant is connected to the grid by four 345 kV
lines, one of which travels northwest towards Green Bay and then on to the We Energies North Appleton substation located about 12 miles north of Appleton, Wisconsin
, and the other one interconecting with the Kewaunee Nuclear Generating Station
located just a short distance away to the north from Point Beach. The other 345 kV lines going out of the plant go south towards Milwaukee. Several 138 kV lines going out of the plant supply electricity to the surrounding area.
defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16.1 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80.5 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16.1 km) of Point Beach was 19,975, a decrease of 6.7 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80.5 km) was 777,556, an increase of 10.0 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Green Bay (28 miles to city center).
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
located on Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
north of Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Two Rivers is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,712 at the 2010 census. It is the birthplace of the ice cream sundae...
, USA.
The plant is currently owned and operated by NextEra Energy Resources
NextEra Energy Resources
NextEra Energy Resources is an wholesale electricity supplier based in Juno Beach, Florida. It is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. , a Fortune 200 company. Prior to 2009, NextEra Energy Resources was known as FPL Energy....
(prior to 2009 - FPL Energy), of Juno Beach, Florida
Juno Beach, Florida
Juno Beach is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,262 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 3,391. Juno Beach is home to the headquarters of Florida Power & Light...
. The plant was built by Wisconsin Electric Power Company
Wisconsin Energy Corporation
Wisconsin Energy Corporation , based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin serves more than 1.1 million electric customers in Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula and more than 1 million natural gas customers in Wisconsin through its utility subsidiary, We Energies...
(now We Energies, a subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corporation), and previously operated by the Nuclear Management Company
Nuclear Management Company
Nuclear Management Company was a contract/operations firm that operated six nuclear power plants in the midwest US. NMC provided operational collaborations between plants. NMC did not own the plants, nor the energy produced from them. NMC's corporate headquarters were in Hudson, Wisconsin...
.
NextEra Energy Resources
NextEra Energy Resources
NextEra Energy Resources is an wholesale electricity supplier based in Juno Beach, Florida. It is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. , a Fortune 200 company. Prior to 2009, NextEra Energy Resources was known as FPL Energy....
purchased the plant from Wisconsin Electric Power Company
Wisconsin Energy Corporation
Wisconsin Energy Corporation , based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin serves more than 1.1 million electric customers in Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula and more than 1 million natural gas customers in Wisconsin through its utility subsidiary, We Energies...
in October 2007. As part of the sale, We Energies agreed to repurchase all of the power produced by the plant for at least 20 years. In 2000–2007 the plant was managed by the Nuclear Management Company
Nuclear Management Company
Nuclear Management Company was a contract/operations firm that operated six nuclear power plants in the midwest US. NMC provided operational collaborations between plants. NMC did not own the plants, nor the energy produced from them. NMC's corporate headquarters were in Hudson, Wisconsin...
.
This plant has two Westinghouse
Westinghouse Electric Company
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is a nuclear power company, offering a wide range of nuclear products and services to utilities throughout the world, including nuclear fuel, service and maintenance, instrumentation and control and advanced nuclear plant designs...
pressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactors constitute a large majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor , the other types being boiling water reactors and supercritical water reactors...
s. There is also a visitors' center located at the Point Beach plant.
In 2005, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
(NRC) approved the license renewal application for the Point Beach plant, extending the operating license from forty years to sixty.
Most of the power from this plant goes to the Green Bay
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
area and communities along the Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
shoreline of Southeastern Wisconsin. The plant is connected to the grid by four 345 kV
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
lines, one of which travels northwest towards Green Bay and then on to the We Energies North Appleton substation located about 12 miles north of Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. The population was 78,086 at the 2010 census...
, and the other one interconecting with the Kewaunee Nuclear Generating Station
Kewaunee Nuclear Generating Station
The Kewaunee Power Station occupies a site in Carlton, Wisconsin, southeast of Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA. Kewaunee was the fourth nuclear power plant built in Wisconsin, and the 44th built in the United States.-History:...
located just a short distance away to the north from Point Beach. The other 345 kV lines going out of the plant go south towards Milwaukee. Several 138 kV lines going out of the plant supply electricity to the surrounding area.
Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory CommissionNuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16.1 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80.5 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16.1 km) of Point Beach was 19,975, a decrease of 6.7 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80.5 km) was 777,556, an increase of 10.0 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Green Bay (28 miles to city center).
