Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant located in Lower Alloways Creek Township, Salem County, New Jersey, United States. It sits on Artificial Island alongside the Salem Nuclear Power Plant. The station is owned and operated by PSEG Nuclear LLC, a subsidiary of

Public Service Enterprise Group The Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc. (PSEG) is a publicly traded energy company based in Newark, New Jersey. It was founded in 1985, with its roots tracing back to 1903. Its largest subsidiary is Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE ...

. It has a single unit, a boiling water reactor (BWR) built by General Electric. Originally planned for two units, the second unit was canceled in 1981. Hope Creek has a generating capacity of 1,268 megawatts electric (MWe). The plant began operation on July 25, 1986, with an initial license to run until 2026. In 2009, PSEG applied for a 20-year license extension, which was granted in 2011, allowing operation until 2046. Together with the Salem units, the Salem–Hope Creek complex produces 3,572 megawatts, making it the largest nuclear power facility in the Eastern United States and the second largest in the country after the

Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station The Palo Verde Generating Station is a nuclear power plant located near Tonopah, Arizona about west of downtown Phoenix. Palo Verde generates the most electricity of any power plant in the United States per year, and is the largest power pl ...

in Arizona. Hope Creek, along with the Salem Nuclear Power Plant, produces approximately 40% of New Jersey’s electricity and 85% of its carbon-free electricity, making it an important part of the state’s energy infrastructure. Hope Creek is one of three licensed nuclear power reactors in New Jersey. The others are the two units at the adjacent Salem plant. As of January 1, 2005, New Jersey ranked 10th among the 31 states with nuclear capacity for total

MWe The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named in honor o ...

generated. In 2021, nuclear plants generated 45% of the electricity in the state. In 2019, New Jersey began providing the state's nuclear plants Zero-Emission Certificates worth $300 million a year to keep them in service. The subsidy was ended in 2024, effective June 1, 2025, as the

Inflation Reduction Act The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) is a United States federal law which aims to reduce the federal government budget deficit, lower prescription drug prices, and invest in domestic energy production while promoting clean energy. It was ...

provides alternative tax credits to support clean energy.

Plant features

Hope Creek is a boiling water reactor (BWR) unlike its neighbors at the nearby Salem Nuclear Plant which are pressurized water reactors (PWR). Hope Creek's reactor is used to produce electricity. The plant's huge natural-draft cooling tower can be seen from many miles away in both

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and as far west as Elk Neck Peninsula in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. The cooling tower can be seen from the

Delaware Memorial Bridge The Delaware Memorial Bridge is a dual-span suspension bridge crossing the Delaware River. The toll bridges carry Interstate 295 and U.S. Route 40 and is also the link between Delaware and New Jersey. The bridge was designed by the firm o ...

and the bridges over the

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal (C&D Canal) is a -long, -wide and -deep ship canal that connects the Delaware River with the Chesapeake Bay in the states of Delaware and Maryland in the United States. In the mid-17th century, mapmaker Augus ...

. This cooling tower serves only Hope Creek's single reactor. The neighboring Salem units utilize once-through cooling with no cooling tower. A unique feature of Hope Creek is its cylindrical reactor building complete with a dome which makes it appear similar to a pressurized water reactor containment building which is not typical of boiling water reactors. This similarity is limited to appearance. Like other BWRs, the actual containment vessel for the reactor is a separate drywell/torus structure enclosed within the reactor building, but structurally separate. The outer reactor building serves as secondary containment and houses many of the reactor's safety systems.

Controversies and safety concerns

On October 10, 2004, the Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station experienced a steam leak that led to a shutdown. Operators reported issues with fluctuating reactor pressure, changing water levels, and problems with the high-pressure coolant injection system, a key safety component. Following the incident, the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the ...

(NRC) placed the plant under increased oversight.https://onlineethics.org/print/pdf/node/45151 The 2004 shutdown raised renewed concerns about safety practices and management at Hope Creek and the neighboring Salem Nuclear Power Plant. Former employees and watchdog groups criticized plant management for alleged maintenance delays and for discouraging the reporting of safety concerns. Delaware senators, including then-Senator Joe Biden, contacted the NRC to express concern over ongoing issues with management and safety culture, similar to problems reported in earlier decades. In response, the NRC placed Hope Creek and Salem under special oversight, citing maintenance backlogs, equipment problems, and a workplace environment that discouraged reporting safety issues. Investigations identified equipment and performance deficiencies, leading to updates in employee training and operational procedures.

Surrounding population

The

defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of , concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne

radioactive contamination Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of Radioactive decay, radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is uni ...

, and an ingestion pathway zone of about , concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity. The 2010 U.S. population within of Hope Creek was 53,811, an increase of 53.3 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within was 5,523,010, an increase of 7.5 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles: * New Jersey ** Camden (39mi/63km) ** Vineland (27mi/44km) ** Pennsville (12mi/20km) ** Salem (County Capital) (8mi/13km) * Delaware **

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

(Capital) (21mi/34km) ** Wilmington (19mi/31km) * Pennsylvania **

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

(43mi/70km)

Electricity production

Seismic risk

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Hope Creek was 1 in 357,143, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.

Gallery

File:Hope Creek-Salem Nuclear-2.jpg, The entire PSE&G nuclear complex as seen from Augustine Beach, Delaware Image:Hope Creek only.jpg, The Hope Creek portion of the complex Image:Salem Nuclear Plant from the South Jersey Expressway.jpg, View of Salem/Hope Creek Nuclear Power Plant from the

(

I-295 Interstate 295 is the designation for the following eight Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to I-95: *Interstate 295 (Delaware–Pennsylvania), a bypass of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * Interstate 295 (Florida), a be ...

US 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America (a nickname shared with U.S. Route 66), is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid- ...

) File:Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station from Delaware River, May 2012.jpg, Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station from Delaware River, May 2012

References

External links

*
DoE page
{{U.S. Nuclear Plants Energy infrastructure completed in 1986 Towers completed in 1986 Nuclear power plants in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Salem County, New Jersey Towers in New Jersey Public Service Enterprise Group Lower Alloways Creek Township, New Jersey 1986 establishments in New Jersey