CORDOVA, Illinois – 1,800 additional skilled electricians, pipe fitters, welders, carpenters, laborers and other trades people have been hired by Exelon Generation’s Quad City nuclear power plant to support a planned refueling outage.
The outage will help the unit deliver zero-emission, resilient and reliable power during the next two-year operating cycle.
The technicians will replace nearly one-third of the reactor’s fuel and perform several thousand inspections, tests, maintenance activities and modifications that cannot be accomplished while the unit is online.
“The work performed during the outage will help us run safely and reliably for another two years, during the hottest summer days and the coldest winter nights,” said Quad Cities Generating Station Site Vice President Ken Ohr.
The refueling outage will once again provide a major economic boost to the local community by generating millions of dollars in wages and commerce for Rock Island County and the surrounding area. Many of the supplemental workers hired to support the outage stay in nearby hotels and patronize local restaurants, gas stations and other merchants throughout the area.
“Exelon is a tremendous economic driver in the Quad Cities region,” said Kristin Glass, Interim CEO, Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce. “The influx of nearly 1,800 new jobs over the course of the refueling outage will bring new money to our local economy as those employees patronize our local hotels and businesses. This is another example of why the passage of the Future Energy Jobs Act was such a critical piece of legislation for this region.”
Quad Cities Generating Station is located approximately three miles north of Cordova on Illinois Route 84 in Rock Island County. The station’s two reactors can produce more than 1,900 megawatts of carbon-free electricity – enough to power more than a million homes and businesses.