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| Fig. 1: Hanford Nuclear Facility Wikimedia Commons) |
Since the end of World War II, nuclear fission has been believed to be an economic way to produce energy for the United States. [1] In fission, a neutron hits a uranium atom and the atom splits, releasing more neutrons and generating a chain reaction. That reaction releases huge amounts of energy, which can then boil water to create steam. The steam generated can cause turbines to spin, generating electricity in a power plant. All of this takes place in devices called nuclear reactors. As of December 31, 2020, 94 nuclear reactors were operating at 56 nuclear power plants in 28 states, generating about 20% of total annual United States electricity since 1990. The U.S. has the largest fleet of nuclear reactors in the world. It accounts for 27% of the world's nuclear generation. [2]
During the 1950s, Pacific Northwest political leaders and market experts were concerned with the region's ability to produce enough electricity through hydro-electric generation for a projected increase in power demand. After 1957, organizations began pushing for nuclear power as solution to the expected energy shortage. [3] In the movement towards implementing nuclear power plants to the region, the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS) was created in 1957. The organization worked towards greater nuclear energy production in the Pacific Northwest.
The WPPSS gained support to construct the Hanford Generating Project in Hanford, Washington, a dual-purpose reactor whose primary mission, until the 1980a, was the production of plutonium for the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. It also produced steam for electric generation. [3]
One of the byproducts of nuclear energy is radioactive waste, which is leftover material from a nuclear reaction. Radioactive waste is very dangerous and can remain active for thousands of years, endangering human health. In 1989, the Hanford Site, shown in Fig. 1, shifted from its production of weaponry to waste management and environmental cleanup. [4] Cleanup of the Hanford Site was a very complex challenge because of the location. Hugging the Colombia River, the Hanford Site endangered a critical resource for the people and ecology of the Pacific Northwest. [4] Today, after 33 years of dedicated effort, considerable progress has been made in reversing the effects the Hanford Site has had on the surrounding area, but cleanup is still underway.
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| Fig. 2: Columbia Generating Station in Hanford, Washington. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
In 1973, the WPPSS received approval to begin construction of its second nuclear station, the WNP-2, which was later renamed the Columbia Generating Station (CGS). Due to cost and construction delays, the plant was not operational until 1984. [3] The facility is shown in Fig. 2. Today, it is the Pacific Northwest's only commercial nuclear energy facility. It is the third largest energy producer in Washington state, behind Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams. The CGS has gross production capacity of 1.16 GWe, and generates more than 8.8 million MWh of electricity a year, enough to power 750,000 homes. [5]
An increased focus on the safety systems in place at nuclear facilities reduce the risk of uncontrolled nuclear reactions that could result in widespread contamination of air and water. Nuclear energy continues to be a major source of power for the Pacific Northwest and the country as a whole.
© Lexie Hull. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] P. L. Joskow and M. L.Baughman, "The Future of the U.S. Nuclear Energy Industry," Bell J. Econ. 7, No. 1, 3 (1976).
[2] D. Brodansky, Nuclear Energy: Principles, Practices, and Prospects, 2nd Ed. (AIP Press, 2004).
[3] R. McCullough et al., "Economic Analysis of the Columbia Generating Station," McCullough Research, December 2013.
[4] "Hanford Site: Cleanup Completion Framework," U.S. Department of Energy, DOE/RL-2009-10, January 2013.
[5] "Washington: Nuclear Energy Fact Sheet," Nuclear Energy Institute, 2020.
