William H. Zimmer Power Station
| William H. Zimmer Power Station | |
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William H. Zimmer Power Station in 2017
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 Location of William H. Zimmer Power Station
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| Country | United States |
| Location | Washington Township, Clermont County, near Moscow, Ohio |
| Coordinates | 38°51′59″N 84°13′41″W / 38.86639°N 84.22806°WCoordinates: 38°51′59″N 84°13′41″W / 38.86639°N 84.22806°W |
| Status | In operation |
| Commission date | 1991 |
| Owner(s) |
Dayton Power and Light, Inc. Dynergy, Inc. |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Coal |
| Cooling source | Ohio River |
| Power generation | |
| Units cancelled | 1 × 810 MW 1 × 1125 MW |
| Nameplate capacity | 1351 MW |
The William H. Zimmer Power Station, located near Moscow, Ohio, is a coal-fired power plant owned by Dynegy, Inc. It was originally intended to be a boiling water reactor type of nuclear power plant. Although once estimated to be 97% complete, poor construction and quality assurance (QA) led to the plant being converted to coal-fired generation. As of 2012, the plant generates 1460 gross MWe and 1300 net MWe. Zimmer Power Station is the largest single-unit power facility in the United States. During the construction of the plant, the Little Indian Creek was routed through the plant to protect fish populations. The plant now has several unique environmental protection features to keep the creek at its natural state.
As a result of two separate probes into defective pipe welds, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission fined Cincinnati Gas and Electric $200,000 for a faulty quality assurance program. The NRC, under pressure, eventually ordered work on the nuclear reactor to halt in 1982.
Cincinnati Gas and Electric, with two other electric utilities (American Electric Power and Dayton Power and Light), announced the cancellation of the Zimmer nuclear power plant in October 1983. Zimmer's total sunk costs equaled some $1.8 billion; Cincinnati's share amounted to $716 million, which was almost 90 percent of the utility's 1982 net worth.
Originally expected to cost $230 million, when the cost estimate soared to at least $3.4 billion the decision was made in 1984 to convert the plant. (Regulatory delays and high interest rates also contributed to the cost increase.)
The constructor, the Henry J. Kaiser Company, had never built a nuclear power plant before (or since). The primary owner, Cincinnati Gas and Electric, did its own procurement, awarding contracts for equipment, e.g., for hundreds of valves, with inadequate specifications or QA requirements. Piping welds were not adequately radiographed.
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