Wilmington-based Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) announced Monday that one of its customers, Entergy, has extended its contract for fuel reloads at four power plants through 2021.

The agreement is for eight fuel reloads — two at each of Entergy’s boiling water reactors: FitzPatrick, Grand Gulf, Pilgrim and River Bend. The total value of the contract extension is more than $100 million, according to a news release from GNF.
 
GNF is a GE-led joint venture with Hitachi, Ltd. and Toshiba Corporation and operates primarily through Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas, LLC in Wilmington, N.C., and Global Nuclear Fuel-Japan Co. Ltd. in Kurihama, Japan.

The River Bend plant is 30 miles north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Fitzpatrick is in Lake Oswego, New York; Grand Gulf is in Port Gibson, Mississippi; and Pilgrim is in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
 
“This extended period of fuel reloads will allow us to continue to bring value to Entergy’s operations and is a sign of the continued confidence the utility has in GNF,” Amir Vexler, chief operating officer of GNF-Americas, said in the release.
 
GNF has a long-standing relationship with Entergy. GNF and its predecessor, the nuclear fuel division of GE, have provided several fuel reloads for Grand Gulf and River Bend and have exclusively fueled Pilgrim and FitzPatrick since the plants became operational in the 1970s, the release stated.
 
In 2008 Entergy became the first utility to install reloads of the GNF2 fuel design. This spring, Entergy installed test assemblies for the latest GNF fuel design, GNF3, in the River Bend plant.

Based on evolutionary design changes and advanced technology developed by GNF, the GNF3 fuel assembly design will provide customers with improved fuel economics, increased performance and flexibility in operation while maintaining the superior reliability of GNF2, the most reliable design in GNF’s history.

Fuel for the Entergy plants will be fabricated by GNF at its Wilmington facility.