Palisades Nuclear Generating Station
Encyclopedia
The Palisades Power Plant is a nuclear power plant
located on Lake Michigan
, in Van Buren County's
Covert Township, Michigan
, on a site of 432 acres (2 km²) 5 miles south of South Haven, Michigan
, USA.
Palisades is owned and operated by Entergy
. It was operated by the Nuclear Management Company
and owned by CMS Energy Corporation prior to the sale completed on April 11, 2007. It was built at a cost of $149 million.
Its single Combustion Engineering
pressurized water reactor
weighs 425 tons and has steel walls 8+1/2 in thick.
The containment building is 116 feet (35.4 m) in diameter and 189 feet (57.6 m) tall, including the dome. Its concrete walls are 3+1/2 ft thick with a 1/4 in steel liner plate. The dome roof is 3 foot (0.9144 m) thick. Access is via a personnel lock measuring by .
The Westinghouse Electric Company
turbine generator can produce 725,000 kilowatts of electricity. It first generated electricity December 31, 1971.
On July 12, 2006 it was announced that the plant would be sold to Entergy
. On April 11, 2007, the plant was sold to Entergy
for $380 million.http://www.entergy.com/news_room/newsrelease.aspx?NR_ID=853
The plant's original licensee was due to expire on March 24, 2011. An application for 20-year extension was filed in 2005 with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
. It was granted on January 18, 2007.
defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16.1 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80.5 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16.1 km) of Palisades was 28,644, a decrease of 4.5 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80.5 km) was 1,326,618, an increase of 4.4 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include South Bend (45 miles to city center).
, each containing 30 tons and resting on a concrete pad. This was intended to be a temporary solution until the spent fuel repository at Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository opened. However, the NRC is no longer considering the Yucca Mountain
site an option for storing reactor waste.
were replaced in 1992. This involved cutting a 28 by 26 foot opening through the 3.5 feet (1.1 m) reinforced concrete wall. The removed units are buried in a large concrete bunker on plant property.
.
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
located on Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
, in Van Buren County's
Van Buren County, Michigan
-Parks, preserves, natural areas:* Dunes Parkway, an 84 acre preserve of dunes in Covert Township* Jeptha Lake Fen Preserve, a 49 acre preserve in Columbia Township...
Covert Township, Michigan
Covert Township, Michigan
Covert Township is a civil township of Van Buren County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 3,141.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , all land....
, on a site of 432 acres (2 km²) 5 miles south of South Haven, Michigan
South Haven, Michigan
South Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city is in Van Buren County, although a small portion extends into Allegan County. The population was 5,021 at the 2000 census....
, USA.
Palisades is owned and operated by Entergy
Entergy
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. It is headquartered in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:...
. It was operated by the Nuclear Management Company
Nuclear Management Company
Nuclear Management Company was a contract/operations firm that operated six nuclear power plants in the midwest US. NMC provided operational collaborations between plants. NMC did not own the plants, nor the energy produced from them. NMC's corporate headquarters were in Hudson, Wisconsin...
and owned by CMS Energy Corporation prior to the sale completed on April 11, 2007. It was built at a cost of $149 million.
Its single Combustion Engineering
Combustion Engineering
Combustion Engineering was an American engineering firm and leading firm in the development of power systems in the United States with approximately 30,000 employees in about a dozen states at its peak. Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, C-E owned over two dozen other companies including...
pressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactors constitute a large majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor , the other types being boiling water reactors and supercritical water reactors...
weighs 425 tons and has steel walls 8+1/2 in thick.
The containment building is 116 feet (35.4 m) in diameter and 189 feet (57.6 m) tall, including the dome. Its concrete walls are 3+1/2 ft thick with a 1/4 in steel liner plate. The dome roof is 3 foot (0.9144 m) thick. Access is via a personnel lock measuring by .
The Westinghouse Electric Company
Westinghouse Electric Company
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is a nuclear power company, offering a wide range of nuclear products and services to utilities throughout the world, including nuclear fuel, service and maintenance, instrumentation and control and advanced nuclear plant designs...
turbine generator can produce 725,000 kilowatts of electricity. It first generated electricity December 31, 1971.
On July 12, 2006 it was announced that the plant would be sold to Entergy
Entergy
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. It is headquartered in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:...
. On April 11, 2007, the plant was sold to Entergy
Entergy
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. It is headquartered in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:...
for $380 million.http://www.entergy.com/news_room/newsrelease.aspx?NR_ID=853
The plant's original licensee was due to expire on March 24, 2011. An application for 20-year extension was filed in 2005 with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
. It was granted on January 18, 2007.
Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory CommissionNuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16.1 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80.5 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16.1 km) of Palisades was 28,644, a decrease of 4.5 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80.5 km) was 1,326,618, an increase of 4.4 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include South Bend (45 miles to city center).
Spent fuel storage
Spent fuel rods are stored outdoors in 21 16 feet (4.9 m) storage casksDry cask storage
Dry cask storage is a method of storing high-level radioactive waste, such as spent nuclear fuel that has already been cooled in the spent fuel pool for at least one year.. These casks are typically steel cylinders that are either welded or bolted closed. When inside, the fuel rods are surrounded...
, each containing 30 tons and resting on a concrete pad. This was intended to be a temporary solution until the spent fuel repository at Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository opened. However, the NRC is no longer considering the Yucca Mountain
Yucca Mountain
The Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository was to be a deep geological repository storage facility for spent nuclear reactor fuel and other high level radioactive waste, until the project was canceled in 2009. It was to be located on federal land adjacent to the Nevada Test Site in Nye County,...
site an option for storing reactor waste.
Parts replacement
Two steam generatorsSteam generator (nuclear power)
Steam generators are heat exchangers used to convert water into steam from heat produced in a nuclear reactor core. They are used in pressurized water reactors between the primary and secondary coolant loops....
were replaced in 1992. This involved cutting a 28 by 26 foot opening through the 3.5 feet (1.1 m) reinforced concrete wall. The removed units are buried in a large concrete bunker on plant property.
Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Palisades was 1 in 156,250, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.Visiting
Like all U.S. Nuclear Power plants since September 11, 2001, public access to Palisades is prohibited. However, a good view of Palisades can be glimpsed from the neighboring Van Buren State ParkVan Buren State Park (Michigan)
Van Buren State Park is a state park on Lake Michigan south of South Haven, Michigan, United States. The park, which is maintained and operated by the Department of Natural Resources, is located in the southwest corner of South Haven Township and the northwest corner of Covert Township, just north...
.