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Columbia Generating Station, Washington |
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Update: October 9, 2008
Next Update: October 2008 Columbia Generating Station Net Generation and Capacity, 2007
Description: This site covers 1,089 acres of Benton County, on the Hanford site of the Department of Energy. Five commercial reactors were initially planned for the State by the Washington Public Power System, but Washington Nuclear 4 and 5 were cancelled in 1982. Units 1 and 3 were cancelled in 1995. Construction of unit 2 began in 1972, but more than a decade passed before it began generating power. Since the retirement of Oregon’s Trojan Nuclear Plant, it is the only fully licensed commercial reactor in the northwestern United States. In 2000, Washington Public Power System changed its name to Energy Northwest and the plant’s name to the Columbia Generating Station. Apparently, the change is not merely in name. The reactor performed at over 80 percent of capacity in 2006 and 2007. Columbia, Unit 2
Nuclear Steam System Supplier (NSSS Vendor) = General Electric Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) In a typical commercial boiling water reactor (1) the reactor core creates heat, (2) a steam-water mixture is produced when very pure water (reactor coolant) moves upward through the core absorbing heat, (3) the steam-water mixture leaves the top of the core and enters the two stages of moisture separation where water droplets are removed before the steam is allowed to enter the steam line, (4) the steam line directs the steam to the main turbine causing it to turn the turbine generator, which produces electricity. The unused steam is exhausted to the condenser where it is condensed into water. The resulting water is pumped out of the condenser with a series of pumps, reheated, and pumped back to the reactor vessel. The reactor's core contains fuel assemblies which are cooled by water, which is force-circulated by electrically powered pumps. Emergency cooling water is supplied by other pumps which can be powered by onsite diesel generators. Other safety systems, such as the containment cooling system, also need electric power.
Containment: According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the unit relies on a boiling water reactor (BWR) Mark 2 model. _________________________________________
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see also:
annual
nuclear statistics back to 1953
projected electricity capacity to 2030
international
electricity statistics