Cooper begins Fall 2026 refueling outage

[Core Content]

Cooper, Brownville, Nebraska.

Cooper began a routine refueling outage on September 28, 2026, starting two days later than its scheduled September 26 start date. The 772-megawatt General Electric boiling water reactor entered the refueling window after running about 100 percent of its typical 647-day operating cycle.

Operated by Nebraska Public Power District with commercial operation since 1974, the plant maintained a 1379-day unscheduled-outage-free streak going into the event. The unit posted a 99.4 percent capacity factor during its prior cycle in 2025. Across the United States fleet, 94 units operated at a 90.1 percent capacity factor, with nine units in refueling outages.

BROWNVILLE, NE. Cooper entered a refueling outage on Sep 28, 2026. The published schedule had a Sep 26, 2026 start; actual is 2 days later than planned. Planned outage length is 36 days (back to service around Nov 1, 2026).

Going into the refueling, the unit had run for more than 3 years without an unscheduled outage. NukeWorker's start-date projection scores 100% accuracy for this unit.

Across the U.S. fleet of 94 commercial reactors, today's combined capacity factor is 90.1% (9 units currently refueling), below the 92.8% baseline for this month over the past five years. Byron 2 and Callaway also began refueling outages within the past week. With the unit offline for refueling, that takes about 618,000 homes' worth of generation off the grid.

Cooper is a 772-MW General Electric BWR/4 operated by Nebraska Public Power District (commercial operation since 1974). Its operating license runs through 2034 (renewed in 2010). The unit ran at a 99.4% capacity factor in 2025, among the unit's strongest cycles.

Heading to Brownville, NE for outage work? Current per-diem averages $110/night lodging plus $68/day meals (total $178/day), and Unemployment Benefits are $526 weekly. See open nuclear jobs in Nebraska on NukeWorker.

View Cooper's ratings, history, projections, and current status on NukeWorker.

Want the full picture? Subscribe to the NukeWorker outage schedule for every current and upcoming U.S. nuclear outage.

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