Trojan Nuclear Power Plant Essay Example for Free

Trojan Nuclear Power Plant Essay Trojan Plant was a pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plant located in Rainier, Oregon, United States. Its construction started in 1st February 1970 and its commenced commercial operation on May1976, with a 35-year license which was to lapse in 2011. Unfortunately, it was closed about 20 years before the year of its designed lifetime, 16 years precisely of its operation. During its existence, Trojan produced over 12% of the electrical supply of Oregon. Historically, more than 80% of Oregons electricity came from hydropower from dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers, while the rest is from fossil fuels. Trojan generated 1130 megawatt electrical (MWe) unit, which was the largest PWR unit that was ever built. A total of $450 million was coughed out in order to build the plant. It reactor supplier was Combustion Engineering and Reactor type Pressurized water reactor (PRW), with a power Capacity of 1,130 MW. It was constructed by Babcock and Wilcox. Its operator was Portland General Electric. Trojan was closed down for a major modification in the year 1978 to improve its resistance to earthquake which unraveled major errors in its construction and a close proximity of an unknown faultline. The operators sued the builders but the case was settled out of court. It took its steam generators only 4years to start developing problems, although they were designed to last the life of the plant, the steam tubes started cracking. Debates on the closure of Trojan was initiated by Lloyd Marbet in 1980, it persisted for a while until its operators finally proceeded with the demolition of Trojan. Its demolition started in 1993 and was completed in 2006. Reference   Koberstein, Paul (2005-03-09). Trojan: PGEs Nuclear Gamble, Willamette Week, p.  A1. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.