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Data for 2010  |  Release Date: April 26, 2012  |  Next Release: February 2013  |   full report

Minnesota Nuclear Profile 2010 Minnesota profile

Minnesota total electric power industry, summer capacity and net generation, by energy source, 2010  
Primary energy source Summer capacity
(mw)
Share of State total
(percent)
Net generation
(thousand mwh)
Share of State total
(percent)
Nuclear 1,549 10.8 13,478 25.1
Coal 4,789 32.5 28,083 52.3
Hydro and Pumped Storage 193 1.3 840 1.6
Natural Gas 4,936 33.5 4,341 8.1
Other 1 13 0.1 258 0.5
Other Renewable1 2,395 16.3 6,640 12.4
Petroleum 795 5.4 31 0.1
Total 14,715 100.0 53,670 100.0
1Municipal Solid Waste net generation is allocated according to the biogenic and non-biogenic components of the fuel; however, all Municipal Solid Waste summer capacity is classified as Renewable.
Notes: Totals may not equal sum of components due to independent rounding.
Other: Blast furnace gas, propane gas, other manufactured and waste gases derived from fossil fuels, non-biogenic municipal solid waste, batteries, chemicals, hydrogen, pitch, purchased steam, sulfur, tire-derived fuel, and miscellaneous technologies.
Other Renewable: Wood, black liquor, other wood waste, biogenic municipal solid waste, landfill gas, sludge waste, agriculture byproducts, other biomass, geothermal, solar thermal, photovoltaic energy, and wind.
Sources: Form EIA-860, "Annual Electric Generator Report," and Form EIA-923, "Power Plant Operations Report."

Minnesota nuclear power plants, summer capacity and net generation, 2010  
Plant name/total reactors Summer capacity
(mw)
Net generation
(thousand mwh)
Share of State nuclear
net generation (percent)
Owner
Monticello
Unit 1
554 4,695 34.8 Northern States Power Co - Minnesota
Prairie Island
Unit 1, Unit 2
1,040 8,783 65.2 Northern States Power Co - Minnesota
2 Plants
3 Reactors
1,594 13,478 100.0  
Note: Totals may not equal sum of components due to independent rounding.
Source: Form EIA-860, "Annual Electric Generator Report," and Form EIA-923, "Power Plant Operations Report."

Plants in State

Monticello Nuclear Plant 
Unit Summer capacity
(mw)
Net generation
(thousand mwh)
Summer capacity factor (percent) Type Commercial operation date License expiration date
1 554 4,695 96.7 BWR 6/30/1971 9/8/2030
  554 4,695 96.7      
Data for 2010
BWR = Boiling Water Reactor.
Note: Totals may not equal sum of components due to independent rounding.
Source: Form EIA-860, "Annual Electric Generator Report," and Form EIA-923, "Power Plant Operations Report."

Operator: Northern States Power Company

Location and Service Territory: Monticello is located on a 2,100-acre plant site on the southern bank of the Mississippi River near Monticello, Minnesota. The site is divided between Sherburne and Wright counties. This is primarily an agricultural region.

Construction Cost: $455.8 million (2007 USD)2

Staffing: The Monticello Nuclear Power plant employs more than 520 full-time and contract employees.

Reactor Descriptions: The nuclear generating unit is a General Electric Type 3 boiling water reactor.

Cooling System: Cooling water is drawn from the Mississippi River, but from May through September, the plant relies on mechanical draft cooling towers. These towers enable the plant to meet surface water appropriations limits and thermal discharge limits during hot summer days.


Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant 
Unit Summer capacity
(mw)
Net generation
(thousand mwh)
Summer capacity factor (percent) Type Commercial operation date License expiration date
1 521 4,655 102.0 PWR 12/16/1973 8/9/2013
2 519 4,128 90.8 PWR 12/21/1974 10/29/2014
  1,040 8,783 96.4      
Data for 2010
PWR = Pressurized Light Water Reactor.
Note: Totals may not equal sum of components due to independent rounding.
Source: Form EIA-860, "Annual Electric Generator Report," and Form EIA-923, "Power Plant Operations Report."

Operator: Northern States Power Company

Location and Service Territory: Prairie Island is located on the Mississippi River, about 5 miles north of Red Wing, Minnesota. The 520-acre site includes land formerly owned by the Army Corps of Engineering and privately-leased land.

Construction Cost: $993.3 million (2007 USD)2

Staffing: About 700 personnel work at the facility.

Reactor Descriptions: Both of the units are Westinghouse two-loop pressurized water reactors. .

Cooling System: Cooling water is supplied by Mississippi River for Prairie Island's mechanical draft cooling towers.

2Nuclear Power Plant Construction Activity, DOE/EIA-0473(86), Energy Information Administration, 1986, pp 16-17, Table 5. Adjusted to 2007 Dollars using Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index.


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