Limerick Generating Station

The Limerick Generating Station is a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania 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. According to its owner, Constellation Energy, the two units are capable of producing 2,317 megawatts of power, which combined would provide electricity to around 2 million households. Constellation owns and operates this facility following their separation from Exelon Corporation in 2022. With the exception of refueling outages, Limerick Generating Station continuously operates at 100% power. The plant is connected to the grid, and transmits power, via multiple 500kv transmission lines.

Limerick Generating Station
NRC image of Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 & 2.
CountryUnited States
LocationLimerick Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°13′36″N 75°35′14″W
StatusOperational
Construction beganJune 19, 1974 (1974-06-19)
Commission dateUnit 1: February 1, 1986
Unit 2: January 8, 1990
Construction cost$7.246 billion (2007 USD, Unit 1 only)[1]
Owner(s)Constellation Energy
Operator(s)Constellation Energy
Nuclear power station
Reactor typeBWR
Reactor supplierGeneral Electric
Cooling towers2 × Natural Draft
Cooling sourceSchuylkill River
Thermal capacity2 × 3515 MWth
Power generation
Units operational1 × 1130 MW
1 × 1134 MW
Make and modelBWR-4 (Mark II Containment)
Nameplate capacity2264 MW
Capacity factor93.77% (2017)
90.85% (lifetime)
Annual net output19,309 GWh (2021)
External links
WebsiteLimerick Generating Station
CommonsRelated media on Commons

Limerick is a black start plant, meaning it doesn't require grid power for stator excitation. For critical standby power, Limerick depends on eight Fairbanks Morse 38 8-1/8 diesel engine generator sets that each deliver 3000 kilowatts of power and are capable of achieving rated speed within ten seconds of start.

The cooling towers for the Limerick Generating Station can be seen for miles away in parts of Montgomery, Chester, and Berks counties.

History

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.

Limerick Unit 1 first attained criticality (began producing nuclear power, at limited capacity) on December 22, 1984 and was certified for commercial operation on February 1, 1986.

Limerick Unit 2 attained criticality on August 1, 1989, and commercial operation began on January 8, 1990.[2]

President George W. Bush visited the Limerick Generating Station in May 2006 to discuss nuclear power and its role in the Advanced Energy Initiative, which he announced at the 2006 State of the Union Address. He toured the facility, including a trip to the control room of the plant.[3]

On October 20, 2014, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) granted extensions for Limerick Units 1 and 2 for another 20 years. The units now are licensed to operate until 2044 and 2049 respectively.[4]

The Limerick Generating Station seen from the Philadelphia Premium Outlets

Unit 2 of the station was scrammed from 100% power to a shutdown on June 1, 2016, at 9 am. The reactor was shut down due to an electrical fault, causing the stopping of the recirculation pumps. The steam bypass valves that lead to the main condenser were opened and Limerick went through a normal hot shutdown process.[5]

Electricity Production
Generation (MWh) of Limerick Generation Station[6]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual (Total)
2001 1,720,999 1,421,555 1,571,281 1,146,121 1,714,981 1,585,203 1,707,221 1,694,826 1,654,876 1,735,777 1,680,970 1,742,643 19,376,453
2002 1,723,068 1,482,757 1,142,347 1,668,793 1,554,140 1,646,067 1,567,800 1,691,587 1,639,388 1,735,382 1,691,178 1,753,837 19,296,344
2003 1,753,254 1,550,234 1,130,516 1,519,321 1,714,769 1,653,453 1,696,881 1,607,028 1,624,447 1,731,500 1,674,951 1,743,910 19,400,264
2004 1,722,720 1,537,566 1,168,932 1,668,300 1,671,600 1,556,407 1,683,613 1,685,008 1,567,029 1,709,787 1,660,675 1,717,900 19,349,537
2005 1,716,885 1,362,085 1,004,085 1,664,188 1,677,581 1,626,264 1,608,325 1,669,489 1,609,470 1,555,876 1,667,420 1,744,182 18,905,850
2006 1,667,901 1,430,630 1,140,055 1,661,763 1,592,421 1,619,325 1,668,413 1,673,366 1,629,221 1,718,027 1,665,166 1,730,896 19,197,184
2007 1,730,497 1,556,952 1,096,433 1,316,275 1,684,085 1,628,014 1,675,750 1,634,390 1,625,974 1,697,270 1,674,801 1,733,093 19,053,534
2008 1,709,982 1,188,953 1,065,283 1,649,544 1,744,775 1,619,733 1,667,984 1,681,787 1,609,184 1,702,975 1,673,330 1,733,732 19,047,262
2009 1,731,717 1,531,939 1,396,490 1,282,135 1,692,512 1,630,879 1,678,051 1,666,118 1,607,336 1,711,319 1,666,889 1,735,461 19,330,846
2010 1,717,455 1,540,997 1,329,570 1,268,375 1,680,777 1,460,188 1,635,055 1,659,289 1,584,617 1,673,967 1,666,693 1,709,091 18,926,074
2011 1,716,769 1,440,129 1,427,642 957,152 1,596,256 1,481,722 1,667,199 1,689,269 1,626,067 1,729,101 1,684,638 1,446,559 18,462,503
2012 1,743,758 1,328,701 1,071,712 1,611,667 1,405,686 1,522,218 1,314,452 1,674,950 1,475,259 1,672,235 1,633,409 1,701,569 18,155,616
2013 1,751,458 1,576,669 1,522,770 1,127,577 1,704,240 1,648,213 1,680,800 1,701,413 1,651,900 1,730,161 1,698,595 1,748,269 19,542,065
2014 1,761,978 1,584,692 987,324 1,183,600 1,695,842 1,651,260 1,697,166 1,703,843 1,624,208 1,731,219 1,699,199 1,756,913 19,077,244
2015 1,751,913 1,461,440 1,622,446 1,091,120 1,437,584 1,645,722 1,689,443 1,695,036 1,628,634 1,723,941 1,686,885 1,497,213 18,931,377
2016 1,753,510 1,607,138 1,352,635 1,213,874 1,709,628 1,582,149 1,684,955 1,680,157 1,643,223 1,727,511 1,689,950 1,750,645 19,395,375
2017 1,741,930 1,558,680 1,672,939 1,197,273 956,769 1,649,145 1,676,523 1,594,619 1,651,728 1,409,430 1,693,432 1,750,489 18,552,957
2018 1,737,890 1,517,844 1,465,309 1,151,564 1,691,798 1,617,941 1,694,980 1,680,943 1,640,875 1,730,111 1,699,359 1,710,012 19,338,626
2019 1,754,824 1,570,155 1,675,109 1,153,115 1,511,770 1,511,990 1,690,451 1,699,453 1,625,116 1,728,335 1,686,400 1,738,876 19,345,594
2020 1,718,927 1,529,354 1,444,047 1,318,997 1,728,841 1,637,515 1,687,857 1,693,885 1,614,751 1,730,909 1,541,707 1,697,974 19,344,764
2021 1,748,069 1,559,537 1,540,707 1,357,962 1,263,678 1,643,516 1,691,105 1,690,225 1,646,667 1,720,568 1,696,074 1,751,220 19,309,328
2022 1,742,519 1,546,378 1,487,783 1,009,362 1,571,477 1,650,562 1,685,350 1,687,841 1,633,204 1,729,399 15,743,875
2023

Seismic risk

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission estimates the risk of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to every reactor in the U.S. According to the NRC study published in August 2010, Limerick's earthquake risk was calculated at 1 in 18,868.[7][8] Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, government regulators announced the plant would undergo further evaluations for seismic activity risk.[9]

A quarry is located nearby which occasionally does blasting; however, this is done with the consent of plant staff.

Surrounding population

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.[10]

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.[11]

Cities within 50 miles:

See also

References
  1. "EIA - State Nuclear Profiles". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  2. "Locations - Energy plants and facilities - Exelon". www.ExelonCorp.com. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  3. "President Discusses Energy During Visit to Nuclear Generating Station in Pennsylvania (Text Only)". GeorgeWBush-WhiteHouse.Archives.gov. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  4. NRC Renews Operating Licenses of Limerick Nuclear Plant for an Additional 20 Years. U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  5. "NRC: Event Notification: MANUAL REACTOR SCRAM DUE TO UNEXPECTED CORE FLOW CHANGE". NRC: Event Notification Report for June 2, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  6. "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  7. Bill Dedman, "What are the odds? US nuke plants ranked by quake risk," NBC News, March 17, 2011 http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42103936 Accessed April 19, 2011.
  8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-05-25. Retrieved 2011-04-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "American Nuclear Power Under Scrutiny After Disaster In Japan", CBS Philadelphia. March 14, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2011
  10. "NRC: Backgrounder on Emergency Preparedness for Nuclear Power Plants". Archived from the original on 2006-10-02. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  11. Bill Dedman, Nuclear neighbors: Population rises near US reactors, NBC News, April 14, 2011 http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42555888 Accessed May 1, 2011.
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