Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station

Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station
Company type	Nuclear power plant
Industry	Energy
Founded	1969
Headquarters	Scriba, United States
Area served	New York, United States
Products	Electricity generation
Owner	Constellation Energy (Unit 1 fully, 82% of Unit 2), Long Island Power Authority (18% of Unit 2)
Parent	Constellation Energy

Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station is a nuclear power plant situated in Scriba, New York, approximately five miles northeast of Oswego along the shore of Lake Ontario. This location also accommodates the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant.

In April 2011, Exelon, headquartered in Chicago, revealed its intention to acquire Constellation Energy, the entity owning and operating Nine Mile Point. Following approval from FERC, the merger was finalized on March 12, 2012, with Constellation adopting the Exelon brand. However, in 2022, Exelon separated its generation assets back into Constellation Energy. Currently, Constellation holds full ownership of Unit 1 and an 82% stake in Unit 2, while the Long Island Power Authority owns the remaining 18%. Both Units 1 and 2 are operated by Constellation and utilize boiling water reactor (BWR) technology.

Units 1 and 2

The two reactors are General Electric-designed boiling water reactors (BWR). Unit 1 is a BWR-2 model (Generation 2) that commenced operations in 1969 with a capacity of , making it the longest-serving commercial nuclear reactor in the United States. Unit 2, classified as a BWR-5, has been operational since 1988 and has a generating capacity of 1,375 MW. Initially commissioned by Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, ownership remained with them until the plants were sold to Constellation in 2001.

On October 31, 2006, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission extended the operating licenses by 20 years: Unit 1's license now runs through 2029, while Unit 2's extends until 2046.

Unit 2 features a cooling tower standing at 543 feet tall, visible from nearly 30 miles away near Chimney Bluffs, New York. In contrast, Unit 1 cools directly using water from Lake Ontario and does not possess a cooling tower.

In May 2011, General Electric alerted the plant operator about possible calculation errors that might have led to reactor fuel temperatures exceeding expected safety margins.

In 2016, then-Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo instructed the Public Service Commission to evaluate subsidies funded by ratepayers aimed at supporting nuclear plants’ financial viability amid competition from natural gas sources. This directive excluded the Indian Point facility.

Withdrawn unit 3 proposal

Unistar Nuclear, a partnership between Constellation Energy and Électricité de France (EDF), announced plans in late 2008 to file a combined construction and operating license (COL) application for a European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) at the Nine Mile Point site owned by Constellation Energy. Within a year, Unistar requested a temporary halt to the application review process and ultimately withdrew the application in 2013 due to the absence of federal loan guarantees.

Electricity production

**Annual Electricity Output (MWh) at Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station**
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total Annual Generation
2001	1,309,751	1,082,371	996,634	792,703	839,639	1,213,015	1,042,234	1,165,283	1,233,386	1,197,046	1,259,445	1,098,455	13,229,962
2002	1,301,564	1,183,386	857,629	772,513	1,226,472	1,250,520	1,272,099	1,255,248	1,243,747	1,260,796	888,453	730,464	13,242,891
2003	1,318,106	1,086,660	1,037,882	838,868	1,219,947	1,226,521	1,068,496	1,016,544	1,244,842	1,288,636	1,221,228	1,298,812	13,866,542
2004	1,132,313	1,174,594	791,970	495,639	1,249,267	1,236,082	1,282,314	1,248,743	1,163,039	1,268,515	1,271.877	1.287.183	13.601.536
2005	1.317.483	1.188.926	1.101.125	826.387	1.214.595	1.232.033	1.264.159	1.237.864	1.235.761	1.303.254	1.271.780	1314381	14.507.748
2006	1311929	1157117	845319	884828	1305932	1181231	1278746	1279037	1253733	1302056	1268169	1316237	14.384.334
2007	1317419	1153677	826238	1032859	1218774	1246426	1276739	1244518	1208667	1291728	847849	1299130	13.964.024
2008	1316569	1225699	1037712	787827	1297804	1237640	1268441	1279355	1243369	1232911	1150627	1309769	14.387.723
2009	1316673	1169505	1129488	1083746	1309346	1255222	1286215	1277742	1249653	1253744	1268150	1315012	14.914.496
2010	1185280	1167767	1312218	494373	1189133	1243776	1279385	1285670	1249015	1298050	1214643	1319743	14.239.053
2011	1310649	1178658	1120852	941175	1048935	1258797	1275745	1093570	1247499	1305602	1272676	11014611	14.155.619
2012	1316184	1130245	1304973	658199	461139	881195	1154809	13875219	1275120	1351902	961481	1282495	13.165.263
2013	1435237	1289866	14333011	1131870	1163963	13687311	13447411	13968201	13588151	14159311	13277191	11793391	15.846333
2014	1415857	1288293	959694	486946	1360306	1344023	1402344	1398963	1347028	1420433	1386105	1429188	15.239180
2015	1432717	1123379	1166683	11948511	1410404	1366225	1396404	1387647	1284343	1427155	13861811	1422087	15.998076
2016	1434258	13391411	14260351	754831	1245904	13620141	13906601	13886181	13564871	14109251	11524241	12390751	15.500372
2017	1387866	12126791	11714431	12962981	14192871	13617091	13656721	12692401	13131581	14081171	13616251	14257861	15.992880
2018	14254221	12841091	13648051	888698	900404	12904091	13863021	12950571	13459351	14070261	13748311	14198321	15.382830
2019	14233641	12578911	11490661	926790	13283621	13643041	13887991	13885381	14360641	13704961	13681691	14195331	15.821376
2020		14280831		12831071		567783		12238201		14233231		13611611		13838811	13845091	13560531	14150701	13822241	14315941	15.640608
2021		14339881		12745121		12560941		12013831		14119351		13520441		13937581	13739781	13530741	13872251	13543431	14140581	16.206392
2022		14108941		11864091		701970		12246821		13990411		13459471		13751761	13675151	951058	14069441	13701381	14210571	15.790831
2023		14044441		12232761		10810051		10441501		14029441		13488181		13667131	13762291	11435311	13754471	13477641	13925801	15.506901
2024		13955211		12990251		655002		13673271		14041581		13471681		13764911	13813491	11802941	13977571	13134741	13669771	15.484543
-- Data for upcoming years is incomplete --

Surrounding population

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission identifies two distinct emergency planning zones around nuclear facilities: a 10-mile plume exposure pathway zone, which concentrates on airborne radioactive hazards, and a 50-mile ingestion pathway zone, which addresses the risk of consuming contaminated food and beverages.

As of 2010, the number of residents living within a 10-mile radius of Nine Mile Point was 35,632, representing a 17.0% rise compared to the previous ten years. Within a 50-mile radius, the population totaled 909,523, reflecting a 3.2% growth since 2000. Notable urban centers in this area include Syracuse, located approximately 36 miles away.

1991 site area emergency

On August 13, 1991, Nine Mile Point declared a "site area emergency" (SAE) following an electrical malfunction that momentarily disrupted power to the reactor and control room. At that time, this event was only the third SAE ever declared at a U.S. nuclear facility.

The issue originated in phase B of Unit 2's main power transformer, which caused the main generator, turbine, and reactor to trip. This voltage drop led to the failure of five Non-Class 1E uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), whose backup batteries had deteriorated due to age. Consequently, critical systems such as control room annunciators, safety parameter displays, control rod position indicators, plant process computers, and communication equipment were compromised.

Despite these obstacles, plant operators executed a safe reactor shutdown in accordance with emergency procedures. The facility achieved cold shutdown status roughly 13 hours after the event, and the SAE was lifted about one hour thereafter. There were no injuries or radiation leaks reported.

Seismic risk

According to a 2010 NRC assessment, the annual probability of an earthquake causing core damage at Nine Mile Point is estimated at 1 in 238,095 for Reactor 1 and 1 in 178,571 for Reactor 2.

External links