Duke Energy and Progress Energy Merge Nuclear Fleets
On July 2, Duke Energy and Progress Energy completed their merger, making the new Duke Energy the biggest U.S. electric utility – based on market capitalization, generation capacity and number of customers. The new company will have approximately 7.1 million electric customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Duke Energy now has seven nuclear plants in its generation fleet, and its new nuclear efforts include three projects – Lee Nuclear Station in South Carolina, two units at Shearon Harris in North Carolina, and the Levy County project in Florida. The merger allows the new company to leverage the talent and best practices of both former utilities to achieve even higher levels of safety, operational excellence and customer satisfaction.
Going forward, the NIC will feature stories from Duke Energy’s new nuclear fleet:
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- Oconee Nuclear Station is located on Lake Keowee in Oconee County, S.C., eight miles north of Seneca, S.C. Unit 1 began commercial operation in 1973, followed by units 2 and 3 in 1974. Oconee has safely and reliably generated more than 500 million megawatt-hours of electricity — the first nuclear station in the United States to achieve this milestone.
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- The single-unit, 860-megawatt Crystal River Nuclear Plant is located about eight miles north of Crystal River, Fla. The pressurized water reactor nuclear unit is a part of the Crystal River Energy Complex, which also includes four coal-fired generating units. The Crystal River Nuclear Plant began operation in 1977.
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- The single-unit, 900-megawatt Harris Nuclear Plant is located near New Hill, N.C. It is about 25 miles southwest of Raleigh, N.C. The plant began commercial operation in 1987, and generates enough electricity to power more than 550,000 homes.
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- The single-unit, 724-megawatt Robinson Nuclear Plant is located near Hartsville, S.C. This site also includes a coal-fired unit and a combustion turbine unit. The Robinson nuclear unit began operation in 1971.
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- Catawba Nuclear Station is located on Lake Wylie in York County, S.C. Catawba is jointly owned by North Carolina Municipal Power Agency Number One, North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation, Piedmont Municipal Power Agency and Duke Energy. Unit 1 began commercial operation in 1985, followed by unit 2 in 1986.
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- The two-unit, 1,870-megawatt Brunswick Nuclear Plant is located approximately two miles north of Southport, N.C., and houses two boiling water nuclear reactors. This was the first nuclear power plant built in North Carolina, beginning operation in 1975.
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- McGuire Nuclear Station is located on Lake Norman in Mecklenburg County, N.C. Lake Norman. Unit 1 at McGuire Nuclear Station began commercial operation in 1981, followed by unit 2 in 1984.
