Entergy Arkansas strengthens commitment to dependable energy for the state
Russellville Ark. – Arkansas Nuclear One Unit 2 has returned to service after completing one of the largest refueling and maintenance outages in its history. The outage, which began March 14, involved approximately 13,000 tasks and more than 195,000 person hours of work. Unit 2 is now back online and delivering dependable electricity for Arkansans ahead of the summer season.
Arkansas Nuclear One remains one of the most important sources of reliable power in the region. The two units together provide about 20 percent of the electricity used across Arkansas. Before entering this outage, Unit 2 completed a breaker to breaker run lasting 501 days. This marked the third consecutive operating cycle that Unit 2 stayed online continuously between refueling outages. In total, the unit delivered more than 1,500 days of uninterrupted operation across the last three cycles, which is more than four years of continuous generation. This achievement underscores the station’s strong performance and its role as a dependable energy resource for the state.
Entergy Arkansas continues to invest in Arkansas Nuclear One to ensure safe secure and reliable operations for the long term. To support Entergy Arkansas’s Next Generation Arkansas vision, More Power is a major focus we will tackle to help guarantee lasting reliability and resilience across the state. Investments into the plant this outage totals more than $200 million dollars. Many of the projects placed in service this year had been planned for an exceptionally long time, including one project that started in 2004.
Nearly 1,100 specialized contract workers joined about 900 Entergy employees to support the outage. Many visiting workers stayed in the Russellville area for several weeks, providing meaningful economic benefit to local businesses and communities.
Major reliability improvements completed on Unit 2 included:
These upgrades reinforce the long-term performance of Unit 2 and help ensure customers receive dependable service during periods of high electricity demand. Unit 2 produces nearly 990 megawatts of carbon free electricity for Arkansas homes and businesses.
What is a refuel outage?
Nuclear refuels are similar to fueling a vehicle, beginning when plant operators take the unit offline. Then work begins. Nuclear professionals remove a portion of the fuel from the reactor, shuffle current fuel rods and replace the removed fuel with new fuel.
While the unit is offline, the team completes maintenance work and other projects to improve reliability. Every detail of a refueling outage is meticulously planned and every Arkansas Nuclear One worker plays an important role.
About Arkansas Nuclear One
Arkansas Nuclear One, in Russellville, Ark., is home to two operating nuclear power plants, Unit 1 and Unit 2, which generate approximately 1,800 megawatts of electricity for homes, business and public facilities in the state.
About Entergy Nuclear
Entergy Nuclear, headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, is responsible for the operation of the Entergy utility nuclear fleet. Owned by Entergy’s utility companies, the nuclear fleet consists of five reactors in four locations, generating enough clean, carbon-free electricity to power millions of homes. Entergy produces, transmits and distributes electricity to power life for 3 million customers through our operating companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. As a company, Entergy is investing for growth and improved reliability and resilience of our energy system while working to keep energy rates affordable for our customers. We’re also investing in cleaner energy generation like modern natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy. A nationally recognized leader in sustainability and corporate citizenship, we deliver more than $100 million in economic benefits each year to the communities we serve through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Entergy is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has approximately 12,000 employees. Learn more at Entergy.com/Nuclear and connect with @EntergyNuclear on social media.
