Yankee Rowe Nuclear Power Station

Yankee Rowe Nuclear Power Station (decommissioned) was a nuclear power plant in Rowe, Massachusetts, that operated from 1960 to 1992.

The Yankee Nuclear Power Station - also known as "Yankee Rowe" - was the third commercial nuclear power plant built in the United States and the first built in New England. The 167-megawatt electric pressurized-water Yankee Rowe plant, located on the Deerfield River in the town of Rowe in Western Massachusetts, permanently shut down on February 26, 1992 after more than 31 years of producing electricity for New England electric consumers.

Construction of the plant was completed in 1960 at a cost of $39 million. During its 32-year operating history, the Yankee plant generated over 34 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, and had a lifetime capacity factor of 74%.

The plant, the first large-scale nuclear unit, was shut down prematurely due to reactor pressure vessel embrittlement concerns [ [http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/index.html?http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/369/3628.html Oldest operating US nuclear power plant shut down] ] , a concern now scrutinized in all plants (see ductility).

Yankee Atomic Electric Company (YAEC) was incorporated in Massachusetts in 1954. YAEC was sponsored by ten New England utilities for the purpose of constructing and operating New England's first nuclear power plant, the Yankee Nuclear Power Station. Owners and ownership percentage:
* New England Power Company 34.5%
* The Connecticut Light and Power Company 24.5
* Boston Edison Company 9.5
* Central Maine Power Company 9.5
* Public Service Company of New Hampshire 7.0
* Western Massachusetts Electric Company 7.0
* Central Vermont Public Service Corporation 3.5
* Commonwealth Electric Company 2.5
* Cambridge Electric Light Company 2.0

Most of the men and women who worked either in the plant or during the decommissioning efforts referred to the site as "Rowe Atomic" or simply "Rowe", to avoid confusion with Vermont Yankee, a nuclear power station located in Vernon, Vermont.

In a recent news article, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has stated that the decommissioning of Yankee Rowe is completed. The land is stated by the NRC to be completely safe. However, over 100,000 pounds of spent fuel rods are still on-site, contained in dry casks, built of concrete and steel. These will be located at the site until the completion of the Yucca Mountain disposal facility, around 2020.

ee also

*List of anti-nuclear protests in the United States
*Anti-nuclear movement in the United States

References

External links

* [http://www.yankeerowe.com/ Yankee Rowe]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4D81F3FF930A15755C0A964958260 Nuclear Agency's Chief Praises Watchdog Groups]