Clinton Power Station

Clinton Power Station

Company type	Nuclear power plant
Industry	Electricity generation
Founded	November 24, 1987 (1987-11-24) near Clinton, Illinois, United States
Headquarters	Clinton , United States
Products	Electricity (1062 MWe nominal net electrical capacity), medical isotopes (cobalt-60)
Owner	Constellation Energy (current), formerly Exelon Corporation, Illinois Power (original)

The Clinton Power Station is a nuclear power plant situated near Clinton, Illinois, United States. It commenced commercial operations on November 24, 1987, delivering a nominal net electrical capacity of 1062 MWe. The total expense for construction amounted to $4.25 billion—approximately 1,000% above the initial $430 million estimate—and the project was finalized seven years past its original deadline.

This facility runs a single Generation II General Electric Boiling Water Reactor (BWR-6 Mark 3). The current operating license, granted on April 17, 1987, remains valid until September 29, 2026. Although there were intentions to build a second reactor, those plans were ultimately discontinued. The former owner, Exelon, revealed in June 2017 its intention to shut down the plant due to economic difficulties in wholesale electricity markets and ongoing financial deficits. Nevertheless, the closure was prevented when Illinois enacted SB 2814, known as The Future Energy Jobs Bill, which provides Zero Emission Credits for the plant’s carbon-free power generation. This legislation helps preserve approximately 4,200 jobs and supports an annual output of 22 billion kilowatt-hours of emissions-free electricity.

The power station occupies roughly 150 acres within a broader 14,300-acre property that includes the adjacent Clinton Lake cooling reservoir spanning 5,000 acres. The site and reservoir are owned by the operator and also encompass the Clinton Lake State Recreation Area, which is accessible to the public for various outdoor recreational activities.

Electricity production

Generation (MWh) at Clinton Power Station

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual (Total)
2001	693,528	557,943	692,222	670,968	620,829	665,724	639,211	680,796	661,884	691,962	669,337	634,560	7,878,964
2002	686,395	622,523	681,258	10,524	458,081	734,215	709,581	765,868	729,480	760,914	736,406	762,212	7,657,457
2003	756,222	686,721	762,014	666,612	758,477	749,390	774,100	773,936	731,688	717,533	725,407	596,889	8,698,989
2004	660,840	64,713	679,850	748,191	607,147	756,957	636,993</ small >	< small > 782 , 402 </ small >	< small > 753 , 763 </ small >	< small > 782 , 140 </ small >	< small > 758 , 516 </ small >	< small > 782 , 457 </ small >	8 ,013 ,969
2005	< small >729 ,820 </ small >	< small >497 ,733 </ small >	< small >600 ,267 </ small >	< small >727 ,138 </ small >	< small >779 ,612 </ small >	< small >755 ,483 </ small >	< small >780 ,877 </ small >	< small >769 ,500 </ small >	< small >740 ,927 </ small >	< small >784 ,439 </ small >	< small >757 ,141 </ small >	< small >769 ,137 </ small >	8 ,692 ,074
2006	< small >711 ,706 </ small >	< small >16 ,769 </ small >	< small >605 ,509 </ small >	< small >768 ,766 </ small >	< small >791 ,504 </ small >	< small >769 ,539 </ small >	< small >793 ,326 </ small >	< small >718 ,172 </ small >	< small >765 ,464 </ small >	< small >795 ,853 </ small >	< small >770 ,550 </ small >	< small >725 ,149 </ small >	8 ,232 ,307
2007	< small >796 ,303 </ small >	< small >719 ,640 </ small >	< small >781 ,718 </ small >	< small >777 ,209 </ small >	< small >794 ,186 </ small >	< small >705 ,543 </ smal l >	< smal l >791 ,374 </ smal l >	< smal l >787 ,282 </ smal l >	< smal l >762 ,709 </ smal l >	< smal l >795 ,073 </ smal l >	< smal l >773 ,891 </ smal l >	< smal l >765 ,508 </ smal l >	9 ,250 ,436
2008	250 ,571	545 ,163	800 ,267	775 ,024	798 ,451	770 ,414	794 ,643	794 ,021	767 ,565	798 ,612	775 ,841	679 ,331	8 ,549 ,903
2009	799 ,748	717 ,787	798 ,222	774 ,484	766 ,014	768 ,172	793 ,462	792 ,113	713 ,349	422 ,334	771 ,859	770 ,370	8 ,887 ,914
2010	229 792  507 337  800 980  776 268  796 741  769 311  791 383  790 533  769 119  801 339  777 272  801 923 ! 8 611 998 | -| 2011| 802964| 720850| 802765| 763633| 793708| 763581| 767884| 784185| 759589| 794197| 731878| 186232| 8671466 | -| 2012| 800875| 748502| 794991| 772445| 791392| 765358| 784073| 787156| 762308| 796953| 774233| 795440| 9373726 | -| 2013| 798204| 693478| 722847| 666502| 788048| 763789| 784181| 781022| 755895| 152499| 721206| 567877| 8195548 | -| 2014| 798626| 705590| 553245| 771969| 763235| 787715| 767386| 791123| 763609| 797622| 774000 | 797591 | 9071711 | - | 2015 | 666063 | 722716 | 795311 | 644815 | 322799 | 771162 | 797145 | 793930 | 766668 | 800523 | 778391 | 804314 ! 8663837 | - | 2016 | 803530 | 751282 | 799399 | 718766 | 439549 | 769819 | 795383 | 794360 | 658370 | 802938 | 778735 | 802322 ! 8914453 | - | 2017 | 805837 | 727742 | 801261 | 746024 | 166378 | 614941 | 742963 | 795048 | 750871 | 797275 | 775132 | 624864 ! 8348336 |
2018	\-800713	\-699423	\-797172	\-731280	\-208998	\-769275	\-791891	\-741340	\-679613	\-685950	\-639256	\-801775	\-8346686
2019	\-780176	\-723735	\-803490	\-780927	\-780345	\-771775	\-792713	\-651768	\-377261	\-315412	\-782823	\-802864	\-8363289
2020	\-807109	\-753653	\-794890	\-779734	\-802662	\-771258	\-792200	\-789696	\-774848	\-811032	\-776256	\-809143	\-9462481
2021	\-759598	\-731141	\-758892	\-777328	\-799985	\ -767358	\ -793577	\ -783906	\ -625754	\ -8809	\ -739897	\ -802461	\ -8348706
2022	\ -639079	\ -730967	\ -804557	\ -772055	\ -789691	\ -763008	\ -784386	\ -788027	\ -756455	\ -805538	\ -782147	\ -808112	\ -9223022
2023	\ -801403	\ -588335	\ -806281	\ -772864	\ -409189	\ -779336	\ -805762	\ -796540	\ -239727	\ -496236	\ -791248	\ -814707	\ -8401628
2024	\ -815580	\ -763954	\ -809602	\ -790338	\ -809776	\ -784757	\ -808820	\ -809167	\ -766851	\ -813624	\ -786569	\ -816639	\ -9575677
2025	\ -815751	\ -736440	\ -814207	\ -787711	} Ownership Transition to Exelon The plant encountered significant operational difficulties in its early years, including frequent maintenance shutdowns and nearly half of the time offline between September 1988 and October 1989. By 1997, it was among the highest-cost electricity producers in the Midwest. Less than ten years after opening, Illinois Power, the original owner, ceased operations in 1996 due to technical malfunctions and safety infractions, which led to a $450,000 penalty. Acknowledging that running a single nuclear facility was financially unfeasible in the deregulated energy market, Illinois Power kept the plant idle for approximately three years while searching for a purchaser. Exelon Corporation purchased the station for $40 million, acquiring both the reactor fuel and responsibility for radioactive waste management. After Exelon’s corporate restructuring, Constellation Energy assumed ownership and operational control. In 2001, Exelon applied for a 20% power increase—from 2894 MWt to 3473 MWt—resulting in an additional 193 MWe. This uprate was the largest approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission until 2012. Medical Radioisotope Production In January 2010, GE-Hitachi announced plans to manufacture cobalt-60 at the Clinton boiling water reactor during scheduled outages. Cobalt-60 serves critical roles in cancer treatment, sterilization processes, food irradiation, and materials testing. The isotope is produced by placing cobalt-59 rods into the reactor core where neutron capture transforms them into cobalt-60. Historically, over 80% of global cobalt-60 supply originated from Canada’s aging National Research Universal (NRU) reactor. Clinton became unique as the only light water reactor producing cobalt-60, thereby broadening supply sources. Exelon Nuclear’s president Charles Pardee emphasized this initiative as a valuable contribution to essential medical technologies. In September 2011, GE-Hitachi and Exelon initiated a feasibility study to manufacture molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) at Clinton. Mo-99 decays into technetium-99m (Tc-99m), which is used in roughly 50 million diagnostic imaging procedures annually. Because Tc-99m has a six-hour half-life and Mo-99 only lasts about 66 hours, dependable local production is crucial. Presently, most Mo-99 is generated by irradiating uranium-235 targets in five aging research reactors worldwide. Interruptions at these facilities have led to global shortages, highlighting the strategic value of alternative production approaches such as those under consideration at Clinton. Prospective Developments Exelon submitted an Early Site Permit application in September 2003 for a second reactor at the Clinton location; this permit was granted on March 15, 2007. While it streamlines future approvals for building an additional AP1000 reactor, it does not authorize construction or specify power output. Plans for constructing a second unit were suspended in June 2016. Initially, Reactor 1 was scheduled to close in June 2017 due to financial losses amid competitive wholesale electricity markets; however, these shutdown plans were reversed following enactment of Illinois Senate Bill 2814. In December 2016, Illinois approved financial incentives to support Exelon by providing either one cent per kWh or $235 million annually to maintain operations at Clinton and Quad Cities Nuclear Generating Station for at least ten years amid falling natural gas prices. In October 2022, Constellation declared intentions to extend Clinton’s operating license through 2047. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear plants: a plume exposure pathway zone extending , which addresses airborne radioactive contamination exposure; and an ingestion pathway zone of approximately , focused on consumption of contaminated food and liquids. According to 2010 data, the population within of Clinton was 14,677—a slight decline of 0.4% over ten years—while within , it increased by 5.7% since 2000 to total 813,658 residents. Nearby urban centers include Champaign, Decatur, Bloomington-Normal, parts of Springfield, and the Peoria metropolitan area. Seismic risk According to a 2010 assessment by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the likelihood of an earthquake leading to core damage at Clinton is approximately one in 400,000 annually. In popular culture The nearby nuclear facility inspired the Clinton-based radio station WHOW to adopt the slogan "WHOW, your radio active station" in April 1989. Clinton Lake, which was constructed to serve as a cooling reservoir for the nuclear plant, is the site of the yearly Midwestern Glow In The Dark Regatta. Organized by the Clinton Lake Sailing Association, this regatta draws sailboat competitors from across the country; in 2018, it featured 34 teams representing eight states. References Exelon | Clinton Power Station External links