Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant
| Harris Nuclear Plant | |
|---|---|
Shearon Harris Unit 1 | |
| Official name | Harris Nuclear Plant |
| Country | United States |
| Location | New Hill, Wake County, North Carolina |
| Coordinates | 35°38.0′N 78°57.3′W / 35.6333°N 78.9550°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | January 28, 1978 |
| Commission date | May 2, 1987 |
| Construction cost | $4.115 billion (2007 USD) |
| Owner | Duke Energy |
| Operator | Duke Energy |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | PWR |
| Reactor supplier | Westinghouse |
| Cooling towers | 1 × Natural Draft |
| Cooling source | Harris Lake |
| Thermal capacity | 1 × 2900 MWth |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 1 × 928 MW |
| Make and model | WH 3-loop (DRYAMB) |
| Units cancelled | 3 × 900 MW 2 × 1117 MW AP1000 |
| Nameplate capacity | 928 MW |
| Capacity factor | 101% (2017) 89.0% (lifetime) |
| Annual net output | 7986 GWh (2021) |
| External links | |
| Website | Harris Nuclear Plant Fact Sheet |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
The Harris Nuclear Plant is a nuclear power plant with a single Westinghouse designed pressurized-water nuclear reactor operated by Duke Energy. It was named in honor of W. Shearon Harris, former president of Carolina Power & Light (predecessor of Progress Energy Inc.). Located in New Hill, North Carolina, in the United States, about 20 miles (30 km) southwest of Raleigh, it generates 900 MWe, uses a 523-foot (160 m) natural draft cooling tower for cooling, and uses Harris Lake for cooling tower makeup, shutdown and emergency cooling. The reactor achieved criticality in January 1987 and began providing power commercially on May 2 of that year.
The Shearon Harris site was originally designed for four reactors (and still has the space available for them), but only one was built. The final cost approached $3.9B, including safety upgrades mandated after the Three Mile Island accident.
On November 16, 2006, the operator applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a renewal and extension of the plant's operating license. The NRC granted the renewal on December 17, 2008, extending the license from forty years to sixty.