How McGuire Works

How McGuire Works. . , McGuire generates electricity just like Marshall Steam Station except that it uses special uranium pellets instead of coal as its fuel., Loaded into fuel assemblies inside McGuire’s two reactor vessels, the uranium atoms split – or fission – when struck by neutron particles. When atoms split, heat is produced., The heat is transferred from the fuel to a system of water called the primary coolant. This hot water passes through thousands of tubes in a steam generator. Water outside these tubes – called the secondary coolant – turns into steam., The steam is piped into the turbine building, where electricity is produced the same way as in a coal-burning plant. The steam forces the turbine’s giant blades to spin., The turbine is connected to an electric generator by a rotating shaft. A magnet inside the generator also spins to produce electricity., McGuire, like Marshall, uses Lake Norman as a source of condenser water to cool its steam for reuse. The condenser water is returned to Lake Norman slightly warmer but otherwise unchanged. It does not mix with any other water used in the plant.