Monticello nuclear plant shut down Wednesday after control valve issue

MONTICELLO, Minn. (FOX 9) - A control valve issue at the Xcel Energy Monticello nuclear power plant caused the reactor to automatically shut down on Wednesday morning.

Xcel Energy nuclear power plant shut down 

What they're saying:

Xcel Energy officials say an issue with a control valve "led the system to automatically take the reactor offline, safely shutting it down as it is designed to do."

An event notification from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said "There was no impact on the health and safety of the public or plant personnel" and that "the [emergency shutdown] was uncomplicated with all systems responding as expected."

A statement from Xcel Energy shared by Wright County officials on Friday said the company is working to "bring the plant back to full operations, which we expect to be complete by the end of the week."

What we don't know:

Officials have not said if the plant is currently back online. 

2023 power plant leak 

The backstory:

Two years ago, Xcel Energy revealed a leak of approximately 400,000 gallons of water containing radioactive tritium. The leak occurred in November 2022, but the public was not informed until March 2023. A second leak was reported at the end of March 2023. 

READ MORE: Radioactive leak at Monticello nuclear power plant; Xcel Energy cleaning it up

Later that year, despite the leak, the plant was approved to continue operating through 2040.

Xcel Energy said the approval was a "major step toward continuing to provide reliable, carbon-free energy for more than 500,000 customers across the Upper Midwest while meeting the state’s carbon reduction goals."

READ MORE: Monticello nuclear power plant approved to operate through 2040