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No News is Good News The State summaries normally lead off with an article spotlighting the local nuclear industry. For the State of Washington, however, we’ve omitted the article to make a point. There is an abundance of news material on the problems encountered with nuclear construction in this State from which to choose, much of it well researched and probably quite accurate. But the Washington Public Power Supply System, the original licensee, eventually overcame these difficulties. In 2002, re-named the Columbia reactor (formerly WNP-2) operated at just over 90 percent of its capacity: it operated safely and efficiently. Washington’s lone nuclear power plant produced 9 percent of the total electricity in a State noted for massive hydropower resources. In the process, it produced no CO2 emissions, no nitrous oxide emissions, no sulfuric emissions, and no headlines—all of which probably came as good news to Energy Northwest.
Washington Nuclear Highlights
Nuclear Power Plant in Washington Data for 2003
Competing Fuels Hydro Power has helped keep Washington's electricity prices low for decades. No other State is as dependent on water for its electric power. Washington has the only hydro plant appearing in the top 20 of EIA's list of 100 largest power plants in the United States. In fact, the Grand Coulee dam is not merely in the top 20: it is number one.
Source: Form EIA-906, Power Plant Report Total does not add to 100 percent due to independent rounding.
Emissions
Source: State Electricity Profiles, Energy Information Administration See also, the comprehensive table comparing emissions tonnage for all 50 States plus the District of Columbia.
License Renewal No request is pending or immediately anticipated for license renewal of Columbia unit 1. According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the current license expires in 2023. Information on the current status of all license renewal applications appears on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov . To locate the data on this site, select "index"at the top and then choose the letter "l." Click on "license renewal."
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