Media Contacts:

James Steets
Manager of External Communications
914-272-3545

Jerry Nappi
Manager of Communications
Indian Point Energy Center
914-271-7132

Indian Point Energy Center Factsheet

Indian Point 2:

Acquired from Consolidated Edison
Commercial operation began 1974
License expiration date: 2013

Indian Point 3:

Acquired from New York Power Authority
Commercial operation began 1976
License expiration date: 2015

Entergy Nuclear is part of Entergy Corporation, a global energy company based in New Orleans. Entergy owns, operates and manages nine nuclear generation plants that are among the safest and most professionally operated energy facilities in the United States. Under Entergy’s experienced management, several of these plants are rated among the best performing in the nation by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

BACK TO TOP

Nuclear Facts

• There are 103 commercial nuclear reactors with operating licenses at 64 sites in 31 states. (NEI)
• There are 32 companies licensed to operate nuclear reactors in the U.S. (NEI)
• There are 438 commercial nuclear reactors in the world, located in 31 countries. (NEI)

Generation:

• Energy demand - Nuclear energy provides about 20% of the United States' electricity. (NEI)
• Production - In 2001, nuclear power generated 762 billion kilowatt-hours (KWh) in the U.S., a record high for the third straight year. (NEI)
• Capacity factor - Average industry capacity factor in 2001 was 91%, a record for the fourth straight year. (NEI) Average capacity factor for Entergy's nuclear fleet in 2001 was 96%.
• Refueling outages - All five of Entergy's nuclear plants having refueling outages last year had their best outages ever in terms of duration, achieving an average duration of just over 23 days. In the past decade, the shortest average duration for refueling averages at U.S. nuclear plants was 44.5 days.
• Improved operations since 1990 - In the U.S., we've created the equivalent of 23 1,000 megawatt power plants to our generating force through power uprates and increases in capacity factor since 1990 due to better operating efficiency.
• Improved operations since 1980 - The nuclear industry has managed to increase both its average annual capacity factor (from around 55% in 1980 to 91% in 2001) and our average annual thermal efficiency (from 32% in 1980 to almost 34% in 1999). It's estimated this allows us to achieve a 10-15% improvement in the amount of power generated by our nuclear plants. (NEI)
• U.S. state usage - Six states have nuclear as the largest percentage of their electricity: Vermont (67%), South Carolina (55%), New Hampshire (53%), Illinois (50%), New Jersey (49%), and Connecticut (45%). (NEI)
• World usage - In 2000, approximately 16% of worldwide electricity was generated from nuclear reactors. Countries generating the largest percentage of their electricity from nuclear energy were France, 76 percent; Lithuania, 74 percent; Belgium, 57 percent; Bulgaria, 45 percent; Slovak Republic, 53 percent; Sweden, 39 percent; Ukraine, 47 percent; Republic of Korea, 41 percent; Hungary, 42 percent; Japan, 36 percent; Slovenia, 36 percent; Switzerland, 36 percent. In total, 17 countries relied on nuclear energy to supply at least one-quarter of their total electricity. (NEI)
• Nuclear fuel - Nuclear power plants use uranium oxide to generate electricity. Fuel, in the form of small ceramic pellets, is placed inside metal fuel rods. Rods are then grouped into bundles called assemblies. Fission occurs when uranium atoms split, causing a reaction that produces heat energy. This energy is used to boil water into steam, which drives a turbine generator to produce electricity. Every 18 to 24 months, about one-third of the nuclear fuel in a reactor core needs to be unloaded and replaced with fresh fuel.

BACK TO TOP

TOPICS

Listen to Our
Radio Advertising

Media Contacts

Plant News

Indian Point Energy Center Factsheet

Nuclear Facts

Current News

News Archive