RANCHO SECO (NUCLEAR AND PV); HIGH WINDS ENERGY CENTER

Saturday 11/15
Departure: 6:45 am   Return: approx. 5:30 pm
Limit: 41
Meals: Breakfast provided, bring bag lunch.

This trip has two destinations. First we will drive approximately 2 hours towards Sacramento to visit Rancho Seco where a partially decommissioned nuclear power plant will be toured along with a large photovoltaic (PV) installation and a receive an overview of a brand new natural gas cogen power plant. We will then drive west approximately 1 hour to Solano County to tour the recently constructed High Winds wind energy facility. We will have an approximately 1.5 to 2 hour drive back to Stanford.

The Rancho Seco nuclear power plant is in the process of being decommissioned which allows us to see much more of the plant than if it were in operation. (Diablo Canyon does not allow tours due to security precautions.) When operational the plant had the capacity to generate over 900 MW of power. We will also visit the PV (photovoltaic) installations which provide a stark contrast to the nuclear plant. The PV installation is currently one of the largest "utility grade" PV plants in the world. Our hosts at Rancho Seco are "Spike" Richard Redding and Bud Beebe - both long time SMUD employees and long time hosts of this trip.

Click on the links below for additional information about Rancho Seco:

• Rancho Seco: A Perspective
• SMUD Overview of Rancho Seco

Click on the links below for additional information the High Winds Energy Center:

• FPL Energy and PPM Energy Dedicate High Winds Energy Center (Business Wire Article)
• New Wind Farm Seen as Model for Future of Wind Energy (Associated Press Article via MontanaForum.com)
• High Winds Energy Center Fact Sheet
• Orion Energy Overview of Wind Energy