Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant
Encyclopedia
The Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant was a proposed floating nuclear power plant
located off the coast of New Jersey
. It was proposed in the 1970s by the Public Service Electric and Gas Company
. Two Westinghouse
1,150 megawatt reactors were ordered in 1972, and another two Westinghouse 1,150 MW reactors were ordered in 1973. The four unit power plant proposal was canceled in 1978.
To be located 1.8 miles (2.9 km) offshore from the Little Egg Harbor
and Great Bay
(about 11 miles (17.7 km) northeast of Atlantic City
), the plants were to be on man-made islands in the Atlantic Ocean
. The islands themselves and the massive concrete breakwater
s would be built in a factory on Blount Island
near Jacksonville, Florida
; they would then be floated by ship to the plant site. The plants were first envisioned in 1969 by an engineer at PSE&G and the reactors were ordered in 1972 for operation starting in the mid 1980s. However, due to increasing costs and environmental protests, the plants were canceled in 1978.
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
located off the coast of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. It was proposed in the 1970s by the Public Service Electric and Gas Company
Public Service Electric and Gas Company
Public Service Enterprise Group , commonly known as PSEG, and originally known as the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey and then as the Public Service Electric and Gas Company, is a regulated, publicly owned gas and electric utility company in the state of New Jersey, United States. It is...
. Two Westinghouse
Westinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...
1,150 megawatt reactors were ordered in 1972, and another two Westinghouse 1,150 MW reactors were ordered in 1973. The four unit power plant proposal was canceled in 1978.
To be located 1.8 miles (2.9 km) offshore from the Little Egg Harbor
Little Egg Harbor
Little Egg Harbor is a brackish bay along the coast of southeast New Jersey. It was originally called Egg Harbor by the Dutch sailors because of the eggs found in nearby gull nests.The bay is part of the Intracoastal Waterway.-External links:...
and Great Bay
Great Bay (New Jersey)
Great Bay is located in southern New Jersey's Atlantic Coastal Plain in Ocean and Atlantic Counties, about ten miles north of Atlantic City and 87 mi south of New York City. The Mullica River flows into the bay, and together they form the Mullica River - Great Bay estuary habitat. The bay is...
(about 11 miles (17.7 km) northeast of Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
), the plants were to be on man-made islands in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. The islands themselves and the massive concrete breakwater
Breakwater (structure)
Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
s would be built in a factory on Blount Island
Blount Island
Blount Island is an island of approximately on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, nine nautical miles west of the Atlantic Ocean. One of three public cargo facilities at the Port of Jacksonville is located there, and it is also the site of the United States Marine Corps Blount Island...
near Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
; they would then be floated by ship to the plant site. The plants were first envisioned in 1969 by an engineer at PSE&G and the reactors were ordered in 1972 for operation starting in the mid 1980s. However, due to increasing costs and environmental protests, the plants were canceled in 1978.
External links
- Cancelled Nuclear Units Ordered in the United States
- Rendering of the plant and construction details
- Atlantic Generating Station Site Chart
- Popular Science Dec 1972 via Google Books