The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has divided the US territory into four regions: [1]
Region | Regional Office | Location | Reactors | NPP sites |
---|---|---|---|---|
Region I [2] | King of Prussia, Pennsylvania | North-east | 25 | 16 |
Region II [3] | Atlanta, Georgia | South-east | 33 | 17 |
Region III [4] | Lisle, Illinois | Northern mid-west | 23 | 15 |
Region IV [5] | Arlington, Texas | Southern midwest and west | 19 | 13 |
Total | 100 | 61 |
These four regions oversee the operation of 104 power-producing reactors, and 36 non-power-producing reactors. This oversight is done on several levels, for example:
Headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Region I oversees 15 plants in the north-eastern United States.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Region II oversees 18 plants in the south-eastern United States.
Headquartered in Lisle, Illinois, Region III oversees 15 plants in the northern mid-western United States.
Headquartered in Arlington, Texas, Region IV oversees 12 plants in the southern midwestern and the western United States.
The NRC previously had five regions. Region V was headquartered in Walnut Creek, California and was responsible for activities in the seven far-west states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. The NRC decided in September 1993 to consolidate Regions IV and V into a single Region headquartered in Arlington, Texas. [7] On April 4, 1994, NRC Region V was abolished, and the NRC Region IV office in Arlington, Texas was given expanded responsibilities to include the seven states formerly governed by Region V. [8] [9] The former NRC Region V office in Walnut Creek remained open as the redesignated Walnut Creek Field Office, supporting resident inspection activities at power plants in the Pacific states of Washington, Oregon and California [8] until October 1, 1998, when the Walnut Creek Field Office was abolished to further reduce costs. [10] [11] [12] [13]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the NRC began operations on January 19, 1975, as one of two successor agencies to the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Its functions include overseeing reactor safety and security, administering reactor licensing and renewal, licensing radioactive materials, radionuclide safety, and managing the storage, security, recycling, and disposal of spent fuel.
The Limerick Generating Station in Pennsylvania is located next to the Schuylkill River in Limerick Township, Montgomery County, northwest of Philadelphia. The facility has two General Electric boiling water reactor (BWR) units, cooled by natural draft cooling towers. The two units are capable of producing over 2,200 megawatts of power, which combined would provide electricity to over 2 million households. Constellation Energy owns and operates this facility following separation from Exelon Corporation in 2022. With the exception of refueling outages, Limerick Generating Station always operates at 100% power. The plant is connected to the grid by several 500kv transmission lines.
The Palo Verde Generating Station is a nuclear power plant located near Tonopah, Arizona, in western Arizona. It is located about 45 miles (72 km) due west of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, and it is located near the Gila River, which is dry save for the rainy season in late summer.
The Salem Nuclear Power Plant is a two unit pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant located in Lower Alloways Creek Township, in Salem County, New Jersey, in the United States. It is owned by PSEG Nuclear LLC and Constellation Energy.
Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station is a thermal nuclear power plant located in Lower Alloways Creek Township, in Salem County, New Jersey, United States, on the same site on Artificial Island as the two-unit Salem Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is owned and operated by PSEG Nuclear LLC. It has one unit, a boiling water reactor (BWR) manufactured by GE. The complex was designed for two units, but the second unit was cancelled in 1981. It has a generating capacity of 1,268 MWe. The plant came online on July 25, 1986, licensed to operate until 2026. In 2009, PSEG applied for a 20-year license renewal, which it received in 2011 to operate until 2046. With its combined output of 3,572 megawatts, the Salem-Hope Creek complex is the largest nuclear generating facility in the Eastern United States and the second largest nationwide, after the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Arizona.
Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Station was a single unit 636 MWe boiling water reactor power plant in the United States. The plant is located on an 800-acre (3.2 km2) site adjacent to Oyster Creek in the Forked River section of Lacey Township in Ocean County, New Jersey. At the time of its closure, the facility was owned by Exelon Corporation and, along with unit 1 at Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station, was the oldest operating commercial nuclear power plant in the United States. The plant first started commercial operation on December 23, 1969, and is licensed to operate until April 9, 2029, but Oyster Creek was permanently shut down in September 2018. The plant got its cooling water from Barnegat Bay, a brackish estuary that empties into the Atlantic Ocean through the Barnegat Inlet.
Braidwood Generating Station is located in Will County in northeastern Illinois, U.S. The nuclear power plant serves Chicago and northern Illinois with electricity. The plant was originally built by Commonwealth Edison company, and subsequently transferred to Com Ed's parent company, Exelon Corporation. Following Exelon's spin-off of their Generation company, the station was transferred to Constellation Energy.
Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear and gas-fired power plant located on a 3,300-acre (1,300 ha) site two miles east of Homestead, Florida, United States, next to Biscayne National Park located about 25 miles (40 km) south of Miami, Florida near the southernmost edge of Miami-Dade County. The facility is owned by Florida Power & Light.
The Byron Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant located in Ogle County, Illinois, 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the Rock River. The reactor buildings were constructed by Commonwealth Edison and house two Westinghouse Four-Loop pressurized water reactors, Unit 1 and Unit 2, which first began operation in September 1985 and August 1987 respectively. The plant is currently owned and operated by Constellation Energy.
The James A. FitzPatrick (JAF) Nuclear Power Plant is located in the Town of Scriba, near Oswego, New York, on the southeast shore of Lake Ontario. The nuclear power plant has one General Electric boiling water reactor. The 900-acre (360 ha) site is also the location of two other units at the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station.
The North Anna Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant on a 1,075-acre (435 ha) site in Louisa County, Virginia, in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The site is operated by Dominion Generation company and is jointly owned by the Dominion Virginia Power corporation (88.4%) and by the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (11.6%).
Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station is a nuclear power plant with two nuclear reactors located in the town of Scriba, approximately five miles northeast of Oswego, New York, on the shore of Lake Ontario. The 900-acre (360 ha) site is also occupied by the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant.
Columbia Generating Station is a nuclear commercial energy facility located on the Hanford Site, 10 miles (16 km) north of Richland, Washington. It is owned and operated by Energy Northwest, a Washington state, not-for-profit joint operating agency. Licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 1983, Columbia first produced electricity in May 1984, and entered commercial operation in December 1984.
The South Texas Project Electric Generating Station, is a nuclear power station southwest of Bay City, Texas, United States. STP occupies a 12,200-acre (4,900 ha) site west of the Colorado River about 90 miles (140 km) southwest of Houston. It consists of two Westinghouse Pressurized Water Reactors and is cooled by a 7,000-acre (2,800 ha) reservoir, which eliminates the need for cooling towers.
Wolf Creek Generating Station, a nuclear power plant located near Burlington, Kansas, occupies 9,818 acres (40 km²) of the total 11,800 acres (4,800 ha) controlled by the owner. Wolf Creek, dammed to create Coffey County Lake, provides not only the name, but water for the condensers.
The Vallecitos Nuclear Center is a nuclear research facility, and the site of a former GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy electricity-generating nuclear power plant in unincorporated Alameda County, California, United States. The facility is approximately 30 miles (48 km) east of San Francisco, under jurisdiction of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Region IV.
The Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant on the shore of Lake Erie near Monroe, in Frenchtown Charter Township, Michigan on approximately 1,000 acres (400 ha). All units of the plant are operated by the DTE Energy Electric Company and owned by parent company DTE Energy. It is approximately halfway between Detroit, Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio. It is also visible from parts of Amherstburg and Colchester, Ontario as well as on the shore of Lake Erie in Ottawa County, Ohio. Two units have been constructed on this site. The first unit's construction started on August 4, 1956 and reached initial criticality on August 23, 1963, and the second unit received its construction permit on September 26, 1972. It reached criticality on June 21, 1985 and was declared commercial on November 18, 1988. The plant is connected to two single-circuit 345 kV Transmission Lines and three 120 kV lines. They are operated and maintained by ITC Transmission.
LaSalle County Nuclear Generating Station, located in Brookfield Township, LaSalle County, Illinois, near Marseilles, 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Ottawa, serves Chicago and Northern Illinois with electricity. The plant is owned and operated by Constellation Energy following separation from Exelon Corporation in 2022. Its Units 1 and 2 began commercial operation in October 1982, and October 1984, respectively.
Point Beach Nuclear Plant is a nuclear power plant located on Lake Michigan in the town of Two Creeks, Wisconsin, United States.
Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant is located in Somervell County, Texas. The nuclear power plant is located 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Ft. Worth and about 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Dallas. It relies on nearby Squaw Creek Reservoir for cooling water. The plant has about 1,300 employees and is operated by Luminant Generation, a subsidiary of Vistra Corp.
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