Yellow Creek Nuclear Power Plant

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The Yellow Creek Nuclear Power Plant is a canceled nuclear power plant project near Iuka, Mississippi. It was originally planned to have two 1,350-MW (output) reactors operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The steam turbine-generator sets were provided by General Electric.

Nuclear power plant thermal power station where the heat source is a nuclear reactor

A nuclear power plant or nuclear power station is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As it is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces electricity. As of 23 April 2014, the IAEA report there are 450 nuclear power reactors in operation operating in 31 countries.

Iuka, Mississippi City in Mississippi, United States

Iuka is the county seat of Tishomingo County, Mississippi, United States. Its population was 3,059 at the 2000 census. Woodall Mountain, the highest point in Mississippi, is located just south of Iuka.

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The reactors were "System 80" pressurized water reactors built by Combustion Engineering in Chattanooga TN. Three similar reactors were installed at Palo Verde Nuclear Plant in Arizona.

The site, as of 8 November 2010 YellowCreek.jpg
The site, as of 8 November 2010

Construction on the reactors began in 1978, but in August 1984, the TVA officially canceled construction of the reactors (with about 30% of the plant complete, construction having ceased (due to suspension of the work) de facto in 1982) because the cost to finish construction had risen dramatically and also because of lower electricity demand. [1]

Following TVA's cancellation, the partially completed site with infrastructure already in place underwent reconstruction as a site for NASA to build solid rocket motors. Construction was about 80% complete when Congress pulled funding on the site in 1993. The cancellation of this project led to a poor economy and high unemployment in the area. [2]

NASA space-related agency of the United States government

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.

United States Congress Legislature of the United States

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the Federal Government of the United States. The legislature consists of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Unemployment when people are without work and actively seeking work

Unemployment or joblessness is the situation of actively looking for employment, but not being currently employed.

Today, some buildings remain on the site including what was to be a reactor, the accompanying turbine building, and a circular base for the plant's cooling tower. The site is close to the tripoint of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, on a peninsula surrounded by Pickwick Lake. The site's namesake creek, whose original outlet comprised the western arm of the lake, was almost completely captured by the lake or channelized into the uppermost reach of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway by the time plant construction ceased. [3]

Cooling tower device which extracts waste heat to the atmosphere through the cooling of a water stream

A cooling tower is a heat rejection device that rejects waste heat to the atmosphere through the cooling of a water stream to a lower temperature. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air temperature or, in the case of closed circuit dry cooling towers, rely solely on air to cool the working fluid to near the dry-bulb air temperature.

Tripoint geographical point at which the borders of three territories meet

A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet.

Alabama State of the United States of America

Alabama is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th largest by area and the 24th-most populous of the U.S. states. With a total of 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of inland waterways, Alabama has among the most of any state.

See also

Nuclear power in the United States Power source providing 20% of US electricity and 60% of US emission-free power

Nuclear power in the United States is provided by 99 commercial reactors with a net capacity of 100,350 megawatts (MW), 65 pressurized water reactors and 34 boiling water reactors. In 2016 they produced a total of 805.3 terawatt-hours of electricity, which accounted for 19.7% of the nation's total electric energy generation. In 2016, nuclear energy comprised nearly 60 percent of U.S. emission-free generation.

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References

  1. "T.V.A. Cancels 4 Reactors". New York Times . 29 August 1984. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
  2. Ronald, Smothers (29 November 1993). "Hit Twice, Town Feels Misled by U.S." New York Times . Retrieved 9 July 2009.
  3. "Bing Maps" . Retrieved 9 July 2009.

Coordinates: 34°58′N88°13′W / 34.96°N 88.21°W / 34.96; -88.21