Palo Verde operating licences renewed

Wednesday, 27 April 2011

The operating licences of all three units at the Palo Verde nuclear power plant in Arizona have been extended for a further 20 years beyond the original 40-year licence period by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). 

 

Palo Verde (Image: APS)

The plant's operator, Arizona Public Service (APS), submitted its licence renewal application to the NRC in December 2008. The company said that it has made various recent equipment upgrades to enable the continued safe operation of Palo Verde including the replacement of components such as steam generators, reactor vessel heads and low-pressure turbines in all three units. APS also reached an agreement in 2010 with local cities guaranteeing the supply of sufficient cooling water for the plant through to 2050. The company is also modernising the plant's cooling towers.

 

The NRC said, "After careful review of the plant's safety systems and specifications, the staff concluded that the applicant had effectively demonstrated the capability to manage the effects of plant aging and that there are no safety concerns that would preclude licence renewal. In addition, NRC conducted inspections of the plant to verify information submitted by the applicant." The renewal of the operating licences of the Palo Verde units brings the number of reactor licences renewed by the NRC to 66 out of a fleet of 104 reactors.

 

The renewed licence of unit 1 will now expire in June 2045; unit 2's expires in April 2046; while that of unit 3 will run until November 2047.

 

APS chairman and CEO Dan Brandt commented, "The ongoing operation of Palo Verde is important to a reliable and affordable energy future for Arizona." He added, "For many more decades, Palo Verde will supply billions of kilowatt-hours that are safe, clean, low cost and secure."

 

"As our response to recent events in Japan demonstrates, Palo Verde and the entire US nuclear power industry are committed to continuous learning and improvement to enhance safety," Brandt said. "The NRC's approval of the licence renewal is a mandate for even greater commitment to safety at Palo Verde."

 

According to APS, power generation operations to date at Palo Verde have offset the emission of almost 484 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (the equivalent of taking up to 84 million cars off the road); more than 253,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide; and 618,000 tonnes of nitrogen oxide. The company noted, "If Palo Verde were to cease operation at the end of the original licence, replacement cost of natural gas generation - the least expensive alternative - would total $36 billion over the 20-year licence renewal period."

 

The three units at Palo Verde are capable of generating nearly 4000 MWe. The plant supplies about one-third of the base-load power used in Arizona. The plant is owned by a consortium of seven utilities in the southwest of the USA. As well as operating Palo Verde, APS - with a 29.1% stake - is the largest shareholder in the plant.

 

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News