Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Nuclear power plant in Wintersburg, Maricopa County, United States.
Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant in Tonopah, Maricopa County, Arizona, operating three pressurized water reactors. The facility supplies electricity to households across Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas.
Construction of the plant began in 1976 and the three reactors went online between January 1986 and January 1988. Commissioning followed roughly a decade of planning and building work in the Arizona desert.
The facility maintains strong connections with local communities through partnerships with STEM education programs and employs numerous military veterans among its workforce.
The plant sits in a remote desert area west of Phoenix and is not open to the public. Visitors can check the official website for occasional educational programs that are sometimes offered.
The plant uses treated municipal wastewater for cooling because natural water sources are absent in the desert. This system makes it the only nuclear facility worldwide that operates entirely without river or ocean water.
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