Facts about Palo Verde

General information

Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station is a standardized triple-unit nuclear power facility located near Wintersburg, Arizona, approximately 45 miles west of Phoenix. It is operated by Arizona Public Service Co., which owns 29.1% of the plant. The other co-owners are Salt River Project, Southern California Edison, Public Service Co. of New Mexico, El Paso Electric Co., Los Angeles Dept. of Water & Power, and the Southern California Public Power Authority. As energy cornerstone of the Southwest, Palo Verde, the largest nuclear energy facility in the nation, generates electricity to serve approximately four million people.

Pressurized Water Reactor Components:

241 fuel assemblies weighing 1434 lbs. each, constitute a reactor core. The total fuel weight for a reactor core is 156 metric tons. There are 235 fuel rods per fuel assembly. The fuel cladding material is Zircaloy - 4, and the fuel material is Uranium Dioxide (UO2).

Other Information

Turbine Speed - 1800 RPM

Generator - 24,000 V output stepped up to 525,000 V

Generating - 1270 net megawatts per unit, 3810 megawatts total (3,810,000 kilowatts)

Operating Parameters:

Reactor Coolant inlet temperature 565°F, Reactor Coolant outlet temperature 621°F

Reactor Coolant normal operating pressure 2250 PSIA

Main Steam design temperature - 575°F, Main Steam design pressure - 1270 PSIG

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