Forked River Nuclear Power Plant

The Forked River Nuclear Power Plant was a proposed nuclear power plant in Lacey Township in Ocean County, New Jersey.[1] It was proposed as a single 1,070 MW reactor in 1969 to be built by Combustion Engineering and operated by Jersey Central Power and Light.[2] The facility would have been located on a site between JCP&L's existing Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station and the Garden State Parkway. Unlike the Oyster Creek Plant, the Forked River Plant would have a cooling tower to prevent the release of hot water into Oyster Creek and Barnegat Bay.[3]

Construction of the plant was halted in 1974 due to financial cut-backs and environmental protests, but was resumed in 1976.[4] The plant's construction was ultimately canceled in 1980, when General Public Utilities (the parent company of JCP&L) halted construction "because of financial difficulties stemming from the accident at its Three Mile Island facility", as well as uncertainty over whether the NRC would grant a license or possibly institute other costly regulations.[5][2] In addition, community fears and a construction accident that killed one worker helped end the plant's construction.[6]

  1. ^ Plan for New Reactor Dropped
  2. ^ a b Nuclear Power Generation and Fuel Cycle Report 1997 Archived October 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine p. 63.
  3. ^ "Fight Against Atomic Plant is Dropped". The New York Times. December 6, 1972.
  4. ^ Waggoner, Walter (December 15, 1976). "Utility Allowed to Continue Nuclear Project". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Nuclear Plant is Cancelled
  6. ^ "Worker Is Killed At Atomic-Plant Site". The New York Times. Associated Press. March 13, 1979.