Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station
| Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station | |
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The Palo Verde NPP, aerial view.
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 Location of Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Arizona
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| Country | United States |
| Location | Tonopah, Arizona |
| Coordinates | 33°23′21″N 112°51′54″W / 33.38917°N 112.86500°WCoordinates: 33°23′21″N 112°51′54″W / 33.38917°N 112.86500°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 1976 |
| Commission date | 1986 |
| Construction cost | $5.9 billion |
| Owner(s) |
Arizona Public Service (29.1%), Salt River Project (17.5%), El Paso Electric Co. (15.8%), Southern California Edison (15.8%), PNM Resources (10.2%), Southern California Public Power Authority (5.9%), Los Angeles Dept. of Water & Power (5.7%) |
| Operator(s) | Arizona Public Service |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | pressurized water reactor |
| Reactor supplier | Combustion Engineering |
| Cooling source | treated sewage |
| Cooling towers | 9 |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 3,875 MW (three reactors) |
| Nameplate capacity | 3,942 MW |
| Capacity factor | 98% |
| Annual output | 29,250 GWh |
 Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station from the air
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The Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant located near Tonopah, Arizona, in western Arizona, It is located about 45 miles (80 km) due west of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, and it is located near the Gila River, which is dry except during the rainy season of the late summer.
The Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant is the largest power plant in the United States by net generation. Its average electric power production is about 3.3 gigawatts (GW), and this power serves about four million people. The Arizona Public Service Company (APS) Operates and owns 29.1% of the plant. Its other major owners include the Salt River Project (17.5%), the El Paso Electric Company (15.8%), Southern California Edison (15.8%), PNM Resources (10.2%), the Southern California Public Power Authority (5.9%), and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (5.7%).
The Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant is located in the Arizona desert, and is the only large nuclear power plant in the world that is not located near a large body of water. The power plant evaporates the water from the treated sewage from several nearby cities and towns to provide the cooling of the steam that it produces.
The Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant is located on 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) of land, and it consists of three pressurized water reactors, each with an original capacity to produce 1.27 GW of electric power. After a power uprate, each reactor is now able to produce 1.4 GW of electric power. The usual power production capacity is about 70 to 95 percent of this. This nuclear power plant is a major source of electric power for the densely populated parts of Southern Arizona and Southern California, e.g. the Phoenix-Scottsdale, and Tucson, Arizona, Los Angeles, and San Diego metropolitan areas.
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