Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station, Decommissioned nuclear power plant in Herald, California
The Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station encompasses 2,100 acres of land with cooling towers reaching 425 feet into the Sacramento Valley skyline.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District constructed this nuclear facility in 1974, operating it until a public vote led to its closure in 1989.
The facility stands as a symbol of California's shifting energy policies and public attitudes toward nuclear power generation during the late 20th century.
The former nuclear site now functions as a recreational area with a lake while maintaining a small section for low-level radioactive waste storage.
The plant's cooling towers remain the tallest structures in California's Central Valley, visible from miles across the agricultural landscape.
Location: California
GPS coordinates: 38.34530,-121.12200
Latest update: May 27, 2025 07:10
This collection brings together nuclear power plants that have shaped the history of civilian nuclear energy. Some experienced accidents that changed the world’s view of nuclear energy. Chernobyl in Ukraine remains a symbol of the 1986 disaster, while Fukushima in Japan showed the risks of natural events. Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania paused the building of new reactors in the US for many years. Other sites are among the largest in the world, like Kashiwazaki-Kariwa in Japan or Bruce in Canada. Many places are facing challenges today, such as the Zaporijia plant in Ukraine. The collection also includes projects that tried to push the technical limits of this energy. Superphénix in France and Monju in Japan explored new types of reactors, with mixed results. Some facilities, like Bataan in the Philippines, were never operational despite being fully built. Others, like Oyster Creek or Tokai, helped start nuclear work in their countries. From Siberia to the United Arab Emirates, from Canada to India, these sites tell stories about energy choices, technical progress, failures, and questions that have surrounded this source of power for more than sixty years.
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