Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Ohio Re-Opens After Outage

Operating at 40 Percent Levels

According to the First Energy Nuclear Operating Company, Perry Nuclear Power Plant that is operated in North Perry, Ohio, has reopened after being shut down June 29th.

The Perry Nuclear Power Plant was shut down in late June after routine testing revealed that one of the engines needed to be replaced. Once shut down, a 30-ton, 8,000-horsepower motor was installed in the area that controls the flow of water to the reactor vessel, known as the Reactor Recirculation System. Other routine and preventative maintenance work was also completed during the time of the shut down to ensure that the nuclear power plant is reliable and safe.

Perry Nuclear Power Plant is owned and operated by First Energy Corporation. First Energy Corp. and it's subsidiaries comprise the nation's fifth largest investor owned electric system that serves over 1.5 million people in the New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the Ohio areas.

On Dec. 20, 1951, electricity was generated for the first time ever on a nuclear reactor in Arco, Idaho. It didn't produce that much, however it did get to 100 KW. In 1955, the Arco Reactor was also the first nuclear reactor to melt down partially.

Nuclear power is the controlled use of nuclear reactions to release energy for work which includes propulsion, heat and generating electricity. The nuclear energy is produced by a controlled nuclear chain reaction which then creates heat that s used to boil water, steam, and a steam turbine. According to Wikipedia.com, nuclear power provided 6.5% of the entire world's energy and 15.7% of the world's electricity in 2004.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, there are 435 nuclear power reactors that are being operated in 31 different countries today which provides about 17% of the world's electricity. The United States is the country however that produces more nuclear energy, while France produces the highest electrical energy from nuclear reactors, nearly 80%.