Zion nuclear power plant
Zion nuclear power plant is a nuclear site in United States with 2 units on record. None is currently operating.
Units
| Unit | Status | Type | Model | Gross MW | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Retired | PWR | WH 4LP | 1,085 | 1973 |
| Unit 2 | Retired | PWR | WH 4LP | 1,085 | 1974 |
Unit by unit
Each unit's rating, type and milestone dates as recorded by the Global Nuclear Power Tracker, with any correction we made to it. A dash or "not disclosed" means the source does not give the value.
Zion nuclear power plant 1 Retired
| Reactor type | Pressurised water reactor (PWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | WH 4LP |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 1,085MW |
| Net capacity | 1,040MW |
| Thermal output | 3,250MWt |
| Enrichment | 3–5% U-235 |
| NSSS vendor | Westinghouse Electric Company |
| Owner | Exelon Generation Co LLC100% |
| Operator | Exelon Generation |
| Construction start | 1 Dec 1968 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 19 Jun 1973 |
| Grid connection | 28 Jun 1973 |
| Commercial operation | 31 Dec 1973 |
| Permanent shutdown | 13 Feb 1998 |
Zion nuclear power plant 2 Retired
| Reactor type | Pressurised water reactor (PWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | WH 4LP |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 1,085MW |
| Net capacity | 1,040MW |
| Thermal output | 3,250MWt |
| Enrichment | 3–5% U-235 |
| NSSS vendor | Westinghouse Electric Company |
| Owner | Exelon Generation Co LLC100% |
| Operator | Exelon Generation |
| Construction start | 1 Dec 1968 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 24 Dec 1973 |
| Grid connection | 26 Dec 1973 |
| Commercial operation | 17 Sep 1974 |
| Permanent shutdown | 13 Feb 1998 |
Zion nuclear power plant in context
The 2 units with both construction and grid dates on record took 4.6 to 5.1 years (median 4.8) from construction start to grid connection; the median across all reactors connected in the 1970s is 5.4 years.
The nearest other tracked nuclear sites are Donald C Cook nuclear power plant (115 km), Palisades nuclear power plant (123 km) and Dresden nuclear power plant (124 km).
Build time by unit
| Unit | Construction start | Grid connection | Years | Fleet median, same decade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | 1968 | 1973 | 4.6 | 5.4 (1970s) |
| Unit 2 | 1968 | 1973 | 5.1 | 5.4 (1970s) |
Nearest tracked nuclear sites
| Site | Country | Distance | Operating GW gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donald C Cook nuclear power plant | United States | 115 km | 2.4 |
| Palisades nuclear power plant | United States | 123 km | - |
| Dresden nuclear power plant | United States | 124 km | 1.9 |
How these are worked out: ranks use gross operating capacity; ages count from the start-up year on record, as on the age page; build times run from construction start to grid connection, as on the build-times page; ratings are the tracker's net and design net capacity, as on the uprates page. Distances are straight-line between exact positions, so a site with only an approximate position gets none. A unit missing a date or a rating is left out of the figure that needs it.
| Location | Illinois, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42.4461, -87.8028 |
| Elevation | about 205 mabove sea level |
| Setting | On the shore of a large lake, 0.3 km from the water |
| Region | Northern America |
| Units by status | Retired: 2 |
Elevation is read at the listed coordinates from a 30 m terrain model (SRTM 30 m). Two independent models differ by a median of 6 m across our plants and by up to about 40 m on steep or coastal ground, and a point on a shoreline can read as sea level. Distance to the water is measured to a generalised 1:10 million coastline, so a few kilometres or less is not resolved. This is context, not a design-basis or flood-risk figure.
| Owners | Exelon Generation Co LLC |
|---|---|
| Operators | Exelon Generation |
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Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) , CC BY-SA 4.0, linked, not quoted
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data