Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station
| Company type | Nuclear power plant (decommissioned) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Energy |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Founder | Boston Edison |
| Defunct | 2019 |
| Fate | Decommissioned; sold to Holtec Decommissioning International |
| Headquarters | Plymouth, Massachusetts , United States |
| Products | Electricity generation (690 MWe capacity) |
| Parent | Entergy Corporation (1999–2019) |
Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS) was a nuclear energy facility situated in the Manomet neighborhood of Plymouth, Massachusetts, along the shores of Cape Cod Bay. Developed by Bechtel, the plant operated a General Electric BWR-3 boiling water reactor equipped with a Mark 1 pressure suppression containment system and an associated generator. With a generating capacity of 690 MWe, it contributed approximately 14% of the electrical supply for Massachusetts.
On October 13, 2015, the plant's proprietors declared plans to cease operations by June 1, 2019, attributing the decision to "market conditions and rising expenses," which included mandatory safety enhancements costing tens of millions. The decommissioning process is anticipated to span several decades due to the gradual reduction of radioactive materials.
History
Constructed in 1972 at a cost of $231 million by Boston Edison, ownership transferred in 1999 to Louisiana-based Entergy Corporation following deregulation in the electric utility sector.
An emergency shutdown occurred on April 11, 1986, triggered by equipment failure. Subsequently, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) characterized Pilgrim as ″one of the most poorly managed″ nuclear facilities in the country.
Spent nuclear fuel was retained on-site pending federal directives after the Yucca Mountain project was abandoned in 2009.
Initially authorized to operate until 2012, Entergy sought a 20-year license extension in 2006. The NRC granted this extension in May 2012 despite opposition from local organizations such as Pilgrim Watch and state officials concerned about on-site spent fuel storage hazards.
Security measures were intensified after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. That summer, power output was curtailed when elevated water temperatures surpassed NRC regulatory limits during a heatwave.
On August 22, 2013, a design defect led to the tripping of two primary feedwater pumps while running at 98% capacity. This event prompted a manual SCRAM and activated emergency core cooling systems. Operators quickly stabilized conditions, averting a critical event.
An unplanned shutdown caused by severe weather took place on January 27, 2015.
Operations concluded on May 31, 2019, initiating the decommissioning phase. In August of that year, Entergy sold Pilgrim to Holtec International’s subsidiary Holtec Decommissioning International, which now oversees dismantling activities. Both companies anticipate completing site remediation and preparing it for alternative uses significantly sooner than originally forecasted.
Electricity Production
！2013＃/ ！352、154＃/ ！315、145＃/ ！469、668＃/ ！189、221＃/ ！7、788＃/ ！473、949＃/ ！499、580＃/ ！380、750＃/ ！327、986＃/ ！386、722＃/ ！486、474＃/ ！441、206＃/ ！4、330、643＃/ ！2014＃/ ！508、677＃/ ！459、371＃/ ！502、304＃/ ！491、227＃/ ！413、473＃/ ！482、972＃/ ！506、160＃/ ！426、297＃/ ！486、567＃/ ！499、872＃/ ！492、016＃/ ！500、218＃/ ！5、769、154＃/ ！2015＃/ ！429、392＃/ ！252、653＃/ ！505、736＃/ ！302、697＃/ ！107、757＃/ ！475、870＃/ ！503、035＃/ ！442、078＃/ ！485、608＃/ ！497、922＃/ ！490、691＃/ ！501、367＃/ ！4 、994 、806 ＃ / ！！2016 ＼ / ！！508 、090 ＼ / ！！402 、912 ＼ / ！！498 、382 ＼ / ！！489 、091 ＼ / ！！495 、025 ＼ / ！！471 、322 ＼ / ！！501 、420 ＼ / ！！397 、177 ＼ / ！！297 、304 ＼ / ！！490 、224 ＼ / ！！488 、314 ＼ / ！！375 、057 ＼ / ！！！5 、414 、318 ＼ / ！！！2017＼ / ！！！505 、324＼ / ！！！344 、134＼ / ！！！496 、099＼ / ！！！134 、928＼ / ！！！126 、473＼ / ！！！482 、305＼ / ！！！501 、875＼ / ！！！494 、508＼ / ！！！476 、799＼ / ！！！490 、220＼ / ！！！488 、578＼ / ！！！505 、927＼ / ！！！5 、047 、170＼ / ！！！2018＼ / ！！！393 、142＼ / ！！！455 、535＼ / ！！！82 、968＼ / ！！！114 、483＼ / ！！！443 、221＼ / ！！！436 、915＼ / ！！！491 、071＼ / ！！！390 、998＼ / ！！！308 、016＼ / ！！！372 、125＼ / ！！！448 、844＼ / ！！！504 、245＼ / ！！！4 、441 、563＼ / ！！！2019＼ / ！！！450 、438＼ / ！！！455 、294＼ / ！！！492 、267＼ / ！！！476 、826＼ / ！！！302 、379＼ /| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total Annual Output |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 491,137 | 449,547 | 490,652 | 315,658 | 149,753 | 455,358 | 491,576 | 411,345 | 475,870 | 497,586 | 484,169 | 431,382 | 5,144,033 |
| 2002 | 497,784 | 452,918 | 492,733 | 481,927 | 493,183 | 460,816 | 466,456 | 493,256 | 461,774 | 496,480 | 480,311 | 491,128 | 5,768,766 |
| 2003 | 497,165 | 316,163 | 464,668 | 283,436 | 181,530 | 435,051 | 508,524 | 498,276 | 456,319 | 337,364 | 491,003 | 508,456 | 4,977,955 |
| 2004 | 512,970 | 479,839 | 455,553 | 494,514 | 510,344 | 489,062 | 502,238 | 507,669 | 480,302 | 506,741</ small > | < small >487 ,798 </ small > | < small >511 ,570 </ small > | 5 ,938 ,600 |
| 2005 | < small >507 ,583 </ small > | < small >453 ,958 </ small > | < small >495 ,507 </ small > | < small >242 ,596 </ small > | < small >291 ,667 </ small > | < small >488 ,551 </ small > | < small >506 ,701 </ small > | < small >502 ,668 </ small > | < small >491 ,688 </ small > | < small >496 ,574 </ small > | < small >486 ,613 </ small > | < small >510 ,951 </ small > | 5 ,475 ,057 |
| 2006 | < small >475 ,558 </ small > | < small >461 ,696 </ small > | < small >417 ,109 </ small > | < small >492 ,887 </ small > | < small >508 ,402 </ small > | < small >479 ,200 </ small > | < small >507 ,333 </ small > | < small >498 ,435 </ small > | < small >487 ,899 </ small > | < small >501 ,301 </ small > | < small >491 ,784 </ small > | < small >508 ,054 </ small > | 5 ,829 ,658 |
| 2007 | < small >496 ,378 </ small > | < small >434 ,146 </ small > | < small >382 ,851 </ small > | < small >73 ,456 </ small > | < small >345 ,315 </ small > | < small >491 ,401 </ small > | < small >443 ,982 </ small > | < small >500 ,238 </ small > | < small >487 ,024 </ small > | < small >503 ,198 </ small > | < small >494 ,987 </ small > | < small >466 ,813 </ small > | 5 ,119 ,789 |
| 2008 | < small >511 ,679 </ small > | < small >478 ,576 </ small > | < small >510 ,487 </ small > | < small >448 ,398 </.small > | <.small >506 ,841 </.small > | <.small >484 ,157 </.small > | <.small >507 ,534 </.small > | <.small >496 ,811 </.small > | <.small >487 ,785 </.small > | <.small >502 ,739 </.small > | <.small >492 ,357 </.small > | <.small >441 ,275 </小＞ | 5，868，639 |
2009
｜＜小＞510，067＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞451，656＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞507，752＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞263，007＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞185，075＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞488，015＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞499，073＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞499，942＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞487，629＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞503，203＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞491，784＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞508，818＜/小＞ |
5，396，021 | ||||||||||||
2010
｜＜小＞509，476＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞460，217＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞505，149＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞492，103＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞496，145＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞489，418＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞496，441＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞497，437＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞485，461＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞497，636＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞485，472＜/小＞ ｜＜小＞502，858＜/ 小 ＞ |
5 ，917 ，813 | ||||||||||||
2011
｜ ＜ 小 ＞507 ，453 ＜ / 小 ＞ ｜ ＜ 小 ＞394 ，924 ＜ / 小 ＞ ｜ ＜ 小 ＞482 ，848 ＜ / 小 ＞ ｜ ＜ 小 ＞235 ，351 ＜ / 小 ＞ ｜ ＜ 小 ＞200 ，811 ＜ / 小 ＞ ｜ ＜ 小 ＞486 ，064 ＜ / 小 ＞ ｜ ＜ 小 ＞497 ，546 ＜ / 小 ＞ ｜ ＜ 小 ＞500 ，808 ＜ / 小 ＞ ｜ ＜ 小 ＞480 ，965 ＜ / 小 ＞ ｜ ＜ 小 ＞502 ，863 ＜ / 小 ＞ ｜ ＜ 小 ＞354 ，234 ＜ / 小 ＞ ｜ ＜ 小 ＞441 ，353 ＜ / 小 ＞ |
5 ，085 ，220 | ||||||||||||
| 2012
｜ ＜ 小 ＞506 ，958 ＜ / 小 ＞ ｜ ＜ 小 ＞468 ，256 ＜ / Small＞ ｜ ＜ Small＞504、978 ＃/ ｜ ＜ Small＞489、186 ＃/ ｜ ＜ Small＞442、317 ＃/ ｜ ＜ Small＞477、496 ＃/ ｜ ＜ Small＞491、625 ＃/ ｜ ＜ Small＞497、598 ＃/ ｜ ＜ Small＞485、638 ＃/ ｜ ＜ Small＞505、011 ＃/ ｜ ＜ Small＞483、192 ＃/ ｜ ＜ Small＞507、285 ＃/ ！5、859、540＃/ | |||||||||||||
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
2､177､204 |
Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission established two distinct emergency planning zones surrounding nuclear facilities: a 10-mile (16 km) plume exposure pathway zone, which addresses airborne radioactive contamination, and a 50-mile (80 km) ingestion pathway zone, which focuses on the risk of contaminated food and beverages.
As of 2010, the population residing within a 10-mile radius of Pilgrim numbered 75,835, marking a 40.5% growth compared to ten years earlier. Within the broader 50-mile zone, the population reached 4,737,792, reflecting a 10.2% rise since 2000. Notable urban centers within this area included Boston, located approximately 35 miles from the plant’s central point.
Environmental impacts on Cape Cod Bay
PNPS operated one boiling water reactor paired with a steam turbine generator, employing a once-through cooling system that extracted roughly 480 million gallons of seawater daily from Cape Cod Bay. This intake resulted in temperature elevations of up to 3 °C (5.4 °F) during peak operational periods.
The most significant ecological effect stemmed from impingement and entrainment (I&E) of marine life during the water intake process. Entrainment involves small aquatic organisms being pulled through the cooling apparatus, whereas impingement occurs when creatures become trapped against intake screens. Monitoring of I&E has been ongoing since 1974 at PNPS, with annual reports indicating the loss of millions of marine organisms. The EPA has documented approximately 68 species impacted by these processes, including 26 species valued for commercial or recreational fishing.
During the license renewal evaluation, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission concluded that overall environmental effects would be minor but acknowledged potential localized impacts on populations such as winter flounder and Jones River rainbow smelt. Additionally, small to moderate cumulative effects on various other marine species were noted.
Marine life impinged upon intake screens was discharged back into the environment as sediment deposits, creating shadow zones that diminished light penetration and oxygen levels, thereby affecting nearby aquatic flora and fauna. Nevertheless, both intake and discharge canal areas continued to serve as favored and productive fishing locations for local anglers.
Seismic risk
The NRC assessed the annual probability of an earthquake causing core damage at the Pilgrim facility to be approximately 1 in 14,493, ranking it as the second highest risk among operating nuclear plants during its operational period.
External links
- Energy infrastructure completed in 1972
- Buildings and structures in Plymouth, Massachusetts
- Nuclear power plants in Massachusetts
- Entergy
- Former nuclear power stations in the United States
- 1972 establishments in Massachusetts
- 2019 disestablishments in Massachusetts
- Energy infrastructure closed in the 2010s