There are 6 operating nuclear power plants in Illinois: Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle, and Quad Cities. With the sole exception of the single-unit Clinton plant, each of these facilities has two reactors. The two reactors at Braidwood and both reactors at Byron are pressurized light water reactors (PWR). The reactors at the other facilities (Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle, and Quad Cities are boiling water reactors (BWR).

Permanently Shutdown Commercial Reactors: The following reactors in Illinois have been permanently shut down and are in various stages of decommissioning; Dresden 1 (shut down on October 31, 1967), Zion units 1 and 2 (Zion 1 shut down on Feb. 21, 1997; unit 2 on Sept. 19, 1996).

Nuclear Power Generation in Illinois, 1960 through 2004 Million Kilowatt Hours

Sources: Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-906, Power Plant Report, and predecessor forms.

Contribution of Nuclear Power

In 2008, the State of Illinois ranked 1st in nuclear capacity and 1st in nuclear generation. Monthly and cumulative nuclear generation and annual nuclear capacity for each State and each reactor is reported in a table elsewhere on this site.

The origin of all of the commercial and military nuclear industries in the world can be traced back to December 2, 1942 at the University of Chicago. On that day, a team of scientists under Dr. Enrico Fermi initiated the first controlled nuclear chain reaction.

The experiment began Illinois' involvement in nuclear development, but did not end it. Sixty-four years later, Illinois remains the national leader in nuclear capacity. Illinois has almost as much nuclear capacity by itself as the United Kingdom. Twenty-one other countries with at least one nuclear plant have less capacity.

The growth of the State's nuclear industry is attributable, in large part, to the initiatives of the State government. The Boiler Safety Act of 1951 provided State supervision over future nuclear power generating operations. ^[1] In 1955, the State's General Assembly formed an Atomic Power Investigation Commission to assess the potential benefits of nuclear power. The eventual outgrowth of this very active interest in nuclear power was the construction of the first privately-built commercial power plant, Dresden 1, which received its operating permit on September 28, 1959. ^[2]

In 2007, coal supplied slightly less of the State’s electricity than nuclear power. All other fuels combined account for less than 10 percent of the State’s electricity generation. The percentage of electricity generated by coal, gas, nuclear, and hydropower for each state with at least one commercial reactor is reported in the Electricity Market table.

Illinois Nuclear Highlights

Photo of Wilson Hall at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Fermilab was named after the theoretical and experimental physicist Enrico Fermi in 1974 to commemorate his research and extend his Chicago legacy to a new instrument for international particle physics. Source: Copyright by Fermilab, used with permission.

• On September 28, 1959, Dresden 1 is issued an operating license: the first commercial reactor to go on line in Illinois. The reactor is shut down permanently in October 1978.
• With the shutdown of Oregon's Trojan reactor in 1992 (the largest U.S. reactor to be decommissioned to date), the permanent shutdown of Illinois' Zion 1 (in 1997) and 2 (in 1996) seems to confirm projections of a significant decline in the nuclear industry. The industry will set its first (of five) annual records for total output two years later.
• On September 23, 2003, Exelon Generating Company became the first applicant for an Early Site Permit. The contents of the application, Docket Number 05200007, can be viewed on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's website web site.

License Renewal

On January 3, 2003, applications for license renewal were submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for units 2 and 3 at the Dresden Nuclear Plant and for Quad Cites units 1 and 2. The NRC approved the applications on October 28,2004, and extended the licenses for 20 years each.

Air Quality in Illinois

Total greenhouse emissions for the electric power industry of each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia, are reported for the most current data year.

Of the 50 States plus the District of Columbia, the electric industry of the State of Illinois ranked 6th highest in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in 2007. The State's electric industry ranked 12th highest in sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions and 10th highest in nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions.

Illinois Airborne Emissions, Electricity Sector, 1989-2004 (CO2)*

*Carbon Dioxide

Illinois Airborne Emissions, Electricity Sector, 1989-2004 (SO2)*

*Sulfur Dioxide

Illinois Airborne Emissions, Electricity Sector, 1989-2004 (NOX)*

*Nitrogen Oxide

More Information on Illinois' Nuclear Industry

Nuclear Generation

Electricity generation by nuclear power plants is available for each reactor and each State for the following years:

• 2002
• 2003
• 2004
• 2005

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