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Comanche Peak nuclear power plant, 50 miles south of Willow Park. Index

Updated: Mar 2

Summary: Fifty miles south of Willow Park is Comanche Peak, the two-reactor nuclear plant in Glen Rose that serves as baseload power for the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. This nuclear plant affects Willow Park's electric power and our safety.

Latest Update: 03 March 2025; posted 30 August, 2024






 

Comanche Peak nuclear power plant, 50 miles south of Willow Park. Index



Fifty miles south of Willow Park is Comanche Peak, the two-reactor nuclear plant in Glen Rose that serves as baseload power for the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. This nuclear plant affects Willow Park's electric power and our safety.




Journal

A 20-year operating extension has been granted for the Glen Rose Comanche Peak nuclear power plant. The two Comanche Peak units have a 2,538-megawatt (MW) capacity that can power over 500,000 homes during peak electricity use hours.


The projects must be online by June 2026 to receive the full completion bonus.

The Public Utility Commission (PUC) announced the 17 generation projects approved for low-interest loans from the state to fund a portion of the capital costs.

The Texas Energy Fund was created by the Texas Legislature and approved by statewide voters in 2023 to provide 3 percent interest loans to companies for up to 60 percent of the power plant’s capital cost; $5 billion was appropriated in the budget for that purpose.

After a year spent discussing and approving the program’s guidelines and application, the PUC finally announced the TEF’s first beneficiaries. The projects, which total 9,781 megawatts (MW) of new electric generation capacity, are: ... Vistra Corp. – 440 MW [Vistra Corp owns Comanche Peak nuclear power plant, 50 miles south of Willow Park.]

Geographically, four are located in the Permian Basin by Odessa; four around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex; four between Austin and Houston; two by Corpus Christi; two in East Texas; and one in the Rio Grande Valley.




North Texans have another opportunity to voice their opinion on an application allowing the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant to keep its reactors online through 2053.


The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a new virtual meeting Dec. 21 to hear comments on Vistra’s application to extend its reactor licenses for an additional 20 years. The company’s current licenses for two nuclear units, which have the capacity to power 1.2 million homes under normal electricity conditions, expire in 2030 and 2033.


Earlier this month, the commission held two public meetings focused on how the nuclear plant would impact the surrounding environment if the license is renewed. However, several residents said they were unable to access the Dec. 7 virtual meeting due to technical issues and could not attend the in-person meeting in Glen Rose that evening. [Deails in linked article.]



• Glen Rose Nuclear Power Plant to renew License, Willow Park Civics Blog, posted 10 January 2023

Glen Rose Nuclear Power Plant to renew License; public meeting 10 January


The operating licenses for one of Texas’ two large-scale nuclear plants generating civilian-used power are being considered for a 20-year extension by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).


Comanche Peak, the two-reactor nuclear plant in Glen Rose that serves as baseload power for the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, can generate up to 2,538 megawatts at once; that is enough to power more than 500,000 homes during peak hours.


Operating permits for the two reactors expire in 2030 and 2033, respectively. Vistra Corp., the energy company that owns Comanche Peak, applied for 20-year extensions for each. The application also includes renewal of licenses to handle the radioactive byproduct of the generation.


On January 10, the NRC will convene a public meeting at the Somervell County Expo Center in Glen Rose to review the application and question power plant officials. The meeting next week will include a public comment period from noon to 1:00 p.m. followed by a more formal proceeding from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. that includes a presentation from the plant’s staff, a question-and-answer period, and more time to collect comment. Another session will occur in the evening.


The plant units each contain one “four-loop, pressurized light-water reactor” that operates by splitting uranium atoms by striking them with neutrons — a process known as “fission” — creating heat to produce steam that turns a turbine and generates electricity.


“Comanche Peak is one of the lowest-cost and highest-performing nuclear power plants in the country and is a large, dispatchable source of carbon-free electricity,” said Jim Burke, president and CEO of Vistra, in a statement back in October. “Renewing the licenses of this plant is critical for grid reliability and our environment and is a benefit to the economy, the local community, and our company.”


Across the U.S., there are 53 nuclear power plants in operation, two of which are in Texas — Comanche Peak in Glen Rose and the South Texas Power Plant in Bay City.


• Roger Williams Newsletter, 09 October 2022, Willow Park Civics Blog, posted 13 October 2022

Visiting TX-25's Small Businesses Comanche Peak Nuclear Plant Tour



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