PSE&G announced that thousands of craftspeople gathered in Salem County to support the 22nd refueling and maintenance outage of the PSEG Nuclear Hope Creek Generating Station.
The regularly scheduled undertaking began when Hope Creek operators safely removed the unit from the regional power grid in early October. Doing so initiated a multi-week work window during which nearly 15,000 inspections, surveillances and sustainable maintenance activities were performed simultaneously.
“Our nuclear generating stations provide reliable, clean energy for New Jersey residents that continue to account for the vast majority of our state’s carbon emissions-free power generation,” said PSEG Nuclear President and Chief Nuclear Officer Eric Carr. “By using this brief period of time to complete essential capital project upgrades, the plant will be in prime position to perform reliably for over 17 months without interruption. That type of carbon-free dependability is indispensable – and we do it at a scale unmatched in New Jersey.”
The combined Salem and Hope Creek generating site, operated by PSEG, produces roughly 40 percent of the state’s electricity – enough to power 3.8 million homes – and over 90 percent of its carbon-free energy. Collectively, it is the second-largest commercial nuclear power generating site in the United States and the single largest source of carbon-free energy in New Jersey.
In order to meet all of the refueling and maintenance deliverables and execute associated tasks, approximately 1,000 additional trade workers – representing more than a dozen unions – were contracted to join the 1,600 PSEG employees for day-to-day operations.
Bill Mullen, NJ Building and Construction Trades Council President said: “For the NJ Building and Construction Trades Council, this type of reoccurring opportunity supports thousands of men and women in our trade unions who work at the plant during scheduled plant outages throughout the plant’s life, enabling them to practice their craft and provide for their families.”
The refueling and maintenance outages of our nuclear units in New Jersey bring added skilled trade work to Salem County approximately every six months. According to PSE&G, the additional workforce has a significant impact on the local economy.
