CGS Produces Record Setting Amount of Energy for the Northwest

Energy Northwest announced today that the Columbia Generating Station set a new personal record for power generation in 2022.  Energy Northwest CEO Bob Schuetz said regarding the record "This record demonstrates our team’s commitment to excellent performance, and the immense value that 24/7 baseload power brings to our region”.

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Not only did the Columbia Generating Station set a new output record, their capacity factor was 99.4%.  That means the nuclear plant was producing power nearly all calendar year.  Data from Energy Northwest revealed that Columbia Generating Station produces 1,207 gross megawatts when operating at 100% power.

The new record, more than 9.8 million mega-watt hours, is the most in the facility's 38 years of operation in Richland, WA.  All of the energy produced is carbon free and considered a "clean" source of energy that fits within the State's energy transition from fossil fuels.

Columbia Generating Station received it's construction permit in March of 1973.  Over ten years later, in December of 1983, did the generating station receive it's NRC (Nuclear regulatory Commission) operating license.  Less than a year later< may of 1984 to be exact, was the first energy produced.  The operating license at the Columbia Generating Station expires in December of 2043.

Energy Northwest operates six other energy projects in the northwest.

• Packwood Lake Hydroelectric Project in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, five miles east of Packwood, WA
• The Nine Canyon Wind Project south of Kennewick, WA
• White Bluffs Solar Station north of Richland, WA
• Tieton Hydro at Rimrock Lake in Yakima County, WA
• Portland Hydro on the Bull Run River in Northwest Oregon
• Stone Creek on the Clackamas River Southeast of Portland, OR
• Horn Rapids Solar Storage & Training Project in Richland, WA