Limerick Nuclear Power Plant
| Limerick Generating Station | |
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NRC image of Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 & 2.
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 Location of Limerick Generating Station in Pennsylvania
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| Country | United States |
| Location | Limerick Township, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates | 40°13′36″N 75°35′14″W / 40.22667°N 75.58722°WCoordinates: 40°13′36″N 75°35′14″W / 40.22667°N 75.58722°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 1974–1989 |
| Commission date | Unit 1: February 1, 1986 Unit 2: January 8, 1990 |
| Operator(s) | Exelon |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | BWR-4 |
| Reactor supplier | General Electric |
| Cooling source | Schuylkill River |
| Cooling towers | 2 |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 2 × 1,194 MW |
| Nameplate capacity | 2,388 MW |
| Capacity factor | 95.9% |
| Average generation | 18,875 GW·h |
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Website Limerick Generating Station |
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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 1,200 megawatts of power each, which combined would provide electricity to over 2 million households. Exelon Corporation owns and operates this facility. With the exception of refueling outages, Limerick Generating Station, like all nuclear power plants, always operates at 100% power.
For critical standby power, Exelon depends on eight Fairbanks Morse Opposed Piston 38D 8 1/8 Emergency Diesel Generator sets that each deliver 3000 kilowatts of power and are capable of achieving rated speed within ten seconds of start.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Limerick was 252,197, an increase of 18.7 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 8,027,924, an increase of 6.1 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Philadelphia (28 miles to city center).
The site was chosen and plans to build the station were announced in 1969, by the Philadelphia Electric Company (now PECO Energy, a subsidiary of Exelon). It is located approximately one mile south of Sanatoga, PA. Community protests by the Keystone Alliance and other delays pushed the start of construction by the Bechtel Power Corporation to June 1974.
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