Fermi 2 caps first B2B run with 50-day Spring refuel

[Outage Wire]

50 days outage · 9 days past schedule · first B2B run complete · 1,141 MW back online

Fermi 2 completed its Spring 2026 refueling outage on May 11, 2026, returning to service after 50 days. The outage began on Mar 23, 2026.

The published schedule had it at 41 days (Mar 21, 2026 to May 1, 2026), so the actual ran 9 days longer than planned. NukeWorker's predictive model anticipated about 46 days based on the unit's recent cycles, with the actual 4 days longer than that projection.

It also capped a 682-day breaker-to-breaker run (over the 608-day threshold for a 24-month cycle), the unit's first qualified B2B run. Going into the refueling, the unit had run for more than 2 years without an unscheduled outage. NukeWorker's predictive model scores 90% on duration accuracy for this unit.

The 50-day outage removed roughly 1.26 million MWh from the grid, worth approximately $50 million at recent wholesale prices, equivalent to a year's electricity for about 117,000 homes.

Across the U.S. fleet of 94 commercial reactors, today's combined capacity factor is 85.6% (9 currently in refueling, 2 in unscheduled outages), below the 87.0% baseline for this month over the past five years. Turkey Point 3, Palisades, Surry 2, and Millstone 2 also completed refueling outages within the past week.

Fermi 2 is a 1,141-MW General Electric BWR/4 operated by DTE Electric (commercial operation since 1988). At full power, it supplies enough electricity for roughly 913,000 homes. Its operating license runs through 2045 (renewed in 2016). The unit ran at a 99.7% capacity factor in 2025, among the unit's strongest cycles.

View Fermi 2's ratings, history, predictions, and current status on NukeWorker.

Want the full picture? Subscribe to the NukeWorker outage schedule for every current and upcoming U.S. nuclear outage: refueling, forced, and the 18-month rolling forecast.

Sources: NRC Daily Reactor Power Status reports, utility-published outage schedules, and NukeWorker's predictive model.