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{{Short description|Cancelled nuclear power plant in Washington, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox power station
| name = WNP-3/5
| name_official = Nuclear Project Nos. 3 and 5
| image = Satsop_Development_Park_07780.JPG
| image_caption = View of the plant in 2006
| coordinates = {{coord|46.9598|N|123.4696|W|region:US-WA_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| country = United States
| location = Near [[Elma, Washington|Elma]], [[Grays Harbor County, Washington|Grays Harbor County]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]]
| status = C
| construction_began = May 1, 1977
| commissioned = N/A
| decommissioned =
| cost =
| owner = [[Energy Northwest|Washington Public Power Supply System]]
| operator =
| ps_units_operational =
| ps_units_planned =
| ps_units_cancelled = 2 × 1240 MW [[System 80]]
| ps_units_decommissioned =
| np_reactor_type = PWR
| np_reactor_supplier = [[Combustion Engineering]]
| ps_units_manu_model =
| ps_electrical_capacity =
| ps_electrical_cap_fac =
| website =
}}

'''Washington Nuclear Project Nos. 3 and 5''', abbreviated as '''WNP-3''' and '''WNP-5''' (collectively known as the '''Satsop Nuclear Power Plant''') were two of the five [[nuclear power plant]]s on which construction was started by the [[Energy Northwest|Washington Public Power Supply System]] (WPPSS, also called "Whoops!"<ref name="time.com">{{cite web|last=Alexander|first=Charles P.|title=Whoops! A $2 Billion Blunder: Washington Public Power Supply System|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,955183,00.html|publisher=Time Magazine |date=August 8, 1983}}</ref>) in order to meet projected electricity demand in the Pacific Northwest. [[WNP-1 and WNP-4|WNP-1]], [[Columbia Generating Station|WNP-2]] and WNP-3 were part of the original 1968 plan, with [[WNP-1 and WNP-4|WNP-4]] (a twin to WNP-1 and located at the same site) and WNP-5 (a twin to WNP-3, in similar fashion) added in the early 1970s.<ref name=Goodman99>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEo5gwuhExoC&pg=PA123|title=Engineering Project Management: The IPQMS Method and Case Histories |author1=Goodman, Louis J. |author2=Ignacio, Rufino S. |chapter=7: The Washington Public Power Supply System: Nuclear Power Plants 1968–1992 |date=1999 |isbn=0-8493-0024-X |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton, FL |pages=123–140}}</ref>

WNP-2 was the only unit of the five that was completed and put into operation. WNP-3 and WNP-5 are located on {{convert|1600|acre|ha}} on the Satsop Site near [[Elma, Washington|Elma]] in [[Grays Harbor County, Washington]]. Today the site hosts the Satsop Business Park and the Overstock.com Call Center.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

==History==
WPPSS applied for a construction and operation permit in 1973, and both WNP-3 and WNP-5 started construction in 1977.<ref name=EFSEC>{{cite web |url=http://www.efsec.wa.gov/nuclearproj.shtml#WNP3-5 |title=Columbia Generating Station, Formerly Nuclear Project No. 2 (WNP-2) and Nuclear Projects 3 and 5 (WNP-3/5) |author= |date=November 14, 2012 |publisher=Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council |access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref> Cost overruns led to major management changes at all five WPPSS nuclear plants in 1980. [[Bechtel]] was appointed the construction manager for WNP-1, 2 and 4 at Hanford and [[EBASCO]] brought in a new management team for WNP-3 and 5 at Elma.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

WNP-3 was WPPSS's showcase project and construction advanced at an estimated rate of 2% per month under the leadership of the new management team brought in by EBASCO. Washington state voters put Initiative 394 (I-394) on the ballot for November 1981, which asked in its title "Shall public agencies obtain voter approval prior to issuing bonds for the construction or acquisition of major public energy projects?"<ref name=pamphlet>{{cite book |url=https://www.sos.wa.gov/_assets/elections/Voters'%20Pamphlet%201981.pdf |title=Official Voters Pamphlet: General Election Tuesday, November 3, 1981 |author= |date=November 3, 1981 |publisher=Office of the Secretary of State for the State of Washington |access-date=November 2, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{ballotpedia |Washington_Voter_Approval_for_Energy_Project_Bonds,_Initiative_394_(1981) |Initiative 394 (1981)}}</ref> I-394 was aimed directly at the five nuclear projects being built by WPPSS, with the Statement For, written by supporters, citing the rise in the estimated construction budget for the five plants, which had grown from an initial estimate of US$4.1 billion to US$24 billion.<ref name=pamphlet /> Despite being outspent by a margin of nearly seven-to-one,<ref name=NYT-811031>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/31/us/state-of-washington-to-vote-on-proposal-to-curb-utilities.html |title=State of Washington to vote on proposal to curb utilities |author=Turner, Wallace |date=October 31, 1981 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=November 2, 2016}}</ref> I-394 passed overwhelmingly,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/results_report.aspx?e=32&c=&c2=&t=&t2=&p=&p2=&y= |title=Election Results, November 1981 General |author= |date=November 1981 |publisher=Office of the Secretary of State for the State of Washington |access-date=November 2, 2016 |quote=Initiative to the People 394<br />Yes: 532,178 (58.06%)<br />No: 384,419 (41.94%)}}</ref> meaning that WPPSS would have to submit future bond issues to the public for a vote. Prior to I-394, WPPSS had the authority to issue bonds without voter consent as a municipal corporation.<ref name=NYT-811031 />

Just a few years later, with the failure of WPPSS to sell nearly {{USD|961000000|1982|round=-4}} in bonds to complete the project, WNP-3 was placed in an extended construction delay in July 1983 while nearly 76 percent complete.<ref name=EFSEC /> Construction on WNP-5 was terminated in January 1982 while only 16 percent complete.<ref name=EFSEC /> Of the original five proposed nuclear units, only WNP-2 was completed and put into operation.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

Equipment at WNP-3 was preserved to allow a restart of construction if regional energy demand warranted it. In 1994, the WPPSS board adopted a resolution to terminate WNP-3, and preservation funding was discontinued in 1995.<ref name=EFSEC /> Construction Permit CPPR-154 was terminated in 1999<ref>{{Federal Register|64|4725}}</ref> and the ownership of the site was transferred to the Satsop Redevelopment Project.<ref name=64FR1644>{{Federal Register|64|1644}}</ref>

===Site reuse and redevelopment===

Under contemporary plans, none of the existing structures were slated for demolition, although some equipment (such as the WNP-3 turbine) was to be removed and existing buildings were to be reconfigured to support the conversion of the site to an industrial, business or research park.<ref name=64FR1644 /> Approximately {{convert|22|acre|ha}} of the site were retained by WPPSS for development of a combustion turbine electric generating plant, which later came to fruition as the combined-cycle {{vanchor|Grays Harbor Energy Center}}. Grays Harbor provides 650 MW of electric generation and came on-line in 2008, with an additional 650 MW of generation approved but not yet constructed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.efsec.wa.gov/satsop.shtml |title=Grays Harbor Energy Center |author= |date=January 2, 2013 |publisher=Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council |access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref>

In 2018, the grounds were used to store thousands of diesel [[Volkswagen]] vehicles that had been recalled as a result of the company's [[Volkswagen emissions scandal|emissions scandal]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Ellis |first=Tim |date=March 3, 2018 |title=Aerial images reveal thousands of emissions-cheating diesel VWs awaiting their fate in shadow of defunct nuclear plant |url=https://www.geekwire.com/2018/aerial-images-reveal-thousands-emissions-cheating-diesel-vws-awaiting-fate-shadow-defunct-nuclear-plant/ |work=[[GeekWire]] |accessdate=July 19, 2023}}</ref>

==Design==
[[File:Satsop Power Plant.jpg|thumb|right|WNP-3/5]]

WNP-3/5 would have been [[pressurized water reactor]]s, with the nuclear steam supply system provided by [[Combustion Engineering]].<ref name=Goodman99 /> The architect/engineer for the plant was [[Electric Bond and Share Company|EBASCO]], who also were responsible for plant construction.<ref name=Goodman99 />

Like contemporary C-E designs, the System-80 NSSS in each unit would have featured a two-loop design, with two steam generators, four reactor coolant pumps and one pressurizer to maintain reactor coolant system pressure. The System-80 NSSS was designed to be capable of burning mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bmpnf7THLwkC&pg=PA306|title=Managementand Disposition of Excess Weapons Plutonium: Reactor-Related Options |author1= |chapter=Comparing the Options |date=1995 |isbn=0-309-05145-2 |publisher=National Academy of Sciences |location=Washington, DC |pages=306–312}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
Since being abandoned, the site has served as the filming site for a number of projects. The site is operated as the Satsop Business Park by the Port of Grays Harbor, and daily filming rates were established in 2013.<ref name=ST-130907>{{cite news |url=http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/satsop-courts-hollywood-to-use-old-nuke-plant-for-filming/ |title=Satsop courts Hollywood to use old nuke plant for filming |author=Lacitis, Erik |date=September 7, 2013 |newspaper=The Seattle Times |access-date=November 2, 2016}}</ref> Local artist Etsuko Ichikawa filmed "Echo at Satsop" in 2013 as a reaction to the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami|2011 tsunami]] and subsequent [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi]].<ref name=ST-130907 />

An independent movie, ''Depth'', based on the video game [[Soma (video game)|''SOMA'']], was filmed at Satsop in 2014.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.graysharbortalk.com/2014/09/16/movie-industry-comes-satsop/ |title=The Movie Industry Comes to Satsop, Again |author=Scott, Douglas |date=September 16, 2014 |newspaper=Grays Harbor TALK |access-date=November 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014203843/http://www.graysharbortalk.com/2014/09/16/movie-industry-comes-satsop/ |archive-date=October 14, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
{{stack|{{Portal|United States|Energy|Nuclear technology}}}}
* [[List of nuclear reactors]]
* [[List of cancelled nuclear reactors in the United States]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|WNP-3 and WNP-5}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.industcards.com/nuclear-us-or-wa.htm |title=Nuclear Power Plants in Oregon & Washington |author= |publisher=Power Plants Around the World |access-date=August 29, 2015}}{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6OWFheGYDpoC |title=Nuclear Implosions: The Rise and Fall of the Washington Public Power Supply System |date=2008 |author=Pope, Daniel |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-521-40253-8}}
* {{cite web |url=http://forterra.org/editorial/a-tale-of-two-towers |title=A Tale of Two Towers |author=Verhovek, Sam Howe |date=May 15, 2015 |website=Forterra |access-date=November 2, 2016}}

{{U.S. nuclear plants}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures in Grays Harbor County, Washington]]
[[Category:Unfinished nuclear reactors]]
[[Category:Nuclear power plants in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Cancelled nuclear power stations in the United States]]

WNP-3 and WNP-5 - Revision history

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