Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station

Beaver Valley Power Station

Company type	Power station
Industry	Nuclear power
Founded	1976
Headquarters	Shippingport, Pennsylvania , United States
Area served	Pennsylvania, United States
Products	Electricity generation (nuclear)
Owner	Vistra Corp

Beaver Valley Power Station is a nuclear power plant situated along the Ohio River near Shippingport, Pennsylvania, approximately northwest of Pittsburgh. Managed by Vistra Corp, the facility operates two Westinghouse pressurized water reactor units. As of 2023, it stands as the fourth largest employer within Beaver County.

The design of Beaver Valley 1 served as the prototype for the French Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant, highlighting its role in shaping nuclear technology internationally.

In 2018, the previous owner, FirstEnergy Solutions, filed for bankruptcy and intended to retire the plant by 2021. Nevertheless, after exiting bankruptcy in 2020 under new ownership by Energy Harbor, the planned closure was halted following Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf's decision to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. In 2024, Vistra Corp acquired Energy Harbor and Beaver Valley.

Surrounding population

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission establishes two emergency planning zones around nuclear facilities: a 10-mile radius plume exposure pathway zone targeting airborne radioactive contamination, and a 50-mile ingestion pathway zone concerned with contaminated food and liquids.

In 2010, the population residing within 10 miles of Beaver Valley was 114,514, reflecting a decline of 6.6% since 2000. The population within a 50-mile radius was 3,140,766, showing a decrease of 3.7%. Notable urban centers within this area include Pittsburgh, located 27 miles upriver.

Seismic risk

An NRC report from August 2010 estimates the annual probability of an earthquake causing core damage at Beaver Valley to be approximately 1 in 20,833 for Reactor 1 and 1 in 45,455 for Reactor 2.

Electricity production

Electricity Generation (MWh) at Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual Total
2001	1,231,013	1,102,516	1,166,836	950,419	1,233,917	1,121,462	1,217,758	1,198,702	591,649	1,025,347	1,142,673	1,196,944	13,179,236
2002	1,251,304	608,240	1,153,187	1,145,473	1,184,805	1,192,272	1,221,348	1,225,802	1,154,533	1,249,381	965,672	1,242,688	13,594,705
2003	1,255,979	1,055,681	697,138	603,373	1,170,240	1,166,613	1,236,025	1,231,773	827,308	934,518	1,176,607	1,263,843	12,619,098
2004	1 ,251 ,657	1 ,177 ,942	1 ,220 ,378	1 ,188 ,612	1 ,225 ,320	1 ,201 ,024	1 ,220 ,772	1 ,235 ,005	1 ,195 ,867	952 ,187	864 ,397	1 ,260 ,218	13 ,993 ,379
2005	1 ,255 ,576	1 ,090 ,158	1 ,199 ,215	668 ,912	1 ,207 ,987	1 ,191 ,284	1 ,219 ,273	1 ,223 ,496	1 ,194 ,150	1 ,248 ,452	1 ,213 ,007	1 ,258 ,802	13 ,970 ,312
2006	1 ,254 ,947	792 ,833	624 ,592	697 ,832	1 ,186 ,048	1 ,191 ,446	1 ,220 ,324	1 ,113 ,204	1 ,172 ,583	653 ,918	944 ,844	1 ,282 ,740	12 ,135 ,311
2007	1 285 853	1 154 054	1 261 440	1 279 576	1 308 772	1 224 796	1 300 702	1 281 551	1 075 003	757 142	1 281 442	1 330 533	14 540 864
2008   132838181   1211375   131380181   911269   792501   1284269   1326577   1333679   1256559   124586161	1310912	1355952	14671136
2009	1357886	1216023	1354586	1037877	861301	1294649	1335155	1322102	1297394	900693	689664	1344115	14011445
2010	1357353	1225085	1353752	1247013	1345076	1290446	1326140	1311559	129456161	678679	121532161	1348579	14993564
20111358220		1223500		794430		945182		1380844		1292883		1322972		1333629		1297709		1353637		1314586		1359030		14976622
2012	1359448	1272132	1344520	808692	1161799	1292939	1268412	1329804	1110623	671637	1262546	1377604	14260156
2013	1375394	1178630	1377800	1322946	1269906	1100118	1342437	1348437	1262925	685882	1116453	1398375	14779303
2014	844865	1243056	1395377	1047970	844775	1321456	1364524	1364878	1328888	1252314	13512311	1397972	14757306
2015	1398293	1261672	1391529	1037656	829260	1269925	1364082	1366499	1174970	703561	1346473	1393852	14537772
2016	1397675	1094983	1389378	1344236	1377025	1299133	1345488	1347302	1072007	=805867	=1349777	=1396703	15219574
2017	=1394300	=1257282	=13813411	=1064573	=899597	=1314750	=1349908	=1357233	=13205331	=1373254	=1207854	=1390882	15311507
2018	=13817561	=12526021	=13807101	=949395	=11321381	=12904251	=12607961	=12542161	=12946481	=10490571	=10143191	=13933941	14653456
2019	=13933661	=12562031	=13805321	=13207611	=13662441	=13067621	=13442441	=13535681	=12570071	=874858	=12105061	=13924191	15456470
2020	=13917321	=13026731	=13402531	=857986	=12064581	=13101201	=12085931	=13636031	=13136741	=13723071	=13385121	=13874821	15393393
20211391329	=12544531	=13747631	=862925	=10756091	=13006471	=13521211	=13483841	=13086931	=781423	=949760	=13812891	14381396
20221387928	=12521031	=13794421	=13339661	=13607961	=955857	=13203531	=13480941	=13149361	=845831	=862952	>13877691	14750027
20231387043	>12514491	>13707801	>831678	>849294	>13182441	>13509511	>13559431	>12291981	>13370871	>13433391	>13874471	15012453
20241386896	>12984441	>13129021	>930638	>849757	>12956181	>13511191	>13540731	>13193631	>952110	>10208601	>13890451	14460825
20251390809	>11688651	>13761251	>13277711	>13474511

See also

• Shippingport Reactor – Located next to Beaver Valley Power Station
• Energy in the United States
  • Renewable energy in the United States