Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant
| Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Country | United States |
| Location | East Shoreham, New York |
| Coordinates | 40°57′40″N 72°51′54″W / 40.96111°N 72.86500°WCoordinates: 40°57′40″N 72°51′54″W / 40.96111°N 72.86500°W |
| Status | Decommissioned |
| Construction began | November 1, 1972 |
| Commission date | August 1, 1986 |
| Decommission date | May 1, 1989 |
| Construction cost | $6 Billion |
| Operator(s) | Long Island Lighting Company |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | BWR |
| Power generation | |
| Units decommissioned | 820 MW |
The Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant was a completed General Electric nuclear boiling water reactor located adjacent to Long Island Sound in East Shoreham, New York.
The plant was built between 1973 and 1984 by the Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO). The plant faced considerable public opposition after the 1979 Three Mile Island accident and the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. There were large protests and two dozen local groups opposed the plant.
In 1983, Suffolk County determined that the county could not be safely evacuated in the event of a serious nuclear accident at the plant. Governor Mario Cuomo ordered state officials not to approve any LILCO-sponsored evacuation plan—effectively preventing the plant from operating at full capacity. The plant was completed in 1984 and in 1985 LILCO received federal permission for low-power (5 percent power) tests.
By 1989, it became apparent that not enough local communities would sign on to the evacuation plan for the plant ever to be able to open. On May 19, 1989, LILCO agreed not to operate the plant in a deal with the state under which most of the $6 billion cost of the unused plant was passed on to Long Island residents. In 1992, the Long Island Power Authority bought the plant from LILCO. The plant was fully decommissioned in 1994.
Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO) President John J. Tuohy announced plans for the plant on April 13, 1965 during a stockholder's meeting. The plant was to be the first commercial nuclear power plant on Long Island and initially had little formal opposition, as Brookhaven already had multiple research nuclear reactors at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Shoreham.
LILCO purchased a 455-acre (1.84 km2) site in an area which was sparsely populated at the time. They announced the plant would produce 540 megawatts, cost between $65 and $75 million and would be online in 1973. At the time, demand for electricity was increasing more than 10 percent per year on Long Island and the Atomic Energy Commission was strongly pushing all power companies to use nuclear power.
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