Sitting on a peninsula on the eastern end of Long Island Sound, the Millstone Nuclear Power Station consists of three units:
Millstone 1, a 660,000-kilowatt boiling water reactor which began commercial operation in 1970 and is currently undergoing decommissioning;
Millstone 2, an 870,000-kilowatt pressurized water reactor, which began commercial operation in 1975;
Millstone 3, a 1,150,000-kilowatt pressurized water reactor, which began commercial operation in 1986.
Once, granite quarried from Millstone Point in Waterford, Connecticut, went around the world for use in buildings and monuments. At home, the granite, prized for its hardness, was used in such structures as the Statue of Liberty, Grand Central Station and the United Nations Building. Earlier, Nehantic Indians farmed the land around Millstone Point and fished in Niantic Bay. The area remains very popular for fishing.
Quarry operations ended in the early 1960s. In 1966, construction of what has become New England's largest power-generating complex commenced when The Connecticut Light and Power Company, The Hartford Electric Light Company and Western Massachusetts Electric Company joined forces to build a 660,000-kilowatt nuclear electric generating unit. Completed in 1970, Millstone 1 was Connecticut's second nuclear unit (the first: Connecticut Yankee at Haddam Neck).
Millstone 1 was the top performing boiling water reactor in the world in 1983, 1988 and 1993.
In December 1975, Millstone 1 was joined by the 870-megawatt Millstone 2, a pressurized water reactor. In April 1986, a third unit, the 1,150-megawatt Millstone 3, went into commercial operation. The operation of these three units was conservatively estimated to spare the burning of more than 25 million barrels of oil per year.
In 1998, it was decided that Millstone 1 would be decommissioned. That process is under way.
Plant Facts
Millstone 1
Millstone 2
Millstone 3
Design Rating
660 MW*
870 MW*
1,150 MW*
Number of Fuel Assemblies
580
217
193
Weight of Uranium Fuel
120 tons
96 tons
111 tons
Reactor Manufacturer
General Electric Company
Combustion Engineering, Inc.
Westinghouse Electric Corporation
Turbine Generator Manufacturer
General Electric Company
General Electric Company
General Electric Company
Engineer/Constructor
Ebasco Services, Inc.
Bechtel Corporation
Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation
* MW = Megawatts. One megawatt is equal to one thousand kilowatts.
Visit the Millstone Information and Science Center at 278 Main Street in downtown Niantic. It features displays and "hands-on" exhibits on electricity, nuclear energy, radiation, and environmental monitoring. Arrangements can be made to visit the NU Environmental Lab, the Control Room Simulators, the one-mile self-guided Nature Trail, or the historic schoolhouse. For information, call (860) 444-4234, or in Connecticut, 1-800-428-4234.
