By Jennifer Kearney, 12/2006

• 1: Introduction
• 2: Nuclear Power Today part 2
• 3: North Carolina’s electric cooperatives’ interest in nuclear energy
• 4: How a nuclear generator plant works
• 5: Learning about nuclear energy at Catawba Nuclear Station
• Download the full article as a

Learning about nuclear energy
at Catawba Nuclear Station

I have been teaching high school physics in Southern Pines for more than 10 years. Although I was trained to teach math, I really enjoy teaching physics because students in that class want to know what is in the world around them and how it works. I teach a unit on “Nuclear Reactions and Power.” Several of my former students went on to study nuclear engineering in college, and one did research at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

One desire of mine has been to tour a nuclear power plant and see how it really works. I have all kinds of graphs and information I share with students, but my explanation had been based mostly on what I have read or seen at the North Carolina State University Reactor.

Last summer, the North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation invited me to visit Catawba Nuclear Station, which is operated by Duke Energy in York County, S.C. NCEMC has a 56.25 percent ownership of the Catawba Unit No. 1.

The control room operators at Catawba and other Duke plants work for 10 weeks and then go for two weeks of refresher training. This helps Duke maintain its accreditation with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. I was very impressed with that amount of training. The training is enhanced by an exact replica of the actual control room, and computers maintain data from the plant so they can give an actual scenario of what happens.

Catawba has two reactors in operation. I was able to touch the huge containment building where the nuclear fission reaction takes place. Water under pressure circulates in the reactor housing and is heated to about 550 degrees F by the reaction. The water then circulates around other water that does not come in contact with the reaction and is heated to about 545 degrees F under pressure of 962 pounds-per-square-inch. The steam it produces turns the high-pressure turbines that generate electricity. The turbines are housed in a large building about 20 feet from the reactors.

After the steam has been through the turbine, reheated and exhausted, its heat energy declines to about 114 degrees F. The water is sent to four cooling towers where it is cooled for re-entry to Lake Wylie. Water drops from the top of the towers, while fans circulate, to cool it down to about 89 degrees.

The plant is very neat and clean. I was impressed by the organization and safeguards in place to maintain security and safety. An engineer from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is on site and has complete access to the operation.

The reactors are re-fueled every 12 to 18 months, and Catawba has set records for its quick refueling. Spent fuel is stored right there on the Catawba site until a permanent storage facility is completed.

Catawba has been recognized by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as one of the most efficient power plants in the United States. It was put into operation in 1985 and recently qualified for relicensing to 2043. All reports tell us we are going to need new energy supplies and efficient ways to produce electricity in the coming years so that we can gradually replace our dependence on fossil fuels. Nuclear energy and Catawba fit into that future.