Location:

Wolf Creek Generating Station is located in Coffey County, Kansas, about four miles northeast of Burlington. The plant is 55 miles south of Topeka, 90 miles southwest of Kansas City and 120 miles northeast of Wichita.

Plant Description

• Plant Owners: Kansas Gas Electric, (KGE) a Western Resources Company - 47%; Kansas City Power & Light Company (KCPL) - 47%; Kansas Electric Power Cooperative (KEPCo) - 6%
• Reactor system manufacturer/type and model: Westinghouse four-loop pressurized water reactor
• Turbine manufacturer: General Electric
• Plant licensed core thermal power: 3565 MWT
• Plant electrical output (MDC): 1170 MWE

History

• The plant site was chosen in 1973
• Construction permit was issued by the NRC May 17, 1977
• Low-power license was received March 11, 1985
• Initial fuel load began March 17, 1985
• Initial criticality 7:45 a.m. May 22, 1985
• First reached full power: August 8, 1985
• Commercial operation: September. 3, 1985
• Completed power up-rate in 1993

Interesting Facts

• Feb. 21, 1986 - Completed 134 days continuous operation
• First year 8.9 billion kWh generated.
• Sept. 3, 1987- Operation record for first two years (16,564,413,000 kWh)

• Wolf Creek made full member National Academy for Nuclear training.
• Oct. 7, completed 232 days continuous operation

• Produced more electricity than any other unit in the U. S.-10,109,742,000 kWh
• Availability factor: 98.4 percent
• Capability factor: 97.7 percent
• Number six in electricity production among 359 world nuclear plants.
• Lowest production costs of all U.S. nuclear plants 1989 and 1992 (regardless of fuel source)

• Second lowest production costs of all U.S. nuclear plants
• Sept. 20, 1991- World record 487 days of continuous operation

• Lowest production costs of all U.S. nuclear plants

• Completed 10 million worker-hours without a lost-time accident.

• Fifteenth lowest production costs of all U.S. nuclear plants
• Lowest nuclear fuel costs of U.S. nuclear plants-5th consecutive year
• Opened Wolf Creek Environmental Education Area

• Achieved the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) highest performance rating
• Nation's leading electricity producer: 10,494,705 gross MWh
• Ninth in the world in electricity production for the year among nuclear plants reporting
• Third lowest production costs of all reporting U.S. nuclear plants
• Seventh lowest rolling three-year average production costs of all reporting U.S. nuclear plants

• Wolf Creek Lake opened for public fishing
• Phase II of Wolf Creek's Environmental Education Area opened to the public

• Operated more than 300 days at 100 percent power; capability factor 81.6 percent; availability factor 82.8 percent.
• Production expenses 1.88 cents per kilowatt hour (three-year rolling average production cost: 1.61 cents per kilowatt hour

• Capability factor: 99.9 percent (highest in plant history!) Gross generation 10,782,935 megawatts (plant record); fourth in the world in capacity factor and 11th in generation, according to Nuclear News.
• Thermal performance - 99.98 percent.
• Lowest collective radiation exposure for site-11.1 Rem - lowest since 1985, the plant's first year of operation.
• Wolf Creek employees reached more than 6.7 million hours worked without a lost time accident. In July, the National Safety Council recognized Wolf Creek's safety record. The plant received the highest award-the "Award of Honor"-for achieving more than 4.9 million hours without a lost-time injury or illness from July 29, 1995, through Dec. 31, 1997.

• Began Refuel X April 3, after completing more than 488 days continuous operation. Outage lasted 36 days, 20 and one-half hours. This is a record for the plant-10 days better than our previous best.