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Fermi nuclear power plant

Fermi nuclear power plant is a nuclear power station in United States with 1 operating unit totalling 1,198 MW gross. The site has 4 units on record in total.

Operating4Under construction1circle area ∝ site capacity Coastlines, borders and lakes: Natural Earth (1:10 million, public domain), which is generalised, so a coastal plant can sit a couple of kilometres off its true shoreline. Site positions: Global Nuclear Power Tracker.
Units on record
4
Operating
1
Operating capacity
1,198MW

Units

UnitStatusTypeModelGross MWOnline
Unit 2 Operating BWR BWR-4 (Mark 1) 1,198 1988
Unit 1 Retired FBR Liquid Metal FBR 65 1966
Unit 3 Cancelled BWR ESBWR 1,600 -
Unit 3A Cancelled - - 1,171 -

Unit by unit

Each unit's rating, type and milestone dates as recorded by the Global Nuclear Power Tracker, with any correction we made to it. A dash or "not disclosed" means the source does not give the value.

Fermi nuclear power plant 2 Operating

Reactor typeBoiling water reactor (BWR)
ModelBWR-4
Size classLarge
Gross capacity1,198MW
Net capacity1,115MW
Thermal output3,486MWt
Enrichment3–5% U-235
NSSS vendorGE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy
OwnerDTE Electric Co100%
OperatorDetroit Edison
Construction start26 Sep 1972
First criticality21 Jun 1985
Grid connection21 Sep 1986
Commercial operation23 Jan 1988

Live status, outage record and fuel chain for Fermi nuclear power plant 2

Fermi nuclear power plant 1 Retired

Reactor typeFast reactor (FBR)
ModelLiquid Metal FBR
Size classSmall
Gross capacity65MW
Net capacity61MW
Thermal output200MWt
Enrichment15–20% fissile, or plutonium
NSSS vendornot on record
OwnerPower Reactor Development Company (PRDC) (Consortium Of 34 Public Utilities)100%
OperatorDetroit Edison
Construction start8 Aug 1956
First criticality23 Aug 1963
Grid connection5 Aug 1966
Commercial operation7 Aug 1966
Permanent shutdown29 Nov 1972

Fermi nuclear power plant 3 Cancelled

Reactor typeBoiling water reactor (BWR)
ModelESBWR
Size classLarge
Gross capacity1,600MW
Net capacitynot disclosed
Thermal outputnot disclosed
Enrichment3–5% U-235
NSSS vendorGE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy
Cancelled2019
OwnerDTE Electric Co100%
OperatorDetroit Edison
Milestonesno dates on record

Fermi nuclear power plant 3A Cancelled

Reactor typenot disclosed
Modelnot disclosed
Size classLarge
Gross capacity1,171MW
Net capacitynot disclosed
Thermal outputnot disclosed
Enrichmentnot established
NSSS vendornot on record
Cancelled1974
OwnerDTE Electric Co100%
Milestonesno dates on record

Fermi nuclear power plant in context

By gross operating capacity Fermi nuclear power plant is the 42nd largest of 54 operating nuclear sites in the United States, holding 1% of the country's operating capacity, and ranks 135th of 172 worldwide.

Its operating unit started up in 1988; the unit is 38.0 years old, younger than the median of 45.0 in the United States.

The 2 units with both construction and grid dates on record took 10.0 to 14.0 years (median 12.0) from construction start to grid connection; the median across all reactors connected in the 1980s is 7.3 years.

The nearest other tracked nuclear sites are Davis Besse nuclear power plant (43 km), Perry nuclear power plant (176 km) and Palisades nuclear power plant (255 km).

The current net rating of Unit 2 differs from its design net capacity by +2.0% (1,093 MW at design, 1,115 MW now).

Build time by unit

UnitConstruction startGrid connectionYearsFleet median, same decade
Unit 11956196610.05.0 (1960s)
Unit 21972198614.07.3 (1980s)

Nearest tracked nuclear sites

How these are worked out: ranks use gross operating capacity; ages count from the start-up year on record, as on the age page; build times run from construction start to grid connection, as on the build-times page; ratings are the tracker's net and design net capacity, as on the uprates page. Distances are straight-line between exact positions, so a site with only an approximate position gets none. A unit missing a date or a rating is left out of the figure that needs it.

Site detail
LocationMichigan, United States
Coordinates41.9603, -83.2577
Elevationabout 180 mabove sea level
SettingOn the shore of a large lake, 0.3 km from the water
RegionNorthern America
Units by status
Operating: 1
Retired: 1
Cancelled: 2

Elevation is read at the listed coordinates from a 30 m terrain model (SRTM 30 m). Two independent models differ by a median of 6 m across our plants and by up to about 40 m on steep or coastal ground, and a point on a shoreline can read as sea level. Distance to the water is measured to a generalised 1:10 million coastline, so a few kilometres or less is not resolved. This is context, not a design-basis or flood-risk figure.

Owners & operators
Owners
Power Reactor Development Company (PRDC) (Consortium Of 34 Public Utilities)
DTE Electric Co
Operators
Detroit Edison

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Sources

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