Long Island’s history is full of unique stories, but none quite compare to the epic tale of the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant—a project that spanned decades, cost billions, and produced zero electricity. It’s a saga of ambition, protests, and financial fallout, all culminating in what some see as a cautionary tale for public works. Here are some incredible facts about the Shoreham plant and its controversial journey.
A Brief History of Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant
- The project was conceived in 1966 by the Long Island Lighting Company (LILCo) as part of an ambitious plan to bring nuclear power to Long Island.
- Construction was greenlit by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in 1970, with an estimated cost of $65 million.
- The plant was set on 60 acres overlooking Long Island Sound, promising to be a cornerstone of LILCo’s proposed “nuclear park.”
- By the time construction was completed in 1985, costs had ballooned to $5.5 billion—more than 80 times the original estimate.
- Despite testing at low power, the plant never delivered electricity to Long Islanders due to the lack of an approved evacuation plan.
- In a dramatic twist, the state of New York purchased the plant for a symbolic $1 in 1992, and it was fully decommissioned by 1994.
Facts That Will Blow Your Mind
- Escalating Costs and Delays
- Initial plans called for the plant to be operational by 1973 at a cost of $65 million.
- The final price tag was $5.5 billion—nearly 85 times the initial estimate.
- Protests and Controversies
- Anti-nuclear sentiment surged after the Three Mile Island incident in 1979, culminating in a 15,000-person protest at Shoreham.
- Folk legend Pete Seeger performed at the rainy rally, adding a musical note to the activism.
- Radioactive Remnants
- Decommissioning involved removing 560 irradiated fuel rods and 5 million pounds of radioactive waste—requiring 353 truck shipments and 33 barge trips.
- The waste was shipped to facilities in South Carolina, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania.
- A Billion-Dollar Debt
- Long Islanders are still paying off the plant’s debt, which won’t be fully resolved until 2033.
- The Plant That Never Was
- It was the first nuclear plant in the U.S. to be decommissioned without ever going online.
The Legacy of Shoreham
- The 1985 Long Island Power Act set the stage for LIPA to take over LILCo following Shoreham’s failure.
- Today, the site hosts a peaking power plant and two wind turbines generating renewable energy.
- Security remains tight, with no public access allowed, though it has been featured in films like The Dictator and explored in a viral 2017 video.
- Proposals to turn the area into a state park remain unfulfilled, leaving the plant’s hulking “sarcophagus” as a haunting reminder of what could have been.
The Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant stands as a testament to the clash of ambition and public opposition, a monument to both progress and caution. Long Islanders will be paying for its legacy for years to come, but the story it tells is one that can’t be ignored.
Photo: meta nemegi – Paul Searing, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
