Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station
Encyclopedia
Wolf Creek Generating Station, a nuclear power
plant located near Burlington, Kansas
, occupies 9,818 acres (40 km²) of the total 11,800 acres (48 km²) controlled by the owner. Wolf Creek, dammed to create Coffey County Lake (formerly Wolf Creek Lake), provides not only the name, but water for the condensers.
This plant has one Westinghouse
pressurized water reactor
which came on line on June 4, 1985. The reactor is rated at 1,170 MW(e).
On October 4, 2006, the operator applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) for a renewal and extension of the plant's operating license.
The NRC granted the renewal on November 20, 2008, extending the license from forty years to sixty.
corporation, operates the power plant.
The ownership is divided between Kansas Gas & Electric Co. (47%) (now known as Westar Energy
), Kansas City Power and Light Company
(47%), and Kansas Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (6%).
defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16.1 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80.5 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16.1 km) of Wolf Creek was 5,466, a decrease of 2.8 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80.5 km) was 176,656, a decrease of 1.7 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Emporia (30 miles to city center).
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
plant located near Burlington, Kansas
Burlington, Kansas
Burlington is a city in and the county seat of Coffey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,674.-Geography:Burlington is located at...
, occupies 9,818 acres (40 km²) of the total 11,800 acres (48 km²) controlled by the owner. Wolf Creek, dammed to create Coffey County Lake (formerly Wolf Creek Lake), provides not only the name, but water for the condensers.
This plant has one Westinghouse
Westinghouse Electric Company
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is a nuclear power company, offering a wide range of nuclear products and services to utilities throughout the world, including nuclear fuel, service and maintenance, instrumentation and control and advanced nuclear plant designs...
pressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactors constitute a large majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor , the other types being boiling water reactors and supercritical water reactors...
which came on line on June 4, 1985. The reactor is rated at 1,170 MW(e).
On October 4, 2006, the operator applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
(NRC) for a renewal and extension of the plant's operating license.
The NRC granted the renewal on November 20, 2008, extending the license from forty years to sixty.
Ownership
The Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, a DelawareDelaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
corporation, operates the power plant.
The ownership is divided between Kansas Gas & Electric Co. (47%) (now known as Westar Energy
Westar Energy
Westar Energy is an investor owned electric utility headquartered in Topeka, Kansas. Westar is the largest electric company in Kansas, serving 687,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in the eastern third of the state. Westar Energy generates more than 27,000,000 megawatt-hours of...
), Kansas City Power and Light Company
Kansas City Power and Light Company
.Kansas City Power and Light Company is an electric utility company serving the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Plains Energy Incorporated of which it is the biggest component. The company traces its roots to November 1881 when Joseph S...
(47%), and Kansas Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (6%).
Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory CommissionNuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16.1 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80.5 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16.1 km) of Wolf Creek was 5,466, a decrease of 2.8 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80.5 km) was 176,656, a decrease of 1.7 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Emporia (30 miles to city center).