Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Tonopah, Arizona, remains the largest power producer in the U.S. for the 24th year in a row.
The power station, operated by Arizona Public Service Company (APS), generated 32.5 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of carbon-free electricity in 2015, its largest-ever annual output. Palo Verde remains the only U.S. generating facility to ever produce over 30 million megawatt-hours in a year, a feat that the plant has achieved each of the past seven years and 11 times altogether.
APS Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Randy Edington said 2015 was Palo Verde's best year ever.
“Electricity production records, shorter refueling outages, reduced production costs and an ever-present emphasis on safety helped ensure that electricity customers across Arizona and the Southwest were able to benefit from reliable, low-cost electricity,” Edington said.
The plant's 2015 output exceeded its previous power generation record of 32.3 million MWh in 2014. Additionally, Palo Verde Unit 1 produced the highest electricity output of any nuclear reactor globally, and all three Palo Verde units, individually, ranked among the top seven international producers, based on industry data.
Edington said Palo Verde generation last year kept 13.2 million metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions out of the atmosphere, emissions that otherwise would have been generated by fossil fuels to power homes and businesses from Texas to California.
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