Quote:
Originally Posted by AGDee
You do still have some nuclear plants, right?
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We have one nuclear power plant (Hanford), which has been cleaned up considerably since its days of producing plutonium during WWII...in fact, you can now tour the facility, even the reactor. Nuclear power accounts for less than 10% of our power. We have one coal plant, and it accounts, again, for about 10% or less or our power. More than 70% of our power is hydro from many dams throughout the state; natural gas and wind power also account for less than 10% of our power.
See this Web site for a map of our electricity sources and their locations:
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state...les.cfm?sid=WA
Here's and excerpt:
"Typically accounting for close to three-fourths of State electricity generation, hydroelectric power dominates the electricity market in Washington. Coal-fired, natural gas-fired, and nuclear powered plants account for roughly equal shares of the remaining generation. Washington is the leading hydroelectric power producer in the Nation, typically generating about twice that of the next leading State. Eight of the State’s 10 largest power plants run on hydroelectric power, primarily from the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The 7,079-megawatt Grand Coulee hydroelectric facility, located on the Columbia River, is the largest generating plant in the United States. Grand Coulee’s generation capacity is almost twice that of Arizona’s Palo Verde nuclear plant, the second-ranked U.S. electric plant. Washington has one large coal-fired plant located near the State’s only coal mine in the southwest. Coal production has fallen slightly in recent years due in part to increased hydroelectric production. The State’s only nuclear plant, the Columbia Generating Station, is located near the Columbia River in the south-central part of the State, and generates nearly one-tenth of the State's electricity."