After more than 20 years of operation, Zion's two reactors were permanently shut down on January 15, 1998. Commonwealth Edison, owner of the plant at the time, concluded that the continued operation of Zion Station was not financially feasible and the plant was removed from service.
The site is approximately 50 miles north of Chicago and 42 miles south of Milwaukee. The plant property sits between the northern and southern parts of the Illinois Beach State Park, a 4,000 acre public park that receives thousands of visitors each year.
The used nuclear fuel was placed in the plant's onsite spent fuel pool and remains there today in safe and controlled storage.
Future of Zion
The decommissioning of Zion Station began Sept. 1, 2010. The $1 billion, 10-year project will be the largest commercial nuclear plant dismantling ever undertaken in the United States, requiring an average of 200 skilled workers each year, most of them local, and a peak workforce of 400.
- About Decommissioning
Information about the first-of-its-kind arrangement approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission whereby Exelon will transfer the station license to EnergySolutions to dismantle the plant and remove material and parts to its Utah waste facility.
- History of Zion Station
A timeline of milestones and important events throughout the power plant's history.