nuclear-news

the perils of trying out a new nuclear reactor design

City’s nuclear age lasted only a year Argus Leader. South Dakota Eric Renshaw11:23 p.m. CDT March 29, 2014 In 1959, Northern States Power Co. began construction on what would become the Pathfinder Nuclear Generating Station just south of Interstate 90 between Sioux Falls and Brandon…….. After spending much time and money assembling the plant and trying to get the superheater working the way it should, they finally pushed the plant to run at full output, which lasted about 30 minutes. During that 30 minutes, it was decided that they should never do that again. The flaws in the superheater became evident, and it was deemed too expensive to repair. They’d put enough into it and had learned a lot. It did run at less than peak output from August 1966 to September 1967, though it was never put on the grid.

Pathfinder ceased operation in October 1967 and was converted to a gas- and coal-powered station. The fuel was shipped away in 1970, and the reactor vessel was removed from the plant in 1990 after it had had time to cool down a bit. Its cooling tower collapsed in July 2000, and production stopped in that building………http://www.argusleader.com/story/life/2014/03/30/citys-nuclear-age-lasted-year/7043837/

March 31, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | technology, USA