According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), all three units at the Palo Verde plant are pressurized light water reactors (PWR).

Permanently Shutdown Commercial Reactors: There are no shut down commercial reactors in Arizona.

Nuclear Research and Test Reactors Regulated by NRC: The University of Arizona has a TRIGA reactor (power level 110 kilowatts) that was licensed by the NRC on December 5, 1958.

© Bechtel Corporation (used with permission) Out with the old: an aging steam generator departs Palo Verde, the Nation's largest nuclear power plant.

2005: Largest in the Nation

Palo Verde, the Nation's largest nuclear power plant, ranks second on the National Energy Information Center's list of the 100 Largest Utility Plants in the United States. Palo Verde 2 was recently uprated to 1,335 MW(e). The other units at the Palo Verde power plant are Palo Verde 1, rated at 1,243 Mw(e) and Palo Verde 3, at 1,247 Mw(e). Palo Verde 2 is now the Nation's largest nuclear reactor, surpassing the former leaders (South Texas 1 and 2 reactors).

Nuclear Power Generation in Arizona, 1960 through 2004 Million kilowatthours

Sources: Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-906, Power Plant Report, and predecessor forms.

Contribution of Nuclear Power

As of January 1, 2005, Arizona ranked 13^th among the 31 States with nuclear capacity. Capacity Rankings are available for all 31 States with commercial nuclear industries.

The leading source of electricity in Arizona is coal, but nuclear power ranks second. Natural gas, however, has been rising significantly in importance and its share of the State’s electricity market was nearly equal to the nuclear share in 2004. In 2004, annual nuclear generation in Arizona dropped slightly: from 28.6 million megawatthours (in 2003) to 28.1 million megawatthours. The market share, however, dropped by 4 percent: from 31 percent in 2003 to 27 percent in 2004 (see Table). This drop shows that for nuclear power just to maintain its share of the electricity market in the future, it is not sufficient to keep output levels from falling. As future demand for electricity increases in Arizona, new electricity capacity will be needed.

Arizona Nuclear Highlights

• In 2004, Arizona's lone nuclear plant generated 28.1 billion kilowatthours (kwh) of electricity. The State's record for nuclear generation was 30.8 billion kwh in 2002.
• According to PNM (part owners of the plant), Palo Verde's cooling towers rely on recycled sewage effluence. "More than 20 billion gallons of this water are recycled every year" for this purpose.
• Construction of each of the Palo Verde reactors began during America’s bicentennial year, 1976, but nearly a decade passed before Palo Verde 1 began commercial operation. The last of the trio to go into operation, Palo Verde 3, took 12 years. At least part of the delay was due to uncertainty about how much capacity would be needed to meet future demand.
  

Arizona Nuclear Industry

Arizona has only one nuclear power plant, but that plant has three reactors with a total capacity of 3,825 MW(e). The pair of reactors at the St. Lucie power plant are the largest in Florida. Either of these reactors has a capacity of 839 MW(e). The smallest of the Palo Verde reactors is rated at more than 1,200 MW(e). It has only 2 percent less capacity than Florida, although Florida has 4 reactors. But there are now plans underway to make Palo Verde even larger. According to The Arizona Republic, "a $700 million project at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station---its most expensive investment since it opened in the mid-1980's" will increase output from unit one by adding two new 806-ton generators.

License Renewal

The earliest license expiration date for any of Palo Verde's trio of reactors is in December 2024 (for unit 1). No applications for renewal are currently pending.

Information on the current status of all license renewal applications appears on the NRC web site at http://www.nrc.gov. To locate the data, select "index," then select the letter "l" and click on "License Renewal."

International Atomic Energy Agency PRIS file, Operating History, contains data on load factor, availability factor, historical output, and more.

Air Quality in Arizona

Of the 50 States plus the District of Columbia, the electric industry of the State of Arizona ranked 18th highest in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in 2004. The State's electric industry ranks 32nd highest in sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions and 21st highest in nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions.

Arizona Airborne Emissions, Electricity Sector, 1989-2004 (CO2)*

*Carbon Dioxide

Arizona Airborne Emissions, Electricity Sector, 1989-2004 (SO2)*

*Sulfur Dioxide

Arizona Airborne Emissions, Electricity Sector, 1989-2004 (NOX)*

*Nitrogen Oxide

More Information on Arizona's Nuclear Industry

Uranium Mining

Information on Tuba City Mill Site

Information on Monument Valley

Nuclear Generation

Electricity generation by nuclear power plants is available for each reactor and each State for the following years:

• 2002
• 2003
• 2004
• 2005

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