Whelen WPS-2910 Nuclear Siren Test (Alert Blast, Robinson NPP, McBee, SC)

Date: 1/8/2025

Well here's something interesting! On my 21st birthday, I rode out to McBee to record a Robinson NPP siren. Originally I wanted to record the unit in downtown McBee, but then a friend informed and suggested me to this 2910 located in a very rural peach farm right next to the alligator water tower, so I went for this one. And in this video, since the unit only activated 5 seconds of alert, I just decided to put all separate camera clips together. Listen to the ambience if you can, and lemme know which audio sounded the best!

This is Robinson NPP unit C-03, the 2nd northernmost siren within the 10-mile EPZ of the plant. This unit was installed, I believe, in late 2007. I'm not sure if it replaced a Thunderbolt in the past.

The H. B. Robinson Nuclear Generating Station was constructed in 1967, and was first commissioned in 1971, and is located in Hartsville, SC. The plant utilizes a Westinghouse 759 MW pressurized water reactor, directly taking water from Lake Robinson as a source. For the 10-mile EPZ, a system of Thunderbolt 1000's were originally installed in the 80's (I think). All Thunderbolts were replaced in 2007-2008 with these Whelen WPS-2908's and 2910's, to comply with the regulation for all nuclear systems to have DC battery backup. (Note: You can still see some of the Thunderbolts on 2008 Google street view)

Robinson NPP is owned by Duke Energy, and like all of Duke Energy's other plants, the system is tested on the 2nd Quarterly Wednesday (January, April, July, October) at 1:00 PM EST.

This siren is located in a very rural area north of McBee, next to a huge peach farm off SC Highway 145.
Exact Coordinates: 34°30'50.7"N 80°14'54.6"W

Enjoy!
-PT4051