US Nuclear Plants

U.S. Nuclear Plants

Dresden
Illinois

Unit 2 Nuclear system supplied by General Electric Company (U.S.)
Capacity Net MW(e)	Generation in 2003 Megawatthours	Capacity Factor	Type	On-line Date	License Expiration Date
850	6,716,440	90 %	BWR	Feb. 20, 1991	Dec. 22, 2009
Unit 3 Nuclear system supplied by General Electric Company (U.S.)
Capacity Net MW(e)	Generation in 2003 Megawatthours	Capacity Factor	Type	On-line Date	License Expiration Date
850	6,960,727	93.2 %	BWR	Jan. 12, 1971	Jan. 12, 2011

BWR= Boiling Water Reactor

Description: The Dresden nuclear power plant is located on a 953-acre site in Grundy County. It serves Chicago and the northern quarter of the State of Illinois. Dresden 1 was retired in 1978.

Ownership: Both units are owned and operated by Exelon.

The Impact of the Nuclear Industry on Illinois:

News item: Illinois State Archives (how Illinois became a pioneer in regulating nuclear power)
Highlights
Nuclear-provided Electricity Generation
Competition in the State Electricity Market
Environmental Trends: Emissions levels
Various Links to related sites.

Sources: Capacity, for purposes of this report, is the net summer capability as reported in Energy Information Administration (EIA) survey form 860, "Annual Electric Generator Report." Capacity Factor is a calculation in which the maximum possible generation (based on net summer capability) is divided into the actual generation than multiplied by 100 to get a percentage. Generation is the electricity output reported by plant owners on EIA survey form 906. Type of Unit: All U.S. commercial reactors currently in operation are one of two types: BWR (boiling water reactor) or PWR (pressurized light water reactor). The type is identified in EIA's Nuclear Power Generation and Fuel Cycle Report. Both the On-line Date and the License Expiration Date are reported annually in Information Digest by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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