Donald C. Cook Nuclear Generating Station
Encyclopedia
Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant is a nuclear power plant
located just north of the city of Bridgman, Michigan
which is part of Berrien County
, on a 650 acres (2.6 km²) site 11 miles south of St. Joseph, Michigan
, USA
. The plant is owned by American Electric Power
(AEP) and operated by Indiana Michigan Power, an AEP subsidiary. This is currently the company's only nuclear power plant, which has two nuclear reactors.
The construction cost of the power plant was $3.352 billion (2007 USD). The plant produces enough electricity to meet the needs of a city 1.25 million people.
The plant is connected to the power grid via one 765KV line that goes from the plant to AEP's DuMont substation near Lakeville, Indiana
and by numerous 345KV lines, two of which interconnect with Consumers Energy
/METC
, connecting with the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station
, owned by Entergy.
defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16.1 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80.5 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16.1 km) of D.C. Cook was 54,638, an increase of 3.4 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80.5 km) was 1,225,096, an increase of 2.8 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include South Bend (26 miles to city center).
.
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
located just north of the city of Bridgman, Michigan
Bridgman, Michigan
Bridgman is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,428 at the 2000 census. The Bridgman post office, with ZIP code 49106 opened with the name "Laketon" on November 11, 1862. The name changed to Bridgman on April 9, 1874...
which is part of Berrien County
Berrien County, Michigan
Berrien County is a county located in the extreme southwest of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 156,813. The county seat is St. Joseph....
, on a 650 acres (2.6 km²) site 11 miles south of St. Joseph, Michigan
St. Joseph, Michigan
St. Joseph is a city in the US state of Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,789. It lies on the shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, about east-northeast of Chicago. It is the county...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The plant is owned by American Electric Power
American Electric Power
American Electric Power is a major investor-owner electric utility in various parts of the United States. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S...
(AEP) and operated by Indiana Michigan Power, an AEP subsidiary. This is currently the company's only nuclear power plant, which has two nuclear reactors.
The construction cost of the power plant was $3.352 billion (2007 USD). The plant produces enough electricity to meet the needs of a city 1.25 million people.
The plant is connected to the power grid via one 765KV line that goes from the plant to AEP's DuMont substation near Lakeville, Indiana
Lakeville, Indiana
Lakeville is a town south of South Bend in Union Township, St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 786 at the 2010 Census...
and by numerous 345KV lines, two of which interconnect with Consumers Energy
Consumers Energy
Consumers Energy is a public utility that provides natural gas and electricity to more than 6 million of Michigan's 10 million residents. It serves customers in all 68 of the state’s Lower Peninsula counties. It is a division of CMS Energy. Its headquarters is in Jackson.-History:The company was...
/METC
ITC Transmission
ITC Transmission , also known as International Transmission Company, is an electric transmission company based in Novi, Michigan, a Detroit suburb...
, connecting with the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station
Palisades Nuclear Generating Station
The Palisades Power Plant is a nuclear power plant located on Lake Michigan, in Van Buren County's Covert Township, Michigan, on a site of 432 acres 5 miles south of South Haven, Michigan, USA.Palisades is owned and operated by Entergy...
, owned by Entergy.
License expiration and renewal
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission renewed the operating licenses of both reactors on August 30, 2005. With the renewal, Unit One's operating license will expire in 2034 while Unit Two's will expire in 2037. http://www.aep.com/newsroom/newsreleases/?ID=1225 The units were initially licensed for forty years from their operational date.Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory CommissionNuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16.1 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80.5 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16.1 km) of D.C. Cook was 54,638, an increase of 3.4 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80.5 km) was 1,225,096, an increase of 2.8 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include South Bend (26 miles to city center).
Visitors center
The plant has a visitors center that was open to the public six days a week on a drop in basis. Since the attacks of September 11, however, the plant is open only to school groups by reservation. The visitors center features a 26 foot animated model demonstrating how the plant operates.Ownership
The plant is operated by the Indiana Michigan Power Company and owned by American Electric PowerAmerican Electric Power
American Electric Power is a major investor-owner electric utility in various parts of the United States. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S...
.
Incidents
- July 13th 1990 one person was killed by electrocution and three others suffered severe burn injuries from a 4kv switchgear explosion.
- In 1976 two workers were killed in a recirculation pit (sump) by asphyxiation from argon inerting gas used to support welding on stainless steel piping.
- A transformer caused an automatic shutdown of Unit 1 in 2003.
- A massive intrusion of fish caused both units to shut down for approximately 25 hours on April 24–25, 2003.
- On September 20, 2008 unit 1's main turbine and generator were damaged by severe turbine vibrations caused by broken low-pressure turbine blades. A fire also broke out in the generator of Unit 1. No radiation was released and Unit 2 continued to operate at full power
Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at D.C. Cook was 1 in 83,333, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.Additional information
| Unit 1 | Unit 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Reactor Type | Pressurized Water Pressurized water reactor Pressurized water reactors constitute a large majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor , the other types being boiling water reactors and supercritical water reactors... |
Pressurized Water Pressurized water reactor Pressurized water reactors constitute a large majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor , the other types being boiling water reactors and supercritical water reactors... |
| Reactor Manufacturer | Westinghouse Westinghouse Electric Company Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is a nuclear power company, offering a wide range of nuclear products and services to utilities throughout the world, including nuclear fuel, service and maintenance, instrumentation and control and advanced nuclear plant designs... |
Westinghouse Westinghouse Electric Company Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is a nuclear power company, offering a wide range of nuclear products and services to utilities throughout the world, including nuclear fuel, service and maintenance, instrumentation and control and advanced nuclear plant designs... |
| Turbine Manufacturer | General Electric | Brown Boveri |
| Generation Capacity | 1,020 megawatts | 1,090 megawatts |
| Transmission System Connection | 345,000 volts | 765,000 volts |
| Construction Began | March 1, 1969 | March 1, 1969 |
| Grid connection Grid connection In electrical grids, a power system network integrates transmission grids, distribution grids, distributed generators and loads that have connection points called busses. A bus in home circuit breaker panels is much smaller than those used on the grid, where busbars can be 50 mm in diameter... |
February 10, 1975 | March 22, 1978 |
| Operational Date | August 27, 1975 | July 1, 1978 |
| Expiration of Original License | October 25, 2014 | December 23, 2017 |
| Expiration of Renewed License | 2034 | 2037 |
