Curtis Spicer, of Cronkite News, report that many scientists and engineers consider the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station to be a feat of engineering because it is not near a large body of water ... unlike other nuclear power plants around the world.
Mike McLaughlin, general manager at Palo Verde, has worked at the plant for four years. He said the plant, in commercial operation since 1986, produces power for about 4.1 million people across regions in New Mexico, Texas, California and Arizona.
The plant has three nuclear reactors, each requiring 20,000 gallons of water per minute.
But much of the Southwest faces a drought. So where does the water come from? The vast majority comes from wastewater. The power plant wastewater comes from the Phoenix 91st Avenue wastewater treatment facility and the Tolleson facility. The water moves through about 36 miles of pipe before it reaches the plant in Tonopah.
The nuclear fission process creates incredible amounts of heat, so when the reaction takes place under water, a heavy mass of vapor rises to generate turbines and therefore, electricity. If we bring a drop of water to Palo Verde, it either evaporates off or it stays here forever, McLaughlin said. They are a zero-discharge station, which is a little bit unusual since most stations are near the ocean or a river, and they are pumping water into and out of the station.
He said he likes to watch the vapor stream out like giant chimneys. The higher the humidity and lower the temperature, the bigger the plume coming from the cooling towers, McLaughlin said, with each of the turbines within the reactors generating 1,400 megawatts of power, or about 1.7 million horsepower.
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