LaSalle County Nuclear Generating Station
| Company type | Nuclear power plant |
|---|---|
| Industry | Energy |
| Founded | October 1982 |
| Headquarters | LaSalle County, Illinois , United States |
| Products | Electricity |
| Owner | Constellation Energy |
LaSalle County Nuclear Generating Station, situated in Brookfield Township, LaSalle County, Illinois, close to Marseilles and southeast of Ottawa, delivers power to Chicago and the broader Northern Illinois region. Since its 2022 separation from Exelon Corporation, the facility has been under the ownership and operation of Constellation Energy. Its two units commenced commercial operations in October 1982 and October 1984, respectively.
The facility consists of a pair of General Electric boiling water reactors (BWR-5, Mark 2 Containment) that collectively generate 2,320 megawatts—enough electricity to supply roughly 2.3 million households. Instead of traditional cooling towers, the plant employs an artificial cooling reservoir known as the LaSalle Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area, which also functions as a regulated fishery managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission establishes two emergency planning zones around nuclear facilities: a 10-mile radius plume exposure pathway zone focused on airborne radioactive hazards, and a broader 50-mile ingestion pathway zone addressing risks related to contaminated food and liquids.
As of 2010, the population residing within 10 miles of LaSalle was 17,643—a growth of 7.1% over ten years. Within a 50-mile radius, the population reached 1,902,775, marking a 22.6% increase since 2000. Cities such as Joliet lie within this 50-mile boundary (approximately 34 miles away).
Site area emergency
On February 20, 2006, at 12:28 AM, LaSalle declared a "site area emergency"—the first such incident at a U.S. nuclear plant since 1991—during Unit 1’s refueling period when a turbine control malfunction led to a reactor SCRAM while operating at 6% power. Initial data indicated that three out of 185 control rods had not fully inserted, prompting the emergency declaration. Following system resets, only one rod appeared uninserted; the emergency was lifted at 4:27 AM without any damage or release of radioactive materials.
Subsequent investigations verified that all control rods were completely inserted within four minutes after the SCRAM event. The anomaly was attributed to sensor misreadings; even if three rods had remained withdrawn during cold shutdown conditions, the reactor would have remained safely offline.
Seismic risk
According to an NRC assessment from 2010, the annual probability of an earthquake causing core damage at LaSalle is estimated at approximately one in 357,143.
Electricity production
2019 1684758 1191576 1446068 1683785 1729058 1651282 1671185 1687784 1644067 1728685 1689639 1627368 19435255 |- 2020 1691513 1064030 1739345 1683521 1719077 1645874 1661558 1681468 1649862 1732431 1685939 1741066 19695684 |- 2024 1700651 1255032 1407986 1678309 1705400 1645531 1678659 1683092 1636382 1721066 1660743 1734987 19507838 |-}See also
External links
- NukeWorker Image Gallery
- La Salle Unit 1 Boiling Water Reactor – U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- La Salle Unit 2 Boiling Water Reactor – U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total Annual Output | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1,719,906 | 1,430,802 | 1,726,371 | 1,583,577 | 1,618,813 | 1,656,447 | 1,667,448 | 1,668,346 | 1,454,565 | 1,305,808 | 1,639,620 | 1,670,311 | 19,142,014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | 1,048,320 | 1,303,448 | 1,737,647 | 1,198,966 | 1,439,437 | 1,638,862 | 1,671,292 | 1,609,356 | 1,596,064 | 1,507,327 | 1,465,012 | 1,707,453 | 17,923,184 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | 1,221,039 | 955,132 | 1,642,365 | 1,620,797 | 1,660,966 | 1,651,144 | 1,520,692 | 1,662,598 | 1,545,582 | 1,699,937 | 1,562,890 | 1,672,837 | 18,415,979 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | 1,173,865 | 1,244,289 | 1,708,196 | 1,649,999 | 1,684687</ small > | < small > 1543318 </ small > | < small > 1670049 </ small > | < small > 1676479 </ small > | < small > 1607626 </ small > | < small > 1702092 </ small > | < small > 1637456 </ small > | < small > 1693904 </ small > | 18991960 | - | 2005 | < small >1701544 </ small > | < small >924250 </ small > | < small >1243173 </ small > | < small >1644514 </ small > | < small >1682247 </ small > | < small >1606502 </ small > | < small >1646412 </ small > | < small >1656701 </ small > | < small >1587797 </ small > | < small >1666369 </ small > | < small >1651246 </ small > | < small >1702903 </ small > | 18713658 | - | 2006 | < small >1705138 </ small > | < small >1287650 </ small > | < small >1200375 </ small > | < small >1648219 </ small > | < small >1657791 </ small > | < small >1619798 </ small > | < small >1660067 </ small > | < small >1659683 </ small > | < small >1620205 </ small > | < small >1702107 </ small > | < small >1648971 </ small > | < small >1697807 </ small > | 19107811 | - | 2007 | < small >1689302 </ small > | < small >1385889 </ small > | < small >1212620 </ small > | < small >1651728 </ small > | < small >1684472 </ small > | < small >1583910 </ small > | < small >1657561 </ small > | < small >1652239 </ small > | < small >1613200 </ small > | < small >1689614 </ small > | 1573602 | 18980136 | |
| 2008 | 1481454 | 862805 | 1653909 | 1657292 | 1693554 | 1632500 | 1668512 | 1664467 | 1549476 | 1631809 | 1662722 | 1690064 | 18848564 |