Bring in the Bots
Refueling Outages Use Robots for Specific Tasks If SUSI had an online dating profile, it would most likely read, “Likes to swim. Loves to travel. Very flexible. One of a kind.” Peak your interest? The submarine robot SUSI swims in the used fuel pool ...
Keeping it Under Pressure
There are lots of acronyms and terminologies when talking about a nuclear power plant, but one term in particular carries a lot of weight when you refer to the safe operation of a nuclear power plant; maintaining containment pressure. To understand ...
Do we have enough nuclear fuel?
Did you know? A single uranium fuel pellet contains as much energy as 480 cubic meters of natural gas, nearly a ton of coal or 149 gallons of oil. Where does it come from and do we have a plentiful supply for U.S. nuclear plants? Uranium is a common ...
Importance of water at nuclear plants
Water is essential to sustaining human life. It's also essential to the production of electricity at nuclear power plants which are designed to use as little water as possible.
Nuclear Meets the Demands of the Polar Vortex
The frigid impact of the “polar vortex” affected most of the U.S.Credit: AccuWeather.com Last week, as the arctic air of the “polar vortex” made its way across the country, temperatures reached record lows and energy demand reached record highs. ...
Learning Firsthand from Fukushima
In September, chief nuclear officers (CNOs) representing all operating U.S. commercial nuclear energy facilities traveled to Japan to see the impact of the 2011 Fukushima event firsthand. More than 20 nuclear leaders from the U.S. spent a week touring ...
The upside of nuclear uprates
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) places restrictions on the maximum amount of electricity a nuclear power plant can produce. The NRC determines this maximum output for each nuclear unit, which is based on individual factors and specifications. ...
Why don't all nuclear plants have cooling towers?
On a clear day, you can easily see the Harris Nuclear Plant’s 523-foot high cooling tower from downtown Raleigh, about 20 miles away. However, if you drive 180 miles southeast to the Brunswick Nuclear Plant in Southport, N.C., you won’t see a cooling tower. Since both are nuclear power plants, why does only one have a cooling tower?
New Video Celebrates the People Behind the Power
With a fresh look and brand, Duke Energy needed a compelling new way to show off its most powerful asset – its employees. The result is this 3-minute video that introduces the new Duke Energy and what goes on behind the light switch. The video, ...
50 years later: Source of power generation gives life to a community
What began as an engineering project to meet the energy needs of a developing region became a catalyst for growth, economic prosperity and created a community all its own. In 1959, Duke Energy began construction on Cowans Ford Dam which impounded the ...