Rancho Seco nuclear power plant 1
Retired United States
Gross capacity
917MW
Rancho Seco nuclear power plant 1 is a pressurised water reactor unit at Rancho Seco nuclear power plant in United States rated at 917 MW gross. It is retired. Commercial operation began 17 Apr 1975.
Specification
| Reactor type | Pressurised water reactor (PWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | not disclosed |
| Size class | Large |
| Coolant | Light water |
| Moderator | Light water |
| Gross capacity | 917MW |
| Net capacity (reference) | 873MW |
| Net capacity (design) | 918MW |
| Thermal output | 2,772MWt |
| Typical enrichment | 3–5% U-235 |
Ownership & location
| Site | Rancho Seco nuclear power plant |
|---|---|
| Unit | 1 |
| Country | United States |
| Owner | Sacramento Municipal Utility District100% |
| Operator | Sacramento Municipal Utility District |
| Coordinates | 38.3445, -121.1206 |
Fuel chain for this unit
Fuel form
Uranium dioxide pellets in zirconium-alloy cladding
Enrichment
3–5% U-235
Who makes this assembly
- China National Nuclear Corporation PWR fuel assemblies
- ENUSA Industrias Avanzadas PWR and BWR fuel assemblies
- Framatome PWR fuel assemblies
- KEPCO Nuclear Fuel PWR fuel assemblies
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries PWR fuel assemblies
- Westinghouse Electric Company PWR fuel assemblies
Upstream
Enriched fuel means this unit sits downstream of five conversion plants and four enrichment operators holding 88% of world capacity between the top three.
Fabricator capability is recorded against reactor type and model line, not against named units —
utilities do not publish fuel contracts. See the fuel chain.
Timeline
- 1 Apr 1969Construction start
- 16 Sep 1974First criticality
- 13 Oct 1974Grid connection
- 17 Apr 1975Commercial operation
- 7 Jun 1989Permanent shutdown
Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release — CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06 · this unit last researched by GEM on 2024-05-29
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) — CC BY-SA 4.0 — linked, not quoted