MINNEAPOLIS (October 9, 2023) — Workers at Xcel Energy’s Prairie Island Nuclear Plant began a two-month refueling and maintenance effort on October 6, allowing the facility to continue providing reliable, carbon-free energy for more than one million customers throughout the Upper Midwest.
About 650 specialists join the plant’s permanent staff and colleagues from across Xcel Energy’s nuclear team to perform the work. This provides a significant boost to the economies of Goodhue County and the surrounding region. The effort, which happens every two years for each of the two units at Prairie Island, helps set up the plant for a future extension of its operations, which will play an important part in achieving Minnesota’s goal of 100% carbon-free energy by 2040.
“As we lead the clean energy transition, we know that our nuclear power plants will play a critical role in helping us reach our shared carbon-free energy goals,” said Chris Clark, president, Xcel Energy – Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. “Our nuclear plants today generate about half our carbon free energy for our Upper Midwest customers and provide reliable, clean, always-on power, which is a great value and represents a major investment in the region.”
While Prairie Island’s Unit 2 is out of service, refueling and plant maintenance will improve equipment and plant reliability and help ensure that the plant continues to provide safe, clean and reliable power to the region. During this outage, Unit 1 will continue operations to provide electricity to customers. Together, Xcel Energy’s two nuclear plants at Monticello and Prairie Island provide more than 30% of the total electricity that the company’s customers use in the Upper Midwest.
Powering the future
Plant maintenance makes it possible to extend Prairie Island’s operating life and renew Xcel Energy’s investment and commitment to the surrounding region. The company has received stakeholder support for a future extension of the plant’s operating life.
“Xcel Energy continues to innovate at the Prairie Island plant as it celebrates its 50th year of operations this year,” said Pete Gardner, Xcel Energy’s chief nuclear officer. “In early 2024, Prairie Island will begin a first-of-its-kind hydrogen production pilot that uses the carbon-free electricity generated at the plant to produce hydrogen from water, providing an opportunity to better understand how nuclear plants can contribute to the development of hydrogen technologies and build a carbon-free future.”
In recent years, Xcel Energy has implemented a process for flexing down nuclear generation when low-cost wind resources are abundant. The company’s nuclear team has reduced production costs at its nuclear plants by 35% over the past decade, saving money for customers.
Boost to local economy
Xcel Energy’s nuclear plants are economic drivers for the communities they operate in. The skilled workers and contractors who work at the plant during refueling outages provide a boost to the area’s economy. Restaurants, hotels and service providers are often booked with traveling workers, many of whom return to the area for each refueling.
The nuclear industry supports good-paying, stable jobs with salaries that can be 30% higher than the local average, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The Prairie Island plant is one of Red Wing’s biggest employers and local taxpayers, and it has been responsible for more than an estimated $550 million in economic activity each year in the region, according to a 2017 study by the Nuclear Energy Institute.
Nuclear energy is extremely reliable. Xcel Energy’s plants typically run year-round, and regularly operate uninterrupted through a polar vortex or a heat wave, only shutting down to refuel the reactor. During the refueling, about one-third of the fuel in the reactor core will be replaced. Meanwhile, skilled technicians will do tens of thousands of hours of inspection and maintenance that ensure the safe and efficient operation of the plant.
“Our team spends years planning for these refueling periods to ensure we execute projects safely and effectively during off-peak months for energy usage,” said Tom Conboy, Prairie Island site vice president. “The dedication of our coworkers is why Xcel Energy’s nuclear fleet continues to be recognized for sustained exemplary performance by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations.”
Learn more about Xcel Energy’s nuclear fleet here.
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About Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive prices. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.