Entergy Mississippi, Inc. announced that the Mississippi Public Service Commission approved plans for a major $510 million upgrade to the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station in Port Gibson, Mississippi.
The Grand Gulf upgrade will raise its rated electric output by 13 percent or 53 MW to 1,443 Megawatts (MW) which will make Grand Gulf the largest single-unit nuclear power plant in the United States. The 53 MW increase in electrical power is enough to power 53,000 typical Mississippi homes.
Grand Gulf is the most affordable source of electricity in Mississippi. It generates power at approximately 0.5 cents per kilowatt hour, saving Entergy Mississippi’s customers between $200,000 and $600,000 every day depending on the price of natural gas. More than half of Entergy Mississippi’s power is produced using natural gas, so this nuclear generator provides much-needed fuel diversity.
The cost of the upgrade project will be shared among the joint owners of the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station with Entergy Mississippi contributing an estimated $151 million. The upgrade project is expected to pay for itself in time with the additional generating capacity. The average consumer should expect little-to-no initial impact on electricity bills, with savings on bills within a couple of years after project implementation. The project is scheduled to be completed over the next several years with most work to be done during scheduled plant outages.
Grand Gulf employs approximately 700 workers. The plant generates $29.5 million in state and local tax payments each year. Its a sizeable chunk of the Mississippi economy, being one of the largest employers in central Mississippi. Just watch the traffic at the intersection US 61 and of Grand Gulf Road just north of Port Gibson any morning or afternoon as workers a head to or from the site with every shift change and you will get an idea of how people that is. The traffic easily doubles or triples that around refueling outages when outage workers come in from all over the country filling neighboring RV parks and camp sites such as the near by Grand Gulf Mississippi State Park.
Grand Gulf nuclear plant operates base loaded, which means it operates normally at full power, supplying all its output into the electric grid serving western Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Operators monitor its operations around the clock 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Its tall cooling tower is the most obvious feature to anyone coming within several dozen miles, with its water vapor cloud billowing out of the top of this very tall structure. When the cloud plume rises straight up during periods of weather with a high pressure weather pattern, it can be seen as far away as I-20 between Vicksburg and Jackson along the skyline to the south, an impressive sight, to those who recognize what that is.
A large support staff maintains the plant and assists in monitoring its day-to-day operations, which includes mechanics, electricians, I & C and computer technicians, Chemists, Radiation Protection health physicists, Engineers, Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, and Nuclear engineers, training instructors, accountants, planners, security, administrative support, and management personnel. Its a very large business operation with nuclear safety as its primary mission.
Grand Gulf has been in commercial operation since 1985, almost 25 years. It has set many safety and electrical generation records over the years.
Grand Gulf is owned by Entergy Corporation which is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.6 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
As I write this, I recall the years 1980 through 2008 when I worked there in various roles over 28 years, and remember so many nice people that worked along with me. They were good neighbors.
Environmentally, Grand Gulf operation does not produce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide or other emissions that fossil fuel plants produce including sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxide. All that comes from the cooling tower is ordinary water vapor which quickly mixes with the atmosphere and negligible effect. The plant's cooling tower is one of the most fascinating places to visit, with the air rushing into the bottom from all directions, rising as the warm circulating water is divided into small falling water droplets in the flumes and fill bricks inside the lower inner portion and mixes with the air stream in a massive updraft. The sound of all the water flow is most impressive, just like a large water fall, a peaceful and relaxing sound.
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