- Goals
Exelon Nuclear is committed to being the best operator of nuclear plants worldwide:
- Setting the industry benchmark for operational excellence to achieve safe nuclear operations
- Providing high levels of reliable generation
- Beating other power suppliers on cost
- Asserting nuclear industry leadership
- Optimizing the value of our assets
- Maintaining a skilled workforce through continuous development, balance and accountability
Exelon Nuclear represents approximately 20% of the U.S. nuclear industry’s power capacity with 10 power plants and 17 reactors—located in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey —and produces enough electricity to power 17 million average American homes annually. Approximately 92% of Exelon’s total electricity generation is nuclear power.
Nuclear Power
Nuclear energy is a clean, safe, affordable way to meet future energy demands in the United States and around the world. It emits virtually no greenhouse gases (GHG), making it a clean power source that can help address global warming.
Nuclear power plants are critical to the stability of the U.S. electrical grid because they can produce an uninterrupted flow of electricity for extended periods. This uninterrupted flow supplies the necessary level of baseload electricity for the grid to operate around-the-clock.
Nuclear Power Fact Sheet [PDF, 30.74 KB] Exelon believes that nuclear power has an important role in the future energy supply. Nuclear power emits virtually no greenhouses gases, making it a clean power source that can help cost-effectively address global warming.
- Uprates Progress
The first phase of the uprate plans expanded generating capacity of the fleet by 70 MW through component replacements at Quad Cities, Dresden and Peach Bottom nuclear plants.
Nuclear Investment
Operating our existing fleet of 10 nuclear power plants safely and reliably is Exelon’s first priority. We continue to invest in these units to maintain reliability, extend operating life and maximize output.
- In 2009, we received license renewals for the reactors at Oyster Creek and Three Mile Island, allowing them to generate zero-emissions electricity for an additional 20 years.
- Exelon has aggressive power uprate plans underway that could generate between 1,300 and 1,500 megawatts (MW) of additional low-carbon generation from existing nuclear plants within 8 years without any new construction at about half the cost of building a new nuclear power plant.
- Adding a total of 1,310 nuclear-generated MW to the existing fleet of nuclear units would displace other carbon-intensive sources in the power market and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 7.1 million metric tons.
Exelon also supports national policies and legislation that will encourage the continued and extended operation of existing plants as well as the construction of new plants. We estimate that the U.S. will need at least 25-30 new nuclear reactors by 2030 if the country is to succeed in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Environmental Commitment
Safely storing spent fuel. While nuclear plants emit virtually no GHG emissions, they do create spent fuel that needs to be safely stored so as not to impact the environment. The federal government used funds from nuclear plants to create the Yucca Mountain permanent storage site in Nevada, but this project is now on hold.
Until the federal government determines a new solution, Exelon safely stores its spent fuel in plant spent fuel pools or dry casks consistent with federal regulations. All of this spent fuel is safely stored in a space equivalent to 2 Olympic sized swimming pools.
Community
Our power plants aim to be good neighbors within their local communities with active involvement through sponsorships, charitable giving and volunteering focusing on the environment, education, the arts and diversity. We encourage our employees to give back to their communities and we recognize their efforts through various programs.
Learn more about Exelon's Community.
Safety
All Exelon facilities employ sophisticated emergency response plans to protect public health and safety. These plans are reviewed and approved by state governments and federal agencies such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The emergency planning includes coordination with local counties, municipalities and school districts.
The nation’s nuclear energy plants are among the safest industrial facilities in the United States. Well-designed facilities that include extensive environmental monitoring programs protect plant workers, the public and the environment. U.S. nuclear plants are built to withstand impacts from earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and aircraft. In addition, the nuclear industry has the most sophisticated security and emergency preparedness plans in the U.S. industrial sector.
Exelon Nuclear has met or exceeded all security measures mandated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for nuclear plants after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The measures include altered or new physical barriers, increased security personnel, training enhancements and additional surveillance equipment. Exelon Nuclear works in cooperation with other important federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigations to ensure the highest level of defense against a terrorist attack.
For more information about the nuclear industry, visit:
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Performance
Exelon Nuclear continues to run its fleet at world-class levels and to meet or exceed all security measures mandated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Its dedicated professionals, whether serving at a nuclear site or Exelon Nuclear headquarters, implement industry best practices to ensure safe, reliable operation throughout the fleet. In 2009, Exelon Nuclear achieved several notable highlights:
- We had our best year ever in safety performance, which included lowering the fleet’s total industrial safety accident rate by 16%.
- We achieved an average capacity factor of 93.6% in 2009—the seventh consecutive year our capacity factor exceeded 93%—and produced about 131.3 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity.
- We took full control of security forces protecting our nuclear facilities, hiring approximately 1,500 nuclear security employees who secure Exelon’s nuclear facilities from intruders.
- We filed an early site permit with the NRC to keep our options open for possibly building a new dual-unit generating facility in Victoria County, Texas.
Braidwood Generating Station, Exelon's newest nuclear power station, is located in northeastern Illinois, about 60 miles southwest of Chicago in Will County. The 2-unit station is built on a 4,457-acre site and its cooling lake was formed from scarred farming land and an old strip mine.
35100 South Route 53
Braceville, Illinois 60407-9619
directions
Byron Generating Station is located near Byron in northern Illinois, about 110 miles west of Chicago. It’s a 2-unit nuclear power facility that can produce enough electricity to power more than 2 million average American homes.
4450 North German Church Road
Byron, Illinois 61010-9794
directions
Clinton Power Station, one of Exelon's newest nuclear power plants, is located in central Illinois. The unit can produce enough energy to power about 1 million average American homes.
Dresden Generating Station, located in rural Grundy County in northern Illinois, is home to the nation’s first full-scale, privately financed nuclear power plant, which began operation in 1960. The 2-unit facility can produce enough energy to power more than 1.5 million average American homes.
6500 North Dresden Road
Morris, Illinois 60450-9765
directions
LaSalle County Generating Station is located in rural LaSalle County in northern Illinois, about 75 miles southwest of Chicago. The station is built on a 3,055-acre site with a 2,058-acre man-made cooling lake, which is also a popular fishery managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
2601 North 21st Road
Marseilles, Illinois 61341-9757
directions
Limerick Generating Station is located in southeastern Pennsylvania, about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia in Montgomery County. The station is built on a 600-acre site and draws its cooling water from the Schuylkill River.
3146 Sanatoga Rd.
Pottstown, Pennsylvania 19464
directions
Oyster Creek Generating Station is located in Lacey Township, Ocean County, near the New Jersey Shore. Oyster Creek began operating in 1969 as the first large-scale commercial nuclear power plant in the United States. Its single boiling water reactor produces 645 net MW, enough to power 600,000 average American homes.
Route 9 South PO Box 388
Forked River, New Jersey 08731
directions
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, located on the west bank of the Conowingo Pond (Susquehanna River) in Delta, Pennsylvania, is a two-unit nuclear generation facility that powers two million area homes. The plant's two reactors began operation in 1974 and produce a total of 2,280 megawatts.
Quad Cities Generating Station is a dual-unit boiling water reactor nuclear power plant located in Cordova, Illinois. Built on 765-acre site along the Mississippi River, this combined production is enough electricity to power more than 1.5 million average American homes.
22710 206th Avenue North
Cordova, Illinois 61242-9740
directions
Three Mile Island is located in central Pennsylvania, about 10 miles south of Harrisburg, in Londonderry Township. The station is built on an island in the Susquehanna River. The plant is capable of generating enough energy to power over 800,000 average American homes.
Route 441S P.O. Box 480
Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057
directions
Zion Station is a former nuclear generating facility that has been converted into an electrical grid voltage-stabilizing facility. It is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan in the Northeast Illinois community of Zion. After more than 20 years of operation, Zion's two reactors were permanently shut down on January 15, 1998.
Exelon Nuclear Fact Sheet [PDF, 46.5 KB] Exelon Nuclear, a business unit of Exelon Corporation, operates the largest nuclear fleet in the nation and the third largest fleet in the world. Exelon’s 10 power plants represent approximately 20% of the U.S. nuclear industry’s power capacity.