Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station

The Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant on the shore of Lake Erie near Monroe, in Frenchtown Charter Township, Monroe County, Michigan, USA, approximately halfway between Detroit, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio. Two units have been constructed on this site. The first unit's construction started in 1963, and the second unit reached criticality in 1988.

The plant is named after the Italian-born American nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi, most noted for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, and for the development of quantum theory. Fermi won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity.

On August 8, 2008, John McCain conducted a 45-minute tour of the plant, becoming the first actively campaigning presidential candidate to visit a nuclear plant. [NucNet. [http://www.worldnuclear.org/_news_database/rss_detail_features.cfm?objID=8E7895E2-5494-44F9-A10958DB5832B5A5 McCain Reiterates Support For Nuclear During Enrico Fermi Visit] . August 8, 2008.]

Fermi 1

The 94MWe prototype fast breeder reactor Fermi 1 unit operated at the site from 1957 to 1972. On October 5, 1966 Fermi 1 suffered a partial fuel meltdown. There was no abnormal radiation release to the public, and no one was injured. [ [http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/power-reactor/enrico-fermi-atomic-power-plant-unit-1.html NRC Fact Sheet] ] This reactor accident was attributed to a piece of zirconium that obstructed a flow-guide in the sodium cooling system. Two of the 105 fuel assemblies melted during the incident, but no contamination was recorded outside the containment vessel.Fact|date=June 2007 Following an extended shutdown that involved fuel replacement and cleanup, Fermi 1 continued to operate until September 22, 1972. It was officially decommissioned December 31, 1975. It is currently in [http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossary/safstor.html SAFSTOR] with a gradual "final" decommissioning in progress. Details of the accident are verified by the book "Fermi-1 New Age for Nuclear Power" [ISBN 0-89448-017-0] published by the American Nuclear Society in 1979. It also inspired a book by John G. Fuller
John Grant Fuller [ISBN 0425067009] and a song by Gil Scott-Heron, both titled "We Almost Lost Detroit."

Fermi 2

Fermi 2 is a 1098 net MWe General Electric boiling water reactor operated by Detroit Edison and owned by DTE Energy. It was opened in January 1988 and is currently in operation.

As of March 2008, Fermi 2 is operating at full power.

Fermi 3

In September 2008, Detroit Edison (DTE ENERGY) filed an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a Combined Construction and Operating License (COL) for a third reactor. [cite web
url= http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/fermi.html
title= Fermi, Unit 3 Application
date= 2008-09-19 |publisher= U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
accessdate= 2008-09-19 ] The new unit is supposed to be built on the same site, slightly to the southwest of Fermi 2. The reactor design selected is the 1,520 MWe GE-designed passive Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR). Review of the 17,000-page application could take four years, after which construction could take six years. The cost is estimated at as much as 10 billion dollars. [cite news
url= http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080919/NEWS05/809190398
title= DTE applies for another nuclear plant
last= Lam | first= Tina
date= 2008-09-19 | work= Detroit Free Press | publisher=
accessdate= 2008-09-19 ] CEO Anthony Earley said that DTE's analysis "so far shows that nuclear power will, over the long term, be the most cost-effective baseload option for our customers, ... We expect nuclear to remain the low-cost option, but we will continue to evaluate nuclear against other resources and will commit to proceeding with construction only at the right time and at the right cost". [cite news
url= http://www.platts.com/Nuclear/News/6953788.xml?src=Nuclearrssheadlines1
title= Detroit Edison files with NRC for license to build new nuke unit
last= Dolley | first= Steven
date= 2008-09-18 | work= Platts Nucleonics Week | publisher= McGraw-Hill
accessdate= 2008-09-19 ]

This proposed plant should not be confused with the original Fermi 3 project which was to be a companion unit identical to Fermi 2. The original Fermi 3 was ordered in 1972 and cancelled in 1974. See [http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/FTPROOT/nuclear/043697.pdf DOE data] page 67 and [http://www.world-nuclear.org/wgs/decom/database/php/qry_reactorsdb_details_test.php?var1=United%20States&var2=Enrico%20Fermi-3&var3=BWR&var4=BWR&var5=Suspended%20indefinitely/Cancelled&var6=Detroit%20Edison%20Co&var7=1171&var8=MWe_Net&var9=Frenchtown%20Township,%20Michigan&var10=-&var11=-&var12=-&var13=-&var14=-&var15=-&var16=-&var17=-&var18=-&var19=-&var20=-&var21=1526&var22=n/a&var23=3579%20MWt&var24=1972&var25=General%20Electric%20(GE)&var26=1220%20MWe WNA Fermi 3 data] .

Ownership

The plant is operated by the Detroit Edison Company and owned (100 percent) by DTE Energy.

References

* [http://dteenergy.com/news/nuclearRenaissanceSpeech.html Tony Earley's (CEO) "The Nuclear Renaissance: Is it real?"]

External links

* [http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/power-reactor/enrico-fermi-atomic-power-plant-unit-1.html NRC Page on Unit 1]
* [http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/reactors/enrico_fermi.html DoE Page]