Exelon nuclear energy plants provide power around-the-clock.
The nuclear energy facilities Exelon owns today once ran only 50% of the time, far below the industry average of 70%. We took them over and brought them above a record-setting 90%-of-the-time performance. This inspired our colleagues in the industry to attempt the same. Today, many of them have succeeded. But Exelon still has the best record in the business, regularly performing between 93% and 94% of our capacity.
Most other forms of energy still strive to hit 60%, which is one reason why nuclear energy plants are considered excellent "base load" providers. They run around-the-clock, in any weather condition, consistently meeting continuous electricity demand at a low cost relative to other energy sources. (Renewables don-t yet provide base load power, but they're an important part of the energy mix, and Exelon's energy portfolio.)
Analysts call Exelon a superior, tight-ship operator.
Exelon is widely regarded as a leader - and not just when we're producing energy, but during refueling shutdowns as well.
Nuclear energy plants need to be refueled every 18 to 24 months. Each refueling outage includes 7,000 to 9,000 tasks, and Exelon has them choreographed down to the minute, like a NASCAR pit stop. Workers go through specialized safety training and rehearsals. We've codified meticulous instructions about how to perform each task and records of the best times for each.
The result? Refueling a nuclear plant takes the industry an average of 40 days. Exelon does it in just 27. (Forbes, "Exelon's Carbon Advantage," Dec. 2009)
Nuclear energy is America's largest emission-free power source.
Nuclear power plants produce more than 60% of the nation's clean energy - more than all other clean-energy sources combined.
Without emitting carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, or nitrogen oxides as part of the power generation process, nuclear energy is the only large-scale source that operate consistently in even the most extreme weather conditions, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Exelon runs the largest nuclear fleet in America. We're proud to play such an important role in protecting our environment and our future.
