Constellation Energy's Ginna nuclear power plant, shown in a 2009 file photo. / File photo
The Ginna nuclear power plant in Wayne County unexpectedly shut down Wednesday afternoon when the huge generator that makes electricity went off-line during a test.
Control rods were automatically inserted into the reactor at the 43-year-old plant in the town of Ontario, halting the nuclear reaction that creates the heat and steam used to generate electricity, said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“All safety systems functioned as designed and there were no complications,” Sheehan said. “We don’t have any reports of damage at this point.”
Maria Hudson, a spokeswoman for plant owner Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, verified the plant shut down at about 2:15 p.m. but said she was awaiting more information about what caused the generator to go off-line.
Sheehan and Hudson said the plant was in “hot shutdown” mode, meaning the reactor and related systems remain heated and pressurized. That is an intermediate stage from which it is possible to return to service relatively quickly should that be prescribed — as opposed to a full cold shutdown, a stage from which it takes hours of ramping up before the plant can resume generating electricity again.
Hudson said she did not know if Ginna would proceed to cold shutdown.
Sheehan, who said an NRC on-site inspector arrived in the Ginna control room not long after the incident, said there was no immediate estimate of when the plant could return to full service.
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