Basic Facts:
- Location: Oak Harbor, Ohio
- Owner: Cleveland Electric & Toledo Edison
- Operator: FirstEnergy Nuclear
- Construction Cost: $2.7B (2018$)
- Plant Output: 900 MW
- Property Size: 950 acres
- Status: At Risk of Closure
- Employees: 700
- Current DTF Balance: $580M (2018$)
- DTF Balance Prior to Decommissioning: $870M (2018$)
- Decommissioning Cost Estimate: $490M (2018$)
- Spent Nuclear Fuel on Site: 599 metric tons
Background
The Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station is home to a single, 900 MW pressurized water reactor located in Oak Harbor, Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie between Toledo and Sandusky. Plant construction began in 1970 and in 1977, the plant received its first operating license. In 2015, the NRC approved a license renewal application thereby allowing the plant to operate until 2037.
In March of 2018, citing economic considerations, plant ownership announced that Davis-Besse would be permanently shut down by 2020. On July 26, 2019, FirstEnergy Solutions rescinded its shutdown notice after the Ohio legislature passed H.B. 6, a bill that would subsidize the plant and keep it open. Although the parts of the bill which provided subsidies to the plant have since been repealed after the bill was cited as being part of a bribery scandal, FirstEnergy has not announced any changes to the plant's operating status.
Socioeconomics
The Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station is located within Ottawa County, Ohio. As of 2016:
- Population: 41,000
- Per Capita Annual Income: $47,000
- Unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted): 6.7%
Davis-Besse is one of Ottawa County’s largest employer and taxpayer. In 2016, Davis-Besse contributed $11M in state and local taxes.
Contact Information
Economic Development Administration Representative:
- Kyle Darton, Chicago Regional Office, t: (312) 789-9752, e: kdarton@eda.gov
University Center
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Viktoria Mitlyng, Sr. Public Affairs Officer, t: (630) 829-9662, e: viktoria.mitlyng@nrc.gov
- Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station
Unless specific costing information has been provided, decommissioning costs were derived from 2017 Decommissioning Funding Status Report.
Information herein obtained from public sources. Corrections are welcome and may be directed to info@decommissioningcollaborative.org.