Salem Nuclear Power Plant

Salem Nuclear Power Plant

Company type	Joint venture
Industry	Nuclear power generation
Founded	1968
Headquarters	Lower Alloways Creek Township , United States
Area served	United States
Owner	PSEG (57%), Constellation Energy (43%)

Salem Nuclear Power Plant

The Salem Nuclear Power Plant consists of two pressurized water reactor units situated in Lower Alloways Creek Township, New Jersey, within Salem County, United States. Ownership is shared between PSEG (57%) and Constellation Energy (43%), with PSEG responsible for the plant's operation.

In 2019, New Jersey implemented Zero-Emission Certificates valued at $300 million annually to support nuclear facilities such as Salem. This financial assistance concluded in 2024, effective June 1, 2025, as the Inflation Reduction Act introduced alternative tax incentives promoting clean energy development.

Location

Positioned approximately 18 miles south of Wilmington, Delaware, the Salem Nuclear Generating Station occupies an artificial island in Delaware Bay alongside the Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station. Together, these sites represent the fourth largest nuclear power generation complex in the United States.

Salem operates two Westinghouse-manufactured pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Construction commenced in 1968, with Unit 1 beginning commercial service in 1977 and Unit 2 following in 1981. The entire facility covers roughly 740 acres.

Reactors

The two PWR units supplied by Westinghouse have a total electrical output capacity of 2,275 MWe. In 2009, PSEG submitted applications for license extensions of twenty years for both reactors, which were granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 2011. Unit 1’s license extends through August 13, 2036, while Unit 2’s license is valid until April 18, 2040.

Surrounding population

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission designates two emergency planning zones: a ten-mile radius plume exposure zone addressing airborne radioactive hazards and a fifty-mile ingestion pathway zone concerning consumption of contaminated food or liquids.

According to 2010 data, the population residing within ten miles of Salem totaled 52,091—a growth of 54.1% over ten years. Within fifty miles, the population reached 5,482,329, marking a 7.6% increase since 2000.

Significant urban centers within fifty miles include:

• New Jersey: Camden (39mi), Vineland (27mi)
• Delaware: Dover (21mi), Wilmington (19mi)
• Pennsylvania: Philadelphia (43mi)

Safety issues

During the 1990s, Salem’s reactors experienced a two-year shutdown due to maintenance deficiencies. Expert evaluations uncovered issues such as a leaking generator, unreliable reactor control systems, and a workplace environment that discouraged reporting problems. Consequently, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission intensified regulatory oversight over Salem in 2004.

Subsequent NRC investigations and independent assessments identified minor concerns including insufficient routine maintenance and diminished employee morale but affirmed that safety standards were maintained.

On August 22, 2013, Salem was briefly taken offline following a leak of mildly radioactive water contained entirely within the plant’s containment structure without posing public danger. Normal operations resumed within two days.

In May 2014, broken bolts from a cooling pump were discovered inside the reactor vessel of Salem Unit 2 during refueling activities. Westinghouse conducted inspections uncovering additional loose bolts. Unit 2 returned to service on July 11, 2014.

Cooling process and aquatic life impact

The Salem Nuclear Generating Station extracts several billion gallons of water each day from the Delaware River to serve its cooling needs, discharging the water back at higher temperatures. This practice has drawn criticism from environmental organizations such as the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, headed by Maya van Rossum, due to its association with significant fish fatalities—estimated at approximately 3 billion adult fish annually, in addition to eggs and larvae. Van Rossum asserts that the facility is responsible for eliminating nearly 48% of the striped bass population in the Delaware River every year.

Additionally, populations of bay anchovy have experienced a decline. Van Rossum has labeled the plant as the “largest predator in the Delaware estuary.” These ecological consequences have resulted in extended legal confrontations between advocacy groups and regulatory authorities.

Disputes over water discharge permits

In October 2013, a lawsuit was filed by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, New Jersey Sierra Club, and Clean Water Action against the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), citing delays in renewing Salem plant’s water discharge permit. The legal challenge focused on NJDEP’s failure to act on PSE&G’s 2006 New Jersey Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) permit application and questioned whether implementing cooling towers was necessary to mitigate fish mortality.

By November 2014, a settlement was reached where NJDEP committed to releasing a draft discharge permit by June 30, 2015. This permit did not impose a requirement for cooling towers on Salem Units 1 and 2, thereby avoiding an estimated expenditure of $1 billion.

Power generation

Electricity Generation (MWh) at Salem Nuclear Power Plant (Nuclear Output Only)

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual Total
2001	1,628,101	1,476,038	1,636,734	898,461	956,394	1,555,773	1,635,714	1,640,717	1,340,729	1,216,108	1,572,067	1,648,210	17,205,046
2002	1,488,857	1,488,857	1,379,434	892,102	1,179,097	1,593,794	1,645,258	1,640,861	1,580,364	1,058,506	1,384,535	1,667,409	16,999,074
2003
1,491,748	1,499,538	1,544,442	1,645,766	1,602,610	1,578,978	1,562,350	1,167,010	958,594	810,053	1,653,057	15,514,146
2004	1,646,987	1,571,693	1,621,231	781 ,182	520 ,553	1 ,398 ,370	1 ,446 ,170	1 ,708 ,616	1 ,349 ,519	1 ,713 ,702	1 ,658 ,472	780 ,544	16 ,197 ,039
2005	1 ,735 ,382	1 ,573 ,110	1 ,741 ,799	875 ,865	1 ,387 ,424	1 ,648 ,504	1 ,704 ,117	1 ,676 ,623	1 ,632 ,572	1 ,144 ,062	1 ,495 ,383	1 ,729 ,597	18 ,344 ,438
2006	1 ,740 ,543	1 ,555 ,055	1 ,638 ,043	1 ,672 ,530	1 ,716 ,863	1 ,650 ,329	1 ,677 ,674	1 ,664 ,945	1 ,566 ,550	1 ,086 ,234	1 ,638 ,970	1 ,741 ,231	19 ,348 ,967
2007	1 ,742 ,364	1 ,572 ,703	1 ,569 ,646	936  155	1392   982	1593   517	1698   054	1647   440	1639   591	1718   133	1686   017	1631   592	18     828     194
2008	1712     247	1622     282	1096     556	841     672	1298     550	1662     476	1700     993	1717     567	1632     594	1221     757	1273     312	1758     719	17     538     725
2009	1773     789	1595     891	1682     961	1702     558	1734     739	1673     693	1726     023	1716     463	Water usage Salem Units 1 and 2 rely on water sourced from Delaware Bay for their cooling processes. This water is extracted via an intake structure equipped with rotating screens designed to filter out debris, which is subsequently cleared away. Occasionally, significant accumulations of grass can obstruct the intake system, resulting in the reactors operating at diminished power levels for prolonged durations. Around 2 gigawatts of waste heat generated from the steam cycle are released into the bay, with regulatory limits ensuring that temperature rises do not exceed 1 °C during summer months and 2 °C in other seasons. The large on-site closed-cycle cooling tower supports the neighboring Hope Creek facility and is not utilized by the Salem reactors. See also List of largest power stations in the United States External links Official PSEG website DoE Page