How much of my electricity is actually made at the nuclear plant closest to me?
It’s a frequent question from anyone hearing about the 8 million homes that Duke Energy’s nuclear fleet powers. The answer is less straightforward than people may expect if they are not familiar with the electrical grid.
Ensuring the white glove treatment each and every day
No matter where you get your electricity, there is a fuel source involved. With solar, the light is collected with photovoltaics to create energy. Fossil-fuel plants burn gas. Nuclear is a bit different: Nuclear plants don’t burn anything to generate...
At 35, Harris Nuclear Plant continues to grow along with the community
The year was 1987. The price of a gallon of gasoline was $.95 and a dozen of eggs were $.78, and first-class stamp was $.22. Aretha Franklin became the first female artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Disney company reached an...
Meet Spot: Oconee Nuclear Station's newest four-legged friend
Duke Energy’s Oconee Nuclear Station has a new dog. “Spot” can sit, lay down and roll over. Unlike your average Rover, Spot is also trained to perform inspections of hard-to-access areas at the three-unit nuclear plant near Seneca, S.C.
We're resolved to start this year on the right foot
The Nuclear Information Center (NIC) has been a go-to source for sharing about the nuclear industry and Duke Energy's six nuclear sites across the Carolinas since we first began publishing articles in 2011. Now we're just over a decade old, and want to...
From start to storage: know the next steps in the life of uranium
This is part two of a series on the steps in the fuel life cycle at Duke Energy’s nuclear power plants. To learn about how uranium makes it way to our power plants, read part one.
By the time a single uranium fuel pellet makes its way to a nuclear power plant, it’s already had an exciting life, but that’s only half of its story. Let’s learn about the next stage in its life cycle.
Cooling towers: what are they and how do they work?
If you’ve ever had a window seat flying out of or into Raleigh, N.C., on a clear day, most likely you spotted in the distance, a tower with what appears to be smoke coming from it, but do you really know what it is?
It’s Harris Nuclear Plant’s natural...
Keeping nuclear in the driver’s seat: Duke Energy seeks to renew nuclear licenses
What if your driver’s license was about to expire, and there was no way to get another one? You still have a perfectly good car. You are a skilled and responsible driver. There are still places you need to go.
The nuclear industry faced a similar...
Fission vs. Fusion – What’s the Difference?
Look up during the day to see one of the most powerful examples of a nuclear reactor: the sun. Inside the sun, fusion reactions take place at very high temperatures and enormous gravitational pressures
The foundation of nuclear energy is harnessing the...
Capacity factor – it's a measure of reliability
One way the energy industry measures the reliability of power plants is by regularly calculating capacity factors.
Capacity factor measures how often a plant is running at maximum power. It’s expressed as a percentage and calculated by dividing the actual unit of electricity output by the maximum possible output. This ratio is important because it indicates how fully a generating unit is used.