Decommissioned Nuclear Power Plants in USA
Sorted by Mwe – Megawatts of Energy from largest to smallest
Updated 9-29-16
This table shows that as of this writing, SONGS, the decommissioned San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station is the largest privately owned beachfront nuclear waste dump in the USA. The power plant had three nuclear generators with a total capacity of 2,800 MWe, creating many millions of pounds of radioactive waste that’s toxic to humans for millions of years. While the facility is located approximately 500 feet from the Pacific Ocean, the actual waste or ISFSI (Independent Spent Fuel Installation) will be stored in steel canisters 108 feet from the beach at San Onofre State Park.
Region |
Near Water (YES / NO) |
Name |
Location |
Get Map |
Capacity (MWe) |
Commission date |
Decommission date |
Years Operated |
| NRC 4 | YES, 600 ft from Columbia River | N-Reactor – Government Owned | Hanford Site, Washington | Get Map | 4,000 | 1964 | Dec-86 | 22 |
| NRC 4 | YES 500 ft from Pacific | San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Unit 3 | San Diego County, California | Get Map | 1,178 | 1-Apr-84 | 7-Jun-13 | 29 |
| NRC 4 | YES 500 ft from Pacific | San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Unit 2 | San Diego County, California | Get Map | 1,172 | 8-Aug-83 | 7-Jun-13 | 30 |
| NRC 4 | YES 500 ft from Pacific | San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Unit 1 | San Diego County, California | Get Map | 456 | 1-Jan-68 | 30-Nov-92 | 24 |
| NRC 4 | YES, 400 feet from Columbia River | Trojan Nuclear Power Plant | Columbia County, Oregon | Get Map | 1,130 | 20-May-76 | 1992 | 9 |
| NRC 4 | NO, landlocked | Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station | Herald, California | Get Map | 913 | 17-Apr-75 | 23-Oct-09 | 34 |
| NRC 3 | YES, 200 ft from Lake Erie | Zion Nuclear Power Station | Zion, Illinois | Get Map | 912 | Unit 2 of 2, 12/1/1973 | Jan-98 | 25 |
| NRC 1 | YES 750 ft from Susquehanna River | Three Mile Island Unit 2 | Harrisburg PA | Get Map | 906 | Unit 2 of 2 12/30/1978 | 1979 | 1 |
| NRC 1 | YES, 500 ft from Black River | Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant | Wiscasset, Maine | Get Map | 860 | 28-Dec-72 | 1-Aug-97 | 28 |
| NRC 2 | YES, 250 ft from Water, 1 mi from Gulf | Crystal River 3 Nuclear Power Plant | Crystal River, Florida | Get Map | 860 | 13-Mar-77 | 5-Feb-13 | 36 |
| NRC 1 | YES, 1500 feet from Atlantic | Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant | East Shoreham, New York | Get Map | 820 | 1-Aug-86 | 1-May-89 | 3 |
| NRC 1 | YES, 100 ft from Atlantic | Millstone Nuclear Power Plant | Waterford, Connecticut | Get Map | 660 | Unit 1, 28 December, 1970 | Unit 1, 21 July 1998 | 25 |
| NRC 1 | YES, 200 ft from Connecticut River | Connecticut Yankee | Haddam, Connecticut | Get Map | 582 | 1968 | 2004 | 36 |
| NRC 3 | YES, 500 ft from Lake Erie | Kewaunee Power Station | Carlton, Wisconsin | Get Map | 556 | 16-Jun-74 | 7-May-13 | 39 |
| NRC 1 | YES 500 Feet from River | Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant | Vernon, Vermont | Get Map | 514 | 30-Nov-72 | 29-Dec-14 | 42 |
| NO FUEL STORED ONSITE | Enrico Fermi Atomic Power Plant, Unit 1 | Monroe Michigan | Get Map | 430 | 1963 | 1972 | 9 | |
| NRC 4 | NO, landlocked | Fort St. Vrain Generating Station | Platteville, Colorado | Get Map | 330 | 1-Jul-79 | 29-Aug-89 | 10 |
| NRC 3 | YES, 1700 ft from river | Dresden Generating Station | Goose Lake Township, Illinois | Get Map | 210 | Unit 1 of 3, 1960 | Unit 1, 1978 | 28 |
| NRC 1 | NO | Yankee Rowe Nuclear Power Station | Rowe, Massachusetts | Get Map | 185 | 1960 | 26-Feb-92 | 32 |
| NRC 4 | NO, landdlocked | Hallam Nuclear Generating Station | Hallam, Nebraska | Get Map | 75 | 1963 | 1969 | 6 |
| NRC 3 | YES, 750 ft from Lake Erie | Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant | HaYES Township, Michigan | Get Map | 67 | 29-Mar-63 | 29-Aug-97 | 34 |
| NRC 1 | YES, 1000 feet from river | Shippingport Atomic Power Station | Beaver County, Pennsylvania | Get Map | 60 | 26-May-58 | Dec-89 | 31 |
| NRC 4 | YES, 1000 ft from Big Sioux River | Pathfinder Nuclear Generating Station | Minnehaha County, South Dakota | Get Map | 59 | Jul-66 | Oct-67 | 1 |
| NRC 3 | YES, 400 ft from Mississippi | La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor | Genoa, Wisconsin | Get Map | 50 | 7-Nov-69 | 30-Apr-87 | 18 |
| NRC 1 | YES – On Susquehanna river | Peach Bottom Nuclear Generating Station | Peach Bottom Township, York County, Pennsylvania | Get Map | 40 | Unit 1 of 3: 1966 | Unit 1, 1974 | 8 |
| NRC 1 | YES, 1000 feet from river | Saxton Nuclear Generating Station | Bedford County, Pennsylvania | Get Map | 23.5 | Nov-61 | May-72 | 11 |
| NRC 3 | 750 ft from river | Elk River Station | Elk River, Minnesota | Get Map | 22 | 1-Jul-64 | 1-Feb-68 | 4 |
| NRC 2 | YES, 500 feet from river | Carolinas–Virginia Tube Reactor | Parr, South Carolina | Get Map | 17 | 18-Dec-63 | 10-Jan-67 | 4 |
| NRC 3 | YES, 200 ft from river | Piqua Nuclear Generating Station | Springcreek Township, Ohio | Get Map | 12.5 | 1963 | 1966 | 3 |
| NRC 4 | NO, landlocked | Sodium Reactor Experiment | Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Simi Valley, California | Get Map | 6.5 | 12-Jul-57 | 15-Feb-64 | 7 |
| NRC 4 | NO, landlocked | Vallecitos Nuclear Center | Alameda County, California | Get Map | unknown | Oct-57 | Dec-63 | 6 |
Sources: Nuclear reactors world wide and USA Nuclear reactor locations undergoing decommissioning from the NRC