Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station, nuclear power plant
The Pilgrim facility is a decommissioned nuclear power plant on the coast of Massachusetts, south of Plymouth. The site includes a large reactor building that now stands empty, along with storage pools for spent fuel that remain in use.
The facility was built in the late 1960s and began operations in 1972. It was sold to a company from Louisiana in 1999 and stopped producing electricity in 2019 after 47 years of operation.
The name Pilgrim comes from the early English settlers who landed nearby centuries ago. The plant stands along a bay where water was once drawn for cooling, and small sea creatures sometimes found their way into the pipes.
The site is not open to visitors as decommissioning work continues and security measures remain in place. You can view the buildings from a distance on public roads and beach areas nearby.
During a hot summer in 2013, the plant had to reduce its power output because the cooling water from the bay became too warm. A storm in 2015 caused an unexpected shutdown, highlighting the fragility of such facilities.
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