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Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station
The Fermi Station (NRC image)
Data
Country	United States
Location	Frenchtown Charter Township, Michigan
Coordinates	41°57′46″N 83°15′27″W / 41.96278°N 83.2575°W / 41.96278; -83.2575Coordinates: 41°57′46″N 83°15′27″W / 41.96278°N 83.2575°W / 41.96278; -83.2575
Owner	DTE Energy
Operator	Detroit Edison
Start of commercial operation	Unit 1: 1957 Unit 2: January 23, 1988
Ceased operation	Unit 1: September 22, 1972
Reactors
Reactor supplier	General Electric (Unit 2)
Reactor type	BWR (Unit 2)
Reactors active	1 (1,122 MW)
Reactors shut down	1 (94 MW)
Reactors canceled	1 (1,122 MW)
Reactors planned	1 (1,520 MW)
Power
Total power generation in 2007	8,314 GW·h
Status	Operating
Other details
Architect	Sargent & Lundy
License expires	March 3, 2025
NRC region	Region 3
As of 2008-11-19

The Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant on the shore of Lake Erie near Monroe in Frenchtown Charter Township, Michigan. It is approximately halfway between Detroit, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio. Two units have been constructed on this site. The first unit's construction started in 1963, and the second unit reached criticality in 1988.

The plant is named after the Italian-born American nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi, most noted for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, and for the development of quantum theory. Fermi won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity.

On October 5, 1966 Fermi 1 suffered a partial fuel meltdown, although no radioactive material was released.

On August 8, 2008, John McCain conducted a 45-minute tour of the plant, becoming the first actively campaigning presidential candidate to visit a nuclear plant.^[1]

Fermi 1

The 94 MWe prototype fast breeder reactor Fermi 1 unit under construction and development at the site from 1957 to 1972. On October 5, 1966 Fermi 1 suffered a partial fuel meltdown. There was no abnormal radiation release to the public, and no one was injured. At the time of the accident, several fuel rod subassemblies reached high temperatures of around 700°F (with an expected range near 580°F), causing an alarm.

Following an extended shutdown that involved fuel replacement and cleanup, Fermi 1 continued to operate until September 22, 1972, but was never fully operational. It was officially decommissioned December 31, 1975. It is currently in SAFSTOR with a gradual "final" decommissioning in progress. Details of the accident are verified by the book Fermi-1 New Age for Nuclear Power^[2] published by the American Nuclear Society in 1979. It also led to a book by John Grant Fuller (subtitled "This Is Not A Novel")^[3] and a song by Gil Scott-Heron, both titled We Almost Lost Detroit.

Fermi 2

Fermi 2 is a 1,098 net MWe General Electric boiling water reactor owned by DTE Energy and operated by subsidiary Detroit Edison. It was opened in January 1988 and is currently in operation.

As of December 26, 2009 Fermi 2 is operating at full power.

Fermi 3

In September 2008, Detroit Edison filed an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a Combined Construction and Operating License (COL) for a third reactor.^[4] The new unit is supposed to be built on the same site, slightly to the southwest of Fermi 2. The reactor design selected is the 1,520 MWe GE-designed passive Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR). Review of the 17,000-page application could take four years, after which construction could take six years. The cost is estimated at as much as 10 billion dollars.^[5] CEO Anthony Earley said that DTE's analysis "so far shows that nuclear power will, over the long term, be the most cost-effective baseload option for our customers, ... We expect nuclear to remain the low-cost option, but we will continue to evaluate nuclear against other resources and will commit to proceeding with construction only at the right time and at the right cost".^[6]

In March 2009, a coalition of citizen groups asked federal regulators to reject plans for Fermi 3, contending that it would pose a range of threats to public health and the environment. The groups have filed 14 contentions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, claiming that a new plant would pose "radioactive, toxic and thermal impacts on Lake Erie's vulnerable western basin."^[7][8]

This proposed plant should not be confused with the original Fermi 3 project which was to be a companion unit identical to Fermi 2. The original Fermi 3 was ordered in 1972 and cancelled in 1974. See DOE data page 67 and WNA Fermi 3 data.

Ownership

The plant is operated by the Detroit Edison Company and owned (100 percent) by DTE Energy.

Notes

References

• Tony Earley's (CEO) "The Nuclear Renaissance: Is it real?"
• NRC Fact Sheet
• We Almost Lost Detroit, John G. Fuller, Ballantine Books, 1976
• "Fermi 3". http://www.fermi.homestead.com/index.html. 
• "(Enrico) Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Michigan". Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). September 11, 2008. http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/reactors/enrico_fermi.html. Retrieved 2008-11-20. 
• "Fermi 2 Boiling Water Reactor". Operating Nuclear Power Reactors. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). February 14, 2008. http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/ferm2.html. Retrieved 2008-11-20. 
• "Fermi Unit 1". Sites Undergoing Decommissioning. NRC. February 14, 2008. http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/power-reactor/enrico-fermi-atomic-power-plant-unit-1.html. Retrieved 2008-11-20. 

External links

• Media related to Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station at Wikimedia Commons
• Public Comments "Public Comments at the meeting re: FERMI 3 with the NRC. This includes youtube videos of speakers calling for an end to the new nuclear reactor project. Featured are a Professor from the U of M, Don't Waste Michigan members, Sierra Club members, and other concerned citizens."