Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Generating Station

Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Generating Station
Location of Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Generating Station
Country	United States
Location	Dothan, Alabama
Coordinates	31°13′23″N 85°6′42″W
Status	Operational
Construction began	1970 –
Commission date	Unit 1: Dec. 1, 1977 Unit 2: July 30, 1981
Licence expiration	Unit 1: June 25, 2037 Unit 2: March 31, 2041
Construction cost	~$1.57 billion
Owner(s)	Alabama Power
Operator(s)	Southern Nuclear
Architect(s)	Southern Services, Inc.
Reactor information
Reactors operational	1 x 851 MW 1 x 860 MW
Reactor type(s)	pressurized water reactor
Reactor supplier(s)	Westinghouse
Power generation information
Annual generation	13,098 GW·h
Net generation	>200,000
Website www.southerncompany.com/southernnuclear/farley
As of 2008-11-17

The Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Generating Station is located near Dothan, Alabama. The twin-unit nuclear power station sits on a 1,850-acre (7.4 km²) site in Houston County, which is largely wooded and agricultural.

The plant is named after the late Joseph McConnell Farley, an American attorney born in Birmingham, Alabama who became president of Alabama Power (owner of the facility) from 1969 to 1989 and was later CEO of Southern Nuclear Operating Company; both companies are subsidiaries of Southern Company.

This plant has two Westinghouse pressurized water reactors.

• Unit 1 900 MWe
• Unit 2 920 MWe

Construction of the plant began in 1970. Unit 1 achieved commercial operation in December 1977. Unit 2 began commercial operation in July 1981. The total cost of the plant was about $1.57 billion. On May 12, 2005, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved license renewal applications for both reactors at the site. Unit 1's extended operating license is set to expire on June 25, 2037 and Unit 2's on March 31, 2041.

Ownership

• Farley, Unit 1
  • Owner = Alabama Power Company (100 percent).
  • Operator (Licensee) = Southern Nuclear Operation Company.
• Farley, Unit 2
  • Owner = Alabama Power Company (100 percent).
  • Operator (Licensee) = Southern Nuclear Operation Company.

Unit 1 900 MWe Unit 2 920 MWe from website of USNRC

Surrounding population

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Farley was 11,842, an increase of 8.0 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 421,374, an increase of 6.1 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Dothan (17 miles to city center).

Seismic risk

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Farley was 1 in 35,714, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.

External links

• "Plant Farley". Southern Company. 2008. http://www.southerncompany.com/southernnuclear/farley.aspx. Retrieved 2008-11-17. 
• "(Joseph M.) Farley Nuclear Power Plant, Alabama". Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). August 22, 2008. http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/reactors/farley.html. Retrieved 2008-11-17. 
• "Farley 1 Pressurized Water Reactor". Operating Nuclear Power Reactors. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). February 14, 2008. http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/far1.html. Retrieved 2008-11-17. 
• "Farley 2 Pressurized Water Reactor". Operating Nuclear Power Reactors. NRC. February 14, 2008. http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/far2.html. Retrieved 2008-11-17.