Comanche Peak Nuclear Generating Station
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The Comanche Peak nuclear power plant is located four and a half miles northwest of Glen Rose in Somervell County, Texas and about 80 miles southwest of Dallas. It relies on nearby Squaw Creek Reservoir for cooling water. The plant has about 1,300 employees. It is operated by TXU.
Construction of the two Westinghouse pressurized water reactors began in 1974. Unit 1, rated at 1084MWe, came online on April 17, 1990. Unit 2, 1124MWe, followed on April 6, 1993. As of 2006 Unit 2 was the second-last power reactor to come online in the USA, followed only by Watts Bar 1. More than 450,000 cubic yards of concrete were poured and more than 63,000 tons of reinforcing steel bar were used in plant construction. The combined length of electrical conduit at Comanche Peak is more than 200 miles.
Fuel for the Comanche Peak plant is uranium dioxide, enriched to about 4.5% uranium -235. The fuel is fabricated in small ceramic pellets and the pellets are clad in zirconium tubes or fuel rods. The fuel rods are bundled together to form fuel assemblies. Each pellet of uranium fuel produces as much heat energy as 149 gallons of oil; 157 gallons of gasoline; 1,780 pounds of coal; or 19,200 cubic feet of natural gas. There are more than 18,000,000 fuel pellets in each reactor.
Squaw Creek Reservoir provides cooling water for the power plant. The reservoir covers 3,275 surface acres with an average depth of 46 feet and it took approximately 2 years to fill. When both units of Comanche Peak are at full power, 2.2 million gallons of water are pumped through the plants main condensers.
Comanche Peak operates a visitor center that provides an overview of the nuclear power plant. Videos, interactive exhibits and graphic displays provide visitors with an in-depth description of nuclear power and an inside look at the Comanche Peak nuclear plant.
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