New coils being installed at South Texas 2 reactor

HOUSTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Workers at the South Texas
Project nuclear station in Texas are installing about three
dozen stator coils in Unit 2, which automatically shut in late
November due to a malfunction, an STP spokesman said on
Monday.
The unit's damaged rotor is being refurbished at a Siemens
facility in North Carolina. The 1,280-megawatt STP unit 2
automatically shut Nov. 29 when the main generator
malfunctioned due to a ground fault that likely occurred in one
of the stator coils, officials at the South Texas Nuclear
Operating Co. have said previously.
The remaining stator coils, weighing from 800 to 1,000
pounds each, are expected to arrive at the station in Matagorda
County in the next week or so from a fabrication facility in
Alabama. The unit has 72 total stator coils, all of which are
being replaced.
The spokesman declined to say how long the repair work will
take or when Unit 2 will be ready to return to service.
"The process continues to move forward," said STP's Buddy
Eller. "With the stator coils arriving on site, that is another
key milestone."
The Texas grid agency and regulators are closely watching
the state's generating supply after a protracted heat wave in
2011 sent electric demand soaring, straining resources. The grid
operator was forced to curtail power to some industrial
customers on some days, but was able to avoid rolling outages.
Unit 2 had returned to full power on Nov. 24, from a
refueling outage when it tripped.
Meanwhile, the 1,280-MW Unit 1 has continued operating at
full power.
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PLANT BACKGROUND/TIMELINE
STATE: Texas
COUNTY: Matagorda
TOWN: Bay City, 90 miles (145 km) south of Houston
OPERATOR: STP Nuclear Operating Co
OWNERS: NRG Energy, 44 percent; City of San
Antonio's CPS Energy, 40 percent; City of Austin's
Austin Energy, 16 percent
CAPACITY: 2,700 MW
UNITS: 1 - 1,280 MW pressurized water reactor
2 - 1,280 MW pressurized water reactor
FUEL: Nuclear
DISPATCH: Baseload

TIMELINE:
1976 - Start of plant construction
1988 - Unit 1 enters commercial operation
1989 - Unit 2 enters commercial operation
2007 - NRG files license application to build two new
Advanced Boiling Water Reactors (ABWR) at the site
2010 - STP files application to renew operating licenses
for Units 1 and 2 for an additional 20 years
2011 - NRG ends investment in new reactors after
Fukushima accident; COL process continues
2011 - Regulators approve amended ABWR design
2027 - Unit 1 license to expire unless renewed
2028 - Unit 2 license to expire unless renewed