From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant
Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant
Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant Long Islanders opposed the plant; by 1986, that number
had risen to 74 percent.
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 Is-
land residents. In 1992, the Long Island Power Authority
bought the plant from LILCO. The plant was fully decom-
missioned in 1994.
Proposal
Country United States Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO) President John J.
Tuohy announced plans for the plant on April 13, 1965
Location East Shoreham, New York
during a stockholder’s meeting.[1] The plant was to be
Coordinates 40°57′40″N 72°51′54″W / 40.96111°N the first commercial nuclear power plant on Long Island
72.865°W / 40.96111; and initially had little formal opposition, as Brookhaven
-72.865Coordinates: 40°57′40″N already had multiple research nuclear reactors at the
72°51′54″W / 40.96111°N 72.865°W /
40.96111; -72.865
Brookhaven National Laboratory, about 5 miles (8.0 km)
south of Shoreham.
Status Decommissioned LILCO purchased a 455-acre (1.84 km2) site in an area
Construction began 1973-1984 which was sparsely populated at the time. They an-
nounced the plant would produce 540 megawatts, cost
Commission date 1985-1989 between $65 and $75 million and would be online in
Decommission date 1989 1973.[2][3] At the time, demand for electricity was in-
creasing more than 10 percent per year on Long Island
Construction cost $6 Billion
and the Atomic Energy Commission was strongly pushing
Operator(s) Long Island Lighting Company all power companies to use nuclear power.[2]
In 1968, LILCO increased the size of the plant from
Reactor information 540 to 820 megawatts and announced plans to build two
more reactors in Jamesport. Those reactors never got be-
Reactors decom. 1 x 820 MW
yond the drawing board stage but this helped delay and
increase the costs of the plant.[2][3]
The Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant was a completed
In 1969, LILCO announced plans for a reactor at Lloyd
General Electric nuclear boiling water reactor located ad-
Harbor in Huntington, New York — closer to Manhattan
jacent to the Long Island Sound in East Shoreham, New
in a more densely populated area. Following resident op-
York. The plant was built between 1973 and 1984 by the
position, the proposal was dropped in 1970, setting the
Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO), but never operat-
stage for opposition to any nuclear power plant on Long
ed.
Island.[2]
In 1983, the Suffolk County Legislature voted that the
The plant was to be situated near the path of air-
county could not be safely evacuated in the event of a
planes landing at MacArthur Airport and the New Haven
serious nuclear accident at the plant, and governor of
Airport. It was also to be built in an area that the U.S. Air
New York, Mario Cuomo, ordered state officials not to ap-
Force had designated as "high hazard" due to its prox-
prove any LILCO-sponsored evacuation plan. The plant
imity to the Calverton Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve
was completed in 1984 and in 1985 LILCO received federal
Plant, where Grumman military fighter planes were test-
permission for low-power 5 percent power tests.
ed, which was five miles (8 km) from the Shoreham site.
The plant faced considerable public opposition after
The Lloyd Harbor Study Group were concerned that a
the 1979 Three Mile Island accident and the 1986 Cher-
plane could crash into the plant.[4]
nobyl disaster. There were large protests and two dozen
local groups opposed the plant. In 1981, 43 percent of
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant
Construction ly to buy the plant from LILCO (which it did in 1992). The
plant was fully decommissioned in 1994.
The plant was built between 1973 and 1984. Its location
on Long Island Sound — near the mouth of the small
stream that forms the border between Brookhaven and
Closure
Riverhead towns — was largely rural at the time (al- On February 17, 1983, the Suffolk County Legislature an-
though within 60 miles of Manhattan). Cost overruns nounced with a 15-1 vote that the county could not be
caused its estimated final cost to approach $2 billion by safely evacuated.[2][8] Newly elected governor of New
the late 1970s, due to low worker productivity and design York, Mario Cuomo, ordered state officials not to approve
changes ordered by the NRC.[2] any LILCO-sponsored evacuation plan.[2]
The plant was completed in 1984. In 1985 LILCO re-
Public opposition ceived federal permission for low-power 5 percent tests.
Confidence in LILCO declined in 1985 when it took nearly
See also: List of anti-nuclear protests in the United States two weeks to restore power to all of the island following
The Sierra Club, the Audubon Society and environmen- Hurricane Gloria.
talist Barry Commoner opposed the issuance of a con- Between 1985 and 1989, as local communities con-
struction permit for the Shoreham plant.[5] The plant tinued to refuse to sign the necessary evacuation plan,
drew considerable opposition after the 1979 Three Mile LILCO proposed asking the U.S. Congress to approve a law
Island accident and the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, result- for the evacuation — a move which went nowhere.
ing in delays and cost increases before New York Gover- On February 28, 1989, Cuomo and LILCO announced a
nor Mario Cuomo pulled the plug in a state takeover of plan to decommission the plant, which involved the state
the plant. The state would ultimately take over LILCO al- taking over the plant and then attaching a 3 percent sur-
so.[6] charge to Long Island electric bills for 30 years to pay off
The first small anti-Shoreham demonstration took the $6 billion price tag.[2][8][9] In 1992, Shoreham became
place in June 1976. On June 3, 1979, following the Three the first commercial nuclear power plant in the US to be
Mile Island accident, 15,000 protesters gathered in the dismantled.[8]
largest demonstration in Long Island history.[2] 600 were
arrested as they scaled the plant’s fences.[7]
LILCO’s problems were compounded by NRC rules in
Aftermath
the wake of Three Mile Island, requiring that operators of It cost $186 million to decommission the reactor, with
nuclear plants work out evacuation plans in cooperation the radioactive materials license ending in May 1995. The
with state and local governments. Politicians from local low-pressure turbine rotors are currently in use at the
entities joined the opposition, saying their communities Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station. LILCO paid Philadel-
could not be evacuated quickly in case of an accident, as phia Electric Company $50 million to take its fuel to the
any land evacuation off the island would involve travel- Limerick Nuclear Power Plant.[10]
ing at least 60 miles (97 km) back through New York City In August 2002 a 100 MW Gas Turbine Power Plant
to reach its bridges.[2] was commissioned on the Shoreham site utilizing the ex-
Nora Bredes, executive director of the Shoreham Op- isting switchgear that was in place for the decommis-
ponents Coalition, was the primary organizer of the sioned nuclear facility. This facility utilizes two 42 MW
grass-roots campaign against Shoreham. She lobbied offi- GE LM6000PC Jet Engine Generators equipped with Sprint
cials, organized advertising campaigns, wrote pamphlets, injection (can increase capacity to 50 MW each) and
and planned rallies.[8] Ms. Bredes drew together more Spray Mist Evaporative Cooling (SMEC).[11]
than two dozen local opposition groups which included The electric transmission infrastructure has re-
the Lloyd Harbor Study Group, the Farm Bureau, The mained, connecting it to the Long Island electric grid. In
Long Island Safe Energy Coalition and its newsletter 2002 the Cross Sound Cable, a submarine power cable ca-
Chain Reaction, Safe’n Sound with its Sound Times news- pable of transmitting 330 MW, was laid from the Shore-
paper, and the S.H.A.D. Alliance (modeled on New Hamp- ham plant across Long Island Sound to New Haven, Con-
shire’s Clamshell Alliance). According to a Newsday poll, necticut. During the Northeast Blackout of 2003 the cable
in 1981, 43 percent of Long Islanders opposed the plant; was used to ease the effects of the blackout on Long Is-
by 1986, that number had risen to 74 percent.[8] land. After extended negotiations with Connecticut the
On May 19, 1989, LILCO agreed not to operate the cable was put into permanent use.[12]
plant in a deal with the state under which most of the $6 In 2004, trustees of the Long Island Power Authority
billion cost of the unused plant was passed along to Long voted “to erect two 100-foot wind turbines at the 47-acre
Island residents. The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), site of the long-defunct Shoreham nuclear power plant as
headed by Richard Kessel, was created in 1986 specifical- part of a renewable-energy program”.[13]
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant
See also [6] Shoreham and the rise and fall of the nuclear
power industry by Kenneth F. McCallion
• Anti-nuclear movement in the United States [7] Shoreham Action Is One of Largest Held
• Broadwater Energy Worldwide; 15,000 Protest L.I. Atom Plant; 600
• Licensed to Kill? The Nuclear Regulatory Seized 600 Arrested on L.I. as 15,000 Protest at
Commission and the Shoreham Power Plant Nuclear Plant Nuclear Supporter on Hand
• List of canceled nuclear plants in the United States Governor Stresses Safety Thousands Protest
• Nuclear power in the United States Worldwide - New York Times - June 4, 1979
[8] ^ Dennis Hevesi (August 22, 2011). "Nora Bredes,
References Who Fought Long Island Nuclear Plant, Dies at 60".
New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/
[1] LILCO History - fundinguniverse.com - Retrieved 08/23/nyregion/nora-bredes-60-dies-fought-
November 17, 2007 shoreham-nuclear-plant.html?ref=atomicenergy.
[2] ^ Fagin, Dan (2007-05-29). "Lights Out at [9] IN BRIEF; Court Declines Appeal Of Shoreham
Shoreham". Newsday. Archived from the original on Ruling - New York Times - January 26, 2003
2007-12-01. http://web.archive.org/web/ [10] nukeworker.com
20071201005429/http://www.newsday.com/ [11] .http://www.fmmcorp.com/p_power10.html
community/guide/lihistory/ny-history- Shoreham Gas Turbine Project
hs9shore,0,563942.story. Retrieved 2007-08-30. [12] http://www.lipower.org/newscenter/pr/2004/
[3] ^ Grimston, Malcolm (December 2005). "Shoreham june25.csc.html GOVERNOR PATAKI HAILS
- a case study". The Importance of Politics to Nuclear AGREEMENT ON CROSS SOUND CABLE AND GIVES
New Build. London: Chatham House. ORDER TO ENERGIZE CABLE AND MAKE IT
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/files/ OPERATIONAL
3956_dec05nuclear.pdf#page=14. Retrieved [13] Rather, John (October 1, 2004). "Wind Turbines At
2007-08-30. Shoreham". The New York Times.
[4] Shoreham and the rise and fall of the nuclear http://query.nytimes.com/gst/
power industry by Kenneth F. McCallion p. 8. fullpage.html?res=9A05E5DC1338F932A35753C1A9629C8B63.
[5] Shoreham and the rise and fall of the nuclear Retrieved 2011-11-04.
power industry by Kenneth F. McCallion p. 7.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shoreham_Nuclear_Power_Plant&oldid=464515428"
Categories:
• Nuclear power plants in New York
• Energy resource facilities in New York
• Nuclear power stations in the United States
• Brookhaven, New York
This page was last modified on 7 December 2011 at 04:08. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of
the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.Contact us
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Mobile view
3