Limerick Generating Station

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Limerick Generating Station
NRC image of Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 & 2.
Country	United States
Location	Limerick Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	40°13′36″N 75°35′14″W / 40.22667°N 75.58722°W / 40.22667; -75.58722
Status	Operational
Construction began	June 19, 1974 (1974-06-19)
Commission date	Unit 1: February 1, 1986 Unit 2: January 8, 1990
Construction cost	$7.246 billion (2007 USD, Unit 1 only)[1]
Owner	Constellation Energy
Operator	Constellation Energy
Nuclear power station
Reactor type	BWR
Reactor supplier	General Electric
Cooling towers	2 × Natural Draft
Cooling source	Schuylkill River
Thermal capacity	2 × 3515 MWth
Power generation
Units operational	1 × 1130 MW 1 × 1134 MW
Make and model	BWR-4 (Mark II Containment)
Nameplate capacity	2264 MW
Capacity factor	93.77% (2017) 90.85% (lifetime)
Annual net output	19,309 GWh (2021)
External links
Website	Limerick Generating Station
Commons	Related media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

The Limerick Generating Station is a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania 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. According to its owner, Constellation Energy, the two units are capable of producing 2,317 megawatts of power, which combined would provide electricity to around 2 million households. Constellation owns and operates this facility following their separation from Exelon Corporation in 2022. With the exception of refueling outages, Limerick Generating Station continuously operates at 100% power. The plant is connected to the grid, and transmits power, via multiple 500kv transmission lines.

Limerick is a black start plant, meaning it doesn't require grid power for stator excitation. For critical standby power, Limerick depends on eight Fairbanks Morse 38 8-1/8 diesel engine generator sets that each deliver 3000 kilowatts of power and are capable of achieving rated speed within ten seconds of start.

The cooling towers for the Limerick Generating Station can be seen for miles away in parts of Montgomery, Chester, and Berks counties.