Discover the Largest Nuclear Power Plant in Ohio (And What Lives around It)

Nuclear energy is the United States’ primary source of electricity and revenue. Although nuclear power is a clean energy source, it is not without its drawbacks. Nuclear energy poses serious risks to the environment and human health.

Additionally, nuclear power has been at the center of several serious scandals, especially in Ohio. Read more about Ohio’s largest nuclear power plant in the next article. Find out why this establishment has been a hit for over a decade.

What is Nuclear Power?

Atomic energy is produced by a series of energy releases through nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. Atoms split during nuclear fission, the process that power plants use to produce nuclear energy. Atoms contain three central elements. These elements are protons, neutrons and electrons.

Protons and neutrons form the nucleus, and electrons orbit around the nucleus. In the production of nuclear energy, the protons and neutrons that make up the nucleus are split by other neutrons. When a neutron collides with the nucleus, splitting into protons and neutrons occurs.

The neutrons resulting from this nuclear fission further split the nuclei of other atoms. So a chain reaction ensues. The previously split neutrons start splitting other atoms, and more atoms split. Radiation and heat are released in this process by atom fission. These two elements create what we call nuclear power.

How Does a Nuclear Power Plant Operate?

Uranium is an element in the periodic table and nuclear power plants use uranium atoms to harness nuclear energy. During nuclear fission of uranium atoms, steam is produced due to the heat of reaction. This steam drives a turbine to generate electricity. The electricity produced is used to power homes and businesses in specific areas near the power station.

5 Nuclear Energy Facts

• Nuclear power plants do not burn fossil fuels and emit no greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
• Nuclear power is considered a clean energy source.
• Nuclear power is significantly cheaper than most of the many large-scale power generation options.
• About 20% of the electricity produced in the United States comes from nuclear power.
• Nuclear energy is one of the largest carbon-free power generation options in the country.

Where is the Perry Nuclear Power Plant Located on a Map?

The Perry Nuclear Power Plant is located in the city of Perry, Ohio, which borders the shore of Lake Erie. Perry is just northeast of the major city of Cleveland.

The Largest Nuclear Power Plant in Ohio

The Perry Nuclear Power Station is Ohio’s largest power station and is located in Perry, Ohio, northeast of the city of Cleveland. The population of the city of Perry is 1,598 in 2021. Construction of the power plant he began in the fall of 1974.

Perry Nuclear Power Station was licensed on November 13, 1986 and plans to renew its license in November 2026. The facility sits on 1,100 acres and is owned by Energy Harbor, formerly known as FirstEnergy Solutions. From 2021 onwards, the plant will produce approximately 9,703 GWh of electricity per year.

The plant is now operational, but in the past there have been rumors of a permanent shutdown of the Perry nuclear power plant. According to Exelon Corporation, Energy Harbor sometimes threatened to permanently close the factory. The facility had reportedly been dilapidated for some time, and it didn’t seem like keeping it open would benefit the local community.

However, residents of Perry, Ohio believed the facility was generating the income needed to keep the district alive. The Perry Nuclear Power Plant brings in valuable income that helps fund schools and employ more people in Perry’s small community.

Largest Nuclear Power Plant in Ohio: Controversies

Still, Perry’s nuclear power plant remains the center of controversy. In 2020, Ohio House Speaker Larry Hausder was arrested for his involvement in a bribery and money-laundering scheme related to the Perry Nuclear Power Plant and another power plant in Ohio.

When two nuclear power plants ran into financial trouble, householders and other politicians tried to save them. In summary, households favored plans to charge taxpayers a surcharge on their electricity bills and pay directly to power plants. To keep the plant running smoothly, this fee will pour more than $150 million into the plant annually.

Through this process, bribing power plants allowed householders and other politicians to stay in power and get more money to fund their campaigns. In fact, Energy Harbor donated to the Householder campaign and other Republican politicians it supported.

Largest Nuclear Power Plant in Ohio: Complications

In addition, other complications arose at the Perry nuclear power plant. A fire occurred at the facility in 2010, and as a result, Energy Harbor cut the power supply to the facility by 70% or less. No one was seriously injured in the fire, but two men were hospitalized for heat stress. The fire was extinguished after about four hours, but the incident left some people worried about the operation of the facility.

In April 2021, the Perry Nuclear Power Station faced an unusual challenge. A Michigan man named Michael Fogelson stormed into the factory in a pickup truck with a trailer. Fogelsson claimed he was loading the trailer with bombs as if he was planning to blow up a nuclear power plant.

An inspection of the trailer by the Lake County Bomb Squad revealed that Fogelson was not carrying a bomb. Fogelson was arrested on aggravated trespassing and misinformation charges. The Perry Nuclear Power Plant claimed there were no safety threats to the plant or the surrounding area.

Wildlife Near Ohio’s Largest Nuclear Power Plant

In 1993, part of the Perry Nuclear Power Station site was designated an urban protected area. Animals that inhabit the reserve include kingfishers, waterfowl such as ducks and geese, and herons. Additionally, the property’s wetlands are home to turtles, one of the state’s endangered species.

Spotted turtles are most commonly seen near the East Coast and the Great Lakes. A characteristic feature of this species is the yellow spots found on the outer shell. Habitat loss, poaching and the pet trade are some of the environmental threats that lead to the emergence of spotted turtles.

Is Ohio’s Nuclear Power Plant Dangerous to the Environment?

The problem with the Perry nuclear power plant is that it produces radioactive waste. Radioactive waste is more difficult to dispose of than regular waste and garbage because it is more harmful to the environment, people and wildlife. Landfilling, dumping in landfills, or releasing radioactive waste into the ocean can be deadly.

For example, radioactive waste can leak into groundwater and become contaminated, endangering people and animals. Radioactive waste is stored on the premises of the Perry nuclear power plant. To ensure stability, it must be stored in cold water pools, and loss of cold water can lead to meltdowns. Meltdowns occur when the core of a power plant is damaged by overheating.

A core meltdown could allow radioactive waste to enter the atmosphere and spread to nearby areas. Airborne radiation can cause fatal or severe illness. For example, in 1986 the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown in Ukraine caused many deaths and loss of flora and fauna, and to this day the city and its surrounding areas have been evacuated.

Largest Nuclear Power Plant in Ohio: Additional Environmental Issues

Additionally, the seismic risk of the Perry nuclear power plant in 2010 is 1 in 47,619. Seismic risk measures the likelihood of an earthquake causing damage to the core of a nuclear reactor within a nuclear power plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s seismic risk estimates for the Perry Nuclear Power Station mean that extreme core damage is extremely unlikely, but not impossible.

Some speculate that the seismic risk from the Perry Nuclear Power Plant is much greater than reported. In 2009, the plant was 38% more vulnerable to core damage than it was nearly two decades ago, according to estimates by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Associated Press. With this information, people are urging Perry to make safety a top priority going forward.

Overall, there are many risks lurking in nuclear power plants. From earthquake risk to radioactive waste: The impact of clean energy isn’t always small. Perry Nuclear Power Plant claims to be dedicated to public safety, but past scandals and incidents have left people questioning its commitment to responsible energy production.