tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7340674059823128384.post6382922453130228753..comments2024-03-27T03:20:11.007-07:00Comments on The NorCal Explorer: Rancho Seco: Howard Ranch TrailTom Spauldinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15739734557355512251noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7340674059823128384.post-41264070150403481362007-06-23T19:37:00.000-07:002007-06-23T19:37:00.000-07:00There's more than the empty cooling towers and sto...There's more than the empty cooling towers and storage for the guts of the old nuke at Rancho Seco. <BR/><BR/>On the property is a new natural gas-fired power plant (Cosumnes River I, 500 MW just opened last spring, with an option in future for another 500 MW plant) and one of the first solar power plants in the nation (PV-1), which just celebrated its 20-year anniversary.<BR/><BR/>SMUD has added a lot of solar generation to the site, taking advantage of facilities built to move power from the nuke when it was running. (That's why the natural-gas plant is there, too.)<BR/><BR/>Howard Ranch is part of a huge property owned by the family of Charles Howard, of "Seabiscuit" fame. There's also a sanctuary for exotic animals on SMUD land adjacent to RS, the Amanda Blake memorial sanctuary.<BR/><BR/>The trail is best in early spring, for wildflowers and vernal pools.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com