Maine Yankee
Encyclopedia
Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant was a nuclear power plant
built on Bailey Peninsula of Wiscasset, Maine, United States
. It ran from 1972 until 1996, when safety and other problems at the plant became too expensive to fix.
in Wiscasset, Maine were made. The four-year $231 million construction of the plant began in 1968 and ended in 1972 when commercial operation of the plant began. Originally,
Maine Yankee Power Co. had a 40-year license to run the plant.
Over its 25 years as Maine's sole operating nuclear power plant, the power station produced much of Maine's power. Maine Yankee's most productive year came in 1989 when it produced reached 6,900 gigawatt-hours of electricity. From 1972 through 1996 the 900 megawatt reactor produced about 119,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity.
to impose stricter environmental standards and monitoring. In 1980 and 1982, two attempts by referendum to close the plant were defeated, as was a third referendum in 1987.
investigation started in 1995, following allegations of safety problems at the plant. The NRC staff identified so many problems that Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co. decided "it would be too costly to correct these deficiences to the extent required by the NRC and decided to shut the plant down".
The eight-year $500 million decommissioning process spanned from 1997 until 2005. In 2000, the first structures were gutted out by workers. In 2003, the reactor pressure vessel was shipped to Barnwell, South Carolina
via barge
. Finally, in 2004, the facility's containment building
was brought down by explosives.
As of 2010, questions remain about the final disposal of the plant's nuclear waste, following the scrapping of the planned national depository.
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
built on Bailey Peninsula of Wiscasset, Maine, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It ran from 1972 until 1996, when safety and other problems at the plant became too expensive to fix.
History
The Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company formed in 1966, when plans for a pressurized water reactorPressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactors constitute a large majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor , the other types being boiling water reactors and supercritical water reactors...
in Wiscasset, Maine were made. The four-year $231 million construction of the plant began in 1968 and ended in 1972 when commercial operation of the plant began. Originally,
Maine Yankee Power Co. had a 40-year license to run the plant.
Over its 25 years as Maine's sole operating nuclear power plant, the power station produced much of Maine's power. Maine Yankee's most productive year came in 1989 when it produced reached 6,900 gigawatt-hours of electricity. From 1972 through 1996 the 900 megawatt reactor produced about 119,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity.
Opposition
Initial opposition to constructing the plant was led by Citizens for Safe Power, from 1967 through 1972; the group failed to stop construction but succeeded in persuading the Nuclear Regulatory CommissionNuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
to impose stricter environmental standards and monitoring. In 1980 and 1982, two attempts by referendum to close the plant were defeated, as was a third referendum in 1987.
Closure
A lengthy Nuclear Regulatory CommissionNuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
investigation started in 1995, following allegations of safety problems at the plant. The NRC staff identified so many problems that Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co. decided "it would be too costly to correct these deficiences to the extent required by the NRC and decided to shut the plant down".
The eight-year $500 million decommissioning process spanned from 1997 until 2005. In 2000, the first structures were gutted out by workers. In 2003, the reactor pressure vessel was shipped to Barnwell, South Carolina
Barnwell, South Carolina
Barnwell is a city in Barnwell County, South Carolina, United States, located along U.S. Route 278. The population was 5,035 at the 2000 census...
via barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
. Finally, in 2004, the facility's containment building
Containment building
A containment building, in its most common usage, is a steel or reinforced concrete structure enclosing a nuclear reactor. It is designed, in any emergency, to contain the escape of radiation to a maximum pressure in the range of 60 to 200 psi...
was brought down by explosives.
As of 2010, questions remain about the final disposal of the plant's nuclear waste, following the scrapping of the planned national depository.