The Palo Verde Generating Station is a nuclear power plant located near Tonopah, Arizona, in western Arizona. This is located about Template: Konf because it is west of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, and it is located near the Gila River, which keeps dry for the rainy season in late summer.
The Palo Verde Generating Station is the largest power plant in the United States by the net generation. The average electricity production is about 3.3 gigawatts (GW), and this force serves about four million people. Arizona Public Service Company (APS) Operates and owns 29.1% of factories. Other key owners include the Salt River Project (17.5%), El Paso Electric Company (15.8%), Edison Southern California (15.8%), PNM Resources (10.2%), Southern California Power Authority (5.9%), and the Los Angeles Water and Electricity Department (5.7%).
The Palo Verde Generating Station is located in the Arizona desert, and is the only major nuclear power plant in the world that is not located near a large water body. The power plant evaporates the water from the treated wastes from several towns and cities nearby to provide the cooling of the steam it produces. On October 22, 2015, Brian Allison was elected to the SRO class.
Video Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station
Description
The Palo Verde Generating Station is located on an area of ​​4,000 hectares (1,600 hectares), and consists of three pressurized water reactors, each with an original capacity to produce 1.27 GW of electric power. Once the power goes up, each reactor is now capable of generating 1.4 GW of electric power. The usual electricity production capacity is about 70 to 95 percent of this. This nuclear power plant is the main source of electricity for the densely populated parts of Southern Arizona and Southern California, such as the Phoenix metropolitan areas, and Tucson, Arizona, Los Angeles and San Diego, California.
The Palo Verde Generating Station generates about 35 percent of the electricity generated in Arizona. The power plant was fully operational in 1988, and it took twelve years to build and cost about 5.9 billion dollars. The plant employs about 2,055 full-time employees.
The Palo Verde Generating Station supplies electricity at operating costs (including fuel and maintenance) of 4.3 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2015. In 2002, Palo Verde supplied electricity at 1.33 cents per kilowatt-hour; the price is cheaper than the cost of coal (2.26 cents per kWÃ, Â · h) or natural gas (4.54 cents per kWÃ, Â · h) in the region. However, this power is more expensive than hydroelectric power (0.63 cents per kWÃ, Â · h). In 2002, the wholesale value of electricity generated was 2.5 cents per kWÃ, Â · h. In 2007, the wholesale value of electricity at Palo Verde Generating Station was 6.33 cents per kWÃ, Â · h.
According to the Arizona Public Service Company, power generation operations to date in Palo Verde have offset nearly 484 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions (equivalent to taking up to 84 million cars off the road for a year); more than 253,000 tons of sulfur dioxide; and 618,000 tonnes of nitrous oxide. The company noted, "If Palo Verde stops operating at the end of the original license, the cost of replacing natural gas - the most expensive alternative - will amount to $ 36 billion over a 20-year license renewal period."
Due to its location in the Arizona desert, Palo Verde is the only nuclear power plant in the world not located adjacent to a large body of water on the ground. This facility evaporates water from sewage processed from some nearby municipalities to meet its cooling needs. 20 billion US gallons (76 million mÃ,³) of processed water is evaporated every year. This water represents about 25% of the Phoenix Water Resources Agency's annual overdraft Phoenix Resource Management Area. At the site of the nuclear plant, wastewater is subsequently treated and stored in an 80-acre (32Ã, ha) reservoir for use in plant cooling towers.
The nuclear steam supply for each unit is designed and supplied by Combustion Engineering, designed for the design of the predecessor 80 System standard of the newer System 80 design. Each major system initially supplies 3.817 GW of thermal power to the secondary side (steam) of each plant. The design is what is called 2 ÃÆ' â € "4, with each of the four main reactor coolant pumps in circulation of more than 111,000 gallons per minute of primary side water through 2 large steam generators.
The main turbine generator is supplied by General Electric. When installed they are the largest in the world, capable of generating 1.447 GW of electricity each. They remain the largest 60 Hz turbine generator.
Bechtel Power Corporation is the Architect/Engineer/Engineer for the facility originally under the direction of the Arizona Nuclear Power Project (joint effort of APS/SRP), then managed exclusively by Arizona Public Service. Edwin E. VanÃ, Brunt is the premier executive of APS in charge of engineering, construction, and initial plant operations. William G. Bingham is Chief Engineer of Bechtel for this project. Arthur von Boennighausen is one of the Owners Representatives for Arizona Public Service.
Unlike most multi-unit nuclear power plants, each unit in Palo Verde is an independent power station, which shares only a few small systems. The reactor containment building is some of the largest in the world with approximately 2.6 million cubic feet (74,000 m 3 ) covered. The three container enclosures above the reactor are made of 4 feet (1.2 m) concrete.
Facility design incorporates many features to enhance security by addressing issues previously identified in commercial nuclear reactor operations. The design is also one of the most extensive internally, providing an extraordinary space for operations and maintenance by operations staff.
The 500 kV Palo Verde Switchyard is a key point in the western power grid, and is used as a reference point in electricity pricing throughout the southwestern United States. Many 500 kV power lines from companies like Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & amp; Electricity sends the generated power at the plant to Los Angeles and San Diego via Path 46, respectively. Additionally, due to both the strategic interconnection of the substations and the large size of the generating stations, the West Electric Power Coordinating Board considers simultaneous losses of 2 of the 3 worst contingency units for system stability.
The owner applied for a construction permit for two additional units in the late 1970s, but these units were canceled before the permit was issued for economic risk reasons. Contrary to popular belief, two additional units will not be on the same arc as the three existing units - they will be set south of Unit 3 on the north-south axis.
The existing units are the only commercial reactors currently in use in the US that are engineered to operate at 100% of the MOX fuel, but because nuclear fuel is not reprocessed in the US, they are always operating on fresh UOX fuel.
Maps Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station
Security
Palo Verde has a strategic importance, because of the various features, that it and Phoenix were documented by the former Soviet Union as a target location in the event of nuclear conflict during the Cold War. In March 2003, National Guard troops were sent to protect the site during the launch of the Iraq war amid fears of a terrorist attack.
The nearby Tonopah site and town team remains the main focus of work in terms of domestic security, importance ratings along with major Arizona cities, military bases, harbors, and tourist sites.
Security officers working for utilities are armed with rifles. They check the identification and search for vehicles entering the factory. Other safety measures protect the reactor, including an explosive X-ray machine, "sniffer", and a heavily guarded gate that requires special identification to be opened. These safety measures are standard at every nuclear power plant in the United States.
On November 2, 2007, a pipe with gunpowder residue was found at the base of the contractor's pickup truck during normal vehicle playback. It was later confirmed to contain explosives by local police. The Arizona Public Service then initiates a seven-hour security lock from the factory, allowing no one to enter or leave the factory. The site also announces the Notice of Unusual Events, which is the lowest of the four classifications of the Emergency Plan event.
"Our Security personnel act with caution and accuracy, indicating that our security processes and procedures function as designed," said Randy Edington, Executive Vice President of APS and Chief Nuclear Officer. "This action is clearly in line with our goal to ensure the health and safety of our public and employees."
Security issues
In the Arizona Republic Republic article dated February 22, 2007, it was announced that the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) has decided to put Palo Verde into Category 4, making it one of the most closely monitored nuclear. power plants in the United States. The decision was made after INPO found that electrical relays in diesel generators did not work during tests in July and September 2006.
The find came as a "final straw" for INPO, after Palo Verde had several citations on security and infringement issues over the past years, beginning with the findings of 'dry pipe' in the factory emergency core cooling system in 2004.
During the March 24, 2009, a public meeting, the NRC announced that it has authorized the Confirmation Action Letters (CAL) and has returned Palo Verde to Column 1 on the NRC Action Matrix. The Commission's letter stated that "the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that the Palo Verde Nuclear Power Station has made sufficient performance improvements that could reduce the level of inspection oversight." "Performance in Palo Verde has increased substantially and we are adjusting our appropriate supervision," said Elmo E. Collins, Administrator of the Region IV NRC. "But we will monitor the plant, we reduce our oversight, but not our vigilance."
History
Site selection for Palo Verde is still controversial. Critics claim that the site is not the first choice because it is in the middle of the desert, it has little or no water supply, and that has prevailed west wind. This will make the Phoenix-Scottsdale metropolitan area into danger when major accidents occur. Critics claimed that the site was chosen over the alternative because it was owned by relative Keith Turley, someone who received nearly two million dollars for the land. Keith Turley is president of APS, and also a member of "Phoenix 40". Units 1 and 2 began commercial operations in 1986 and Unit 3 in 1988.
On November 18, 2005, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced approval of power increases in two Palo Verde reactors. According to the NRC press release, "The strength of uprates in each unit, located near Phoenix, Arizona, increases the reactor generating capacity from 1,270 to 1,313, and 1,317 megawatts of electricity each, for Units 1 and 3.
On April 21, 2011, the NRC renewed operating licenses for three Palo Verde reactors, extending their service life from forty to sixty years.
Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the annual risk of an earthquake strong enough to cause core damage to the reactor in Palo Verde is 1 at 26,316, ranking it # 18 in the country according to an NRC study published in August 2010.
Population Surrounding
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around a nuclear power plant: exposure zone zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), mainly related to exposure, and inhalation, airborne radio contamination and consumption line lanes about 50 miles (80 km ), mainly related to the consumption of food and fluids contaminated by radioactivity.
The 2010 US population within a 10 mile (16 km) radius of Palo Verde is 4,255, an increase of 132.9 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of US Census data for msnbc.com. The US population of 2010 within 50 miles (80 km) is 1,999,858, an increase of 28.6 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Phoenix (47 miles to the city center).
See also
- List of largest power plants in the United States
- The largest nuclear power plant in the United States
Note
References
External links
- Nuclear US Plant - Palo VerdeEnergy
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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