Employees and community members gather to celebrate the plant’s
legacy of safe, reliable operation and community service
For the past 49 years, Oyster Creek Generating Station has been safely
and reliably powering more than a half-million homes and businesses with
carbon-free energy. That legacy ended at noon today when operators took
the Oyster Creek reactor offline for the final time.
The oldest operating commercial nuclear power facility in the nation now
enters a new chapter. Over the next few weeks, workers will remove the
reactor’s fuel supply and store it safely in the station’s used fuel
pool. After that, workers will begin prepping the station for
dismantlement and long-term decommissioning.
“Today we celebrate the proud legacy of Oyster Creek and the thousands
of employees who worked here and shared our commitment to safety and
operational excellence for almost 50 years,” said Site Vice President
Tim Moore. “Eventually these buildings will disappear, but the station’s
legacy of safe, reliable operations, community involvement, and
environmental stewardship will never fade.”
Oyster Creek began commercial operation on Dec. 23, 1969 and has since
produced almost 200 million megawatt-hours of carbon-free electricity,
enough to power about 600,000 homes for nearly a half-century with
virtually no greenhouse gas emissions. Along the way, it’s estimated
that the station and its employees pumped more than $3 billion into the
local economy, including wages, taxes, charitable contributions and
local purchasing. Since 1969, Oyster Creek has offset more than 140
million metric tons of carbon, the equivalent of nearly 31 million cars.
The station has been such a landmark in the Lacey community that an
atomic symbol is memorialized in the town’s coat of arms.
In February 2018, Exelon Generation announced Oyster Creek would
permanently shut down this fall at the end of its current operating
cycle. Exelon Generation was required to close Oyster Creek no later
than December 2019 as part of an agreement with the State of New Jersey.
“We salute Oyster Creek and its employees for the service and goodwill
they have provided to Lacey Township and the surrounding communities for
nearly a half-century,” said Lacey Township Committeeman Gary Quinn.
“Although we are sad to see this icon of the community cease operations,
we look forward to a continued strong relationship with those at the
facility as it enters into decommissioning.”
“Oyster Creek has been a positive and enduring asset to our community
for many years,” said Tim Hearne, Executive Director and Chief Executive
Officer of the United Way of Monmouth and Ocean Counties. “The station
and its employees have had an indelible impact on the charitable
organizations serving our region and the families they support.”
In July, Exelon Generation announced a conditional sale of Oyster Creek
to Holtec International, a global leader in used nuclear fuel management
technologies. The transaction is expected to close in 2019, pending
license transfer approval from the NRC. Once the sale is completed,
Holtec International will manage all site decommissioning and
restoration activities with a goal of full decommissioning within eight
years.
About 300 of Oyster Creek’s employees will be staying at Oyster Creek
for decommissioning with Exelon Generation and, ultimately, Holtec.
Other employees are moving to other roles within the Exelon family of
companies, while some have elected to retire or move on to other
opportunities outside the company.
Exelon Generation, a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), is
one of the largest, most efficient clean energy producers in the U.S.,
with a generating capacity of more than 32,700 megawatts. Exelon
Generation operates the largest U.S. fleet of carbon-free nuclear plants
with 20,300 megawatts of capacity from 23 reactors at 14 facilities in
Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Exelon
Generation also operates a diverse mix of wind, solar, landfill gas,
hydroelectric, natural gas and oil facilities in 17 states with more
than 12,400 megawatts. Exelon Generation has an industry-leading safety
record and is an active partner and economic engine in the communities
it serves by providing jobs, charitable contributions and tax payments
that help towns and regions grow. Follow Exelon Generation on Twitter @ExelonGen,
view the Exelon
Generation YouTube channel, and visit http://www.exeloncorp.com/companies/exelon-generation.
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