| Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station | |
|---|---|
 Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant in 1998. At the time it was still owned & operated by General Public Utilities. | |
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Lacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey |
| Coordinates | 39°48′53″N 74°12′18″W / 39.81472°N 74.20500°W |
| Status | Being decommissioned |
| Construction began | December 15, 1964 |
| Commission date | December 23, 1969[1] |
| Decommission date | September 17, 2018 |
| Construction cost | $488 million (2007 USD)[2] |
| Owner(s) | Oyster Creek Environmental Protection |
| Operator(s) | Holtec Decommissioning International |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | BWR |
| Reactor supplier | General Electric |
| Cooling source | Barnegat Bay |
| Power generation | |
| Make and model | BWR-2 (Mark 1) |
| Units decommissioned | 1 × 619 MW (1930 MWth) |
| Nameplate capacity |
|
| Capacity factor | 100.14% (2017) 74.0% (lifetime) |
| External links | |
| Website | Oyster Creek Generating Station |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Station is an inactive 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.[3] The plant first started commercial operation on December 23, 1969,[1] and is licensed to operate until April 9, 2029, but Oyster Creek was permanently shut down in September 2018.[4] The plant got its cooling water from Barnegat Bay, a brackish estuary that empties into the Atlantic Ocean through the Barnegat Inlet.
At the time of shutdown, Oyster Creek was one of four licensed nuclear power reactors in New Jersey. The others are the two units at the Salem Nuclear Power Plant, and the one unit at Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station.[5] As of January 1, 2005, New Jersey ranked 9th among the 31 states with nuclear capacity for total MWe generated. In 2003, nuclear power generated over one half of the electricity in the state.[6]
In 1999, GPU agreed to sell the Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant to AmerGen Energy for $10 million.[7] AmerGen was later purchased by Exelon in 2003.[8] Exelon fully integrated AmerGen's former assets, including Oyster Creek, in early 2009.[9]
The reactor was shut down on September 17, 2018.[10]
In September 2019, Ocean Wind, a proposed 1,100 MWe offshore wind farm, with the approval of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, secured the capacity interconnection rights to bring the power generated by the wind farm on-shore at Oyster Creek. It can use the existing power infrastructure of the plant, after some upgrades, to connect to the regional transmission grid.[11][12][13]
In January 2021, Holtec suggested that a "new generation" nuclear plant might be built at the location.[1]
- ^ a b c "New nuclear plant in N.J. Could be built at site of one that's being shut down - nj.com". January 5, 2021. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- ^ "EIA – State Nuclear Profiles". www.eia.gov. Archived from the original on November 18, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
- ^ "How old are U.S. Nuclear power plants, and when was the newest one built? - FAQ - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
- ^ Davis, Mike (September 17, 2018). "Oyster Creek shut down: Lacey nuclear power plant, oldest in US, closed after 49 years". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^ "NRC – Licensed Facilities by Region or State – New Jersey". US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
- ^ "New Jersey Nuclear Industry". United States Department of Energy. Archived from the original on August 2, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ Jones, Dow (September 15, 1999). "NYT Metro Business; GPU to Sell Oyster Creek". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ EXELON TO MATCH FPL'S $276.5-MILLION OFFER FOR AMERGEN PURCHASE FROM BRITISH ENERGY
- ^ Exelon Generation Formally Integrates AmerGen Assets Into Exelon Nuclear
- ^ "Oyster Creek retires after 49 years". World Nuclear News. September 18, 2018. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ "Exelon to shut NJ Oyster Creek reactor in 2019". Reuters. December 9, 2010. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
- ^ Davis, Mike (September 17, 2018). "Oyster Creek shut down: Lacey nuclear power plant, oldest in US, closed after 49 years". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- ^ Johnson, Tom (September 16, 2019). "Ørsted OK'd to Bring Offshore Wind Power Ashore at Oyster Creek". NJ Spotlight. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2020.