With Wolf Creek amid its latest refueling outage, KVOE News had the opportunity to get a first-hand look at the facility this week.
Wolf Creek leadership granted KVOE a tour of various areas including the reactor and turbines. According to plant manager BJ Bayer, outages take place every 18 months and in addition to refueling the facility, it provides staff ample time to take care of various maintenance projects.
Bayer says that throughout an outage, they will host several tours which provide two major benefits, one it gives individuals a better idea of the nuclear industry. Two, it allows Wolf Creek administration to clear up misconceptions that individuals may have about the industry, and the plant itself.
The nuclear plant employs 750 individuals with that number nearly doubling during outages according to Bayer. Wolf Creek began producing power in 1985. When it was built, it was owned by Westar Energy, KCP&L and KepCo.
The merger of Westar and KCP&L into Evergy has led to several administrative efficiencies for Wolf Creek, notably in centralizing functions like human resources, finances, accounting, supply chain management and information services. Wolf Creek generates around 1,200 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 800,000 homes by heating and pressurizing water — keeping it around 650 degrees without boiling. The plant has nearly 200 fuel assemblies.
