Station Blackout
Station blackout (SBO) is the complete loss of offsite and onsite AC power to all engineered safety systems, relying on DC batteries briefly.
SBO duration is classified by coping time: 4 hours (most plants), 8 hours (PWRs), or 72 hours post-Fukushima upgrades. Mitigation uses diesel generators, FLEX pumps, and steam-driven turbines for BWRs. NRC analysis caps SBO core damage frequency contribution at 10^-5/year.
Why it matters now
SBO prevention is key for 2025-2026 microreactor PPAs with data centers demanding 99.999% uptime. Enhanced SBO coping supports SMR factory-built resilience.
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