Page 315 - Beyond Decommissioning

296 Beyond Decommissioning

Additions to the Rancho Seco assets have included large solar plants and the gas-
fired Cosumnes Power Plant, in operation since 2006, which uses the same electrical
grid as the former NPP’s.
Rancho Seco housed a 3.2-MW solar array adjacent to the nuclear plant since 1984.
Five of the six arrays were decommissioned in 2013 out of obsolescence. In 2015, the
SMUD approved construction of a 10.88-MW new photovoltaic (PV) project on the
site of the defunct Rancho Seco nuclear plant. The new project also helps the SMUD
meet its renewable portfolio goals of 33% renewable power. The solar site around
2
Rancho Seco is currently 0.25km with over 100,000 solar cells.
While all power producing machinery were taken away from the facility, its
cooling towers stand untouched as iconic landmarks (Fig. 7.1). Throughout the site
are a number of warning bells, which during NPP operation would have alerted people
of a radiological emergency.

7.2 SATSOP redevelopment

Washigton Nuclear Project Nos. 3 and 5 (WNP-3, WNP-5), which make up the Satsop
NPP, were two of the five NPPs whose construction was incepted by the Washington
Public Power Supply System (WPPSS). Units 1, 2, and 3 were included in the initial
construction plan, and unit 4 (similar to unit 1) and unit 5 (similar to unit 3) were added
to the project in the late 1970s. Units 3/5 were 1240 MW pressurized water reactors
(PWR).
The Satsop site is situated near Elma, Grays Harbor County, WA. Today the area
includes the Satsop Development Park and the Grays Harbor Energy Center. As in
1983 WPPSS went bankrupt, the construction of unit 3 (almost 76% complete) was

Fig. 7.1 Rancho Seco NPP (CA) decommissioned, 2014.
Courtesy of Nuclear Regulatory Commission.