Oconee Nuclear Station

The Oconee Nuclear Station is a nuclear power station located on Lake Keowee near Seneca, South Carolina, and has an energy output capacity of over 2,500 megawatts. It is the second nuclear power station in the United States to have its operating license extended for an additional twenty years by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (the application for the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Maryland preceded it).This plant has three Babcock & Wilcox pressurized water reactors, and is operated by Duke Energy.Oconee was the first of three nuclear stations built by Duke Energy. According to Duke Energy's web site, the station has generated more than 500 million megawatt-hours of electricity, and is "the first nuclear station in the United States to achieve this milestone."In the summer of 2011 it became the first nuclear power station in the United States to have its sensors controlled digitally.Oconee is unique as it is the only nuclear power plant in the United States that does not rely on emergency diesel generator sets for emergency power. Instead it relies on two hydroelectric units at the nearby Keowee hydroelectric station. In the event the Keowee units are both out of service emergency power can alternatively be provided by combustion turbines at the nearby Lee fossil generating station. Both sources use alternative cables to supply Oconee's emergency systems that are independent of the Oconee switchyard and transmission lines which are the normal source of power.