Unit 2 at Minnesota's Prairie Island Nuclear Station Taken Offline

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Unit 2 at Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Station, which is about five miles north of Red Wing, Minnesota, was forced offline over the weekend after a leak was detected in the containment fan coil. The plant is owned and operated by Northern States Power Company (NSP), a subsidiary of Xcel Energy (NYSE:XEL) (Minneapolis, Minnesota).

Officials will perform various tests on the unit and hope to finish repairs in a few days. Unit 2 has a total capacity of 545 megawatts (MW).

Prairie Island has two pressurized water reactors that generate close to 20% of the electricity used by Xcel Energy's consumers in the Upper Midwest. According to officials, the 551-MW Unit 1 was not impacted by this event and continues to operate at full power.

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