Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant
| Palo Verde Generating Station | |
|---|---|
The Palo Verde Generating Station, aerial view.
|
|
 Location of Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station
|
|
| 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 | Unit 1: May 25, 1976 Unit 2: June 1, 1976 Unit 3: June 1, 1976 |
| Commission date | Unit 1: January 28, 1986 Unit 2: September 19, 1986 Unit 3: January 8, 1988 |
| Construction cost | $8 billion (2007 USD, Units 1–2 only) |
| 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 | PWR |
| Reactor supplier | Combustion Engineering |
| Cooling source | Treated sewage |
| Cooling towers | 9 × Mechanical Draft |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 1 × 1311 MW 1 × 1314 MW 1 × 1312 MW |
| Make and model | 3 × CE80 2-loop (DRYAMB) |
| Units cancelled | 2 × 1270 MW |
| Thermal capacity | 3 × 3990 MWth |
| Nameplate capacity | 3937 MW |
| Capacity factor | 93.49% |
| 2016 output | 32,243 GW·h |
 Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station from the air
|
The Palo Verde 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 save for the rainy season in late summer.
The Palo Verde Generating Station 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 Generating Station 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 Generating Station 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, and Tucson, Arizona, Los Angeles, and San Diego, California metropolitan areas.
...
Wikipedia