US Nuclear Plants - Palo Verde

U.S. Nuclear Plants

Palo Verde
Arizona

Unit 1 Nuclear system supplied by Combustion Engineering, Inc.
Capacity Net MW(e)	Generation in 2003 Megawatthours	Capacity Factor in 2003	Type	On-line Date	License Expiration Date
1,243	10,587,107	97%	PWR	June 1, 1985	Dec. 31, 2024
Unit 2 Nuclear system supplied by Combustion Engineering, Inc.
Capacity Net MW(e)	Generation in 2003 Megawatthours	Capacity Factor in 2003	Type	On-line Date	License Expiration Date
1,243	8,439,236	77.3%	PWR	April 24, 1986	Dec. 9, 2025
Unit 3 Nuclear system supplied by Combustion Engineering, Inc.
Capacity Net MW(e)	Generation in 2003 Megawatthours	Capacity Factor in 2003	Type	On-line Date	License Expiration Date
1,247	9,554,710	87.2%	PWR	Nov. 25, 1987	March 25, 2027

PWR= Pressurized Light Water Reactor

Description: Although either of the pair of reactors at the South Texas plant are slightly larger than any at Palo Verde, the Palo Verde's three huge reactors give it the largest capacity of any nuclear power plant in the United States. It is located in Maricopa County, on a 4,050-acre site near Wintersburg, Arizona. It generates provides electricity for 4 million customers.

Ownership: The Palo Verde plant is operated by the Arizona Nuclear Power Project and owned by Pinnacle West.

The Impact of the Nuclear Industry on Arizona:

News items
Highlights
Nuclear-provided Electricity Generation
Competition in the State Electricity Market
Environmental Trends: Emissions levels
Various Links to related sites.

Sources: Capacity, for purposes of this report, is the net summer capability as reported in Energy Information Administration (EIA) survey form 860, "Annual Electric Generator Report." Capacity Factor is a calculation in which the maximum possible generation (based on net summer capability) is divided into the actual generation than multiplied by 100 to get a percentage. Generation is the electricity output reported by plant owners on EIA survey form 906. Type of Unit: All U.S. commercial reactors currently in operation are one of two types: BWR (boiling water reactor) or PWR (pressurized light water reactor). The type is identified in EIA's Nuclear Power Generation and Fuel Cycle Report. Both the On-line Date and the License Expiration Date are reported annually in Information Digest by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Contact: