Diablo Canyon Power Planthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_Canyon_Power_PlantLocation of Diablo Canyon Power Plant in California
Coordinates 35°12′39″N 120°51′22″W / 35.21083°N 120.85611°W / 35.21083; -120.85611Coordinates: 35°12′39″N 120°51′22″W / 35.21083°N 120.85611°W / 35.21083; -120.85611
Status Operational
Commission date Unit 1: May 7, 1985
Unit 2: March 13, 1986
Licence expiration Unit 1: November 2, 2024
Unit 2: August 20, 2025
Owner(s) Pacific Gas & Electric
Operator(s) Pacific Gas & Electric
Architect(s) Pacific Gas & Electric Reactor information
Reactors operational 1 x 1118 MW
1 x 1122 MW
Reactor type(s) Pressurized water reactor
Reactor supplier(s) Westinghouse
Power generation information
Annual generation 18,588 GW·h
Net generation 17,091 GW·h
Website
PG&E Diablo Canyon
As of 2011-01-21
Diablo Canyon Power Plant is an electricity-generating nuclear power plant at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California. The plant has two Westinghouse-designed 4-loop pressurized-water nuclear reactors operated by Pacific Gas & Electric. The facility is located on about 750 acres (300 ha) in Avila Beach, California. Together, the twin 1,100 MWe reactors produce about 18,000 GW·h of electricity annually, supplying the electrical needs of more than 2.2 million people, sent along the Path 15 500-kV lines that connect to this plant.
Diablo Canyon was originally designed to withstand a 6.75 magnitude earthquake from four faults, including the nearby San Andreas and Hosgri faults.[1], but was later upgraded to withstand a 7.5 magnitude quake[2]. It has seismic monitoring and safety systems, designed to shut it down promptly in the event of significant ground motion.
The plant draws its secondary cooling water from the Pacific Ocean, and during heavy storms both units are throttled back by 80 percent to prevent kelp from entering the cooling water intake.
The plant is located in Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV.
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The official BS - It should not come as a surprise that PG&E does not have a good record at this plant. I will look for more information, but it may already be in one of the links posted, here.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/mar/15/diablo-nuclear-power-plant-has-built-in-safety/AVILA BEACH — Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant has several design features that are intended to prevent the kind of crisis facing nuclear power plants in Japan following Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
In one reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, cooling water was lost, forcing workers to use fire hoses to pump seawater into the reactor to prevent a core meltdown. Chernobyl-like meltdowns such as what took place in that power station in the former Soviet Union have the potential to release large amounts of radiation into the environment.
A main priority is keeping large pumps operating that circulate cooling water within the reactor.
If power is lost, Diablo Canyon — owned by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. — is equipped with diesel generators that can run the pumps. These are maintained and tested on a regular basis, said Kory Raftery, Diablo Canyon spokesman.
Diablo Canyon, one of two nuclear plants in California, is located about 120 miles north of Ventura County. The other, San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Clemente, is about 130 miles south.
Diablo Canyon also has several sources of freshwater that can be used to replenish cooling water in the reactors, if it is lost. Using seawater as cooling water is a last resort because it is corrosive to the reactor core.
The main source of freshwater at Diablo Canyon is a desalination plant that turns ocean water into freshwater. Water is stored in pools on a hill behind the plant that could inject water into the reactor using gravity.
The property surrounding Diablo Canyon also has several wells that could supply water in an emergency, Raftery said. These sources of water can also be used to replenish water in the plant's two spent-fuel storage pools, if needed.
Diablo Canyon is considered much less vulnerable to a tsunami than reactors in Japan that sit on low-lying coastal plains. Diablo Canyon sits atop a coastal bluff, 85 feet above sea level.
The cooling water intake structures that draw ocean water into the plant to condense steam after it has passed through the electrical turbines are surrounded by breakwater that are designed to provide protection from large waves.
Although earthquakes are Diablo Canyon's main safety concern, seismologists do not believe that faults around the plant are capable of producing the kind of massive 8.9 magnitude quake that struck Japan.
Diablo Canyon is designed to withstand a 7.5 magnitude quake. Extensive studies done by seismologists with plant owners PG&E, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Geological Survey show that four earthquake faults in the vicinity of the plant could produce quakes of no more than 6.5 magnitude.
The main difference is that faults around Diablo Canyon are strike/slip faults in which tectonic plates slide horizontally past one another. The faults along Japan's coastline are subduction faults, in which one plate slides beneath another, Raftery said.
Seismologists say subduction faults are capable of delivering more powerful jolts than strike/slip faults and are more likely to displace ocean water, causing tsunamis.
As required by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, emergency response drills are conducted regularly at the Diablo Canyon to practice dealing with the effects of earthquakes and tsunamis. Numerous state and local agencies participate in these drills.
Read more:
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/mar/15/diablo-nuclear-power-plant-has-built-in-safety/#ixzz1HCQQykqG - vcstar.com
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Upgraded to withstand a 7.5!?
They say they are on strike-slip faults, and that they are not on a subduction zone. That is true. However, they are still dangerously close to the San Andreas Fault, which we know is capable of an 8 or 9+!!!!!?????????? AND, what about the blind-thrust faults?
They have diesel engines for backup (how is that not at all like Japan?).
The storage ponds that should work by gravity sounds like a great idea, provided they are not compromised.
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Calls heat up for reviews of California Nuclear Plants:http://www.sacbee.com/2011/03/20/3490976/calls-heat-up-for-reviews-of-california.html