The radioactive isotope is used for a variety of medical and industrial purposes including cancer therapy, sterilization of medical equipment, food irradiation and materials testing. The technology is soon to be installed at the Clinton boiling water reactor during Clinton's planned maintenance and refueling outage in order to produce cobalt-60. In January 2010, GE-Hitachi announced that the station will begin producing cobalt-60. Soon after acquiring the power plant, Exelon made in 2001 a request to uprate its power by 20%, from 2894 MWt to 3473 MWt, resulting in an increase of 193 MWe, the largest approved by the NRC until 2012. The Operator and Owner is the Constellation Energy following its spin-off from Exelon. Exelon Corporation bought it for a more modest price of $40 million, with the purchase including the fuel in the reactor vessel and responsibility of all the radioactive waste in the spent fuel storage pool. Having deduced that it was not economical to own and operate only one nuclear generating station in the newly deregulated market, they kept it shut down during around 3 years whilst looking for an interested buyer. After less than a decade of operation the plant's original owner, Illinois Power, had to close it in 1996 following some technical problems and safety violations resulting in a $450,000 fine. In 1997, it was also said to be producing "some of the highest electric rates in the midwest". For example, the facility was down for maintenance frequently and was out of service for almost half of the time from September 1988 to October 1989. There were a number of problems during the first several years of operation. Electricity Production Generation ( MWh) of Clinton Power Station Year ![]() Only around 150 acres (0.6 km 2) are actually used by the plant's buildings and operation areas. The surrounding 14,300 acres (58 km 2) site and adjacent 5,000 acres (20 km 2) cooling reservoir, Clinton Lake, is owned by the operator, but hosts the Clinton Lake State Recreation Area and is open to public for a large range of outdoor activities. The consequences of continued operation include saving 4,200 jobs and the annual generation of 22 billion kWhs of CO 2-free energy. The legislation provides Zero Emission Credits for the plants' CO 2-free electricity. The plans for closure were canceled, however, when the Illinois State Legislature passed and the Illinois Governor signed SB 2814, The Future Energy Jobs Bill. Exelon, the former owner and operator of the present reactor, announced plans to permanently close the power station in June 2017, due to the plants struggles to compete economically in wholesale markets, resulting in a loss of millions of dollars in recent years. ![]() The present reactor operating license was issued April 17, 1987, and will expire September 29, 2026. The station has a single generation II General Electric Boiling Water Reactor. Due to inflation and cost overruns, Clinton's final construction cost was $4.25 billion ($10.1 billion today), nearly 1,000% over the original budget of $430 million and seven years behind schedule. The power station began commercial operation on November 24, 1987 and has a nominal net electric output of 1062 MWe. The Clinton Power Station is a nuclear power plant located near Clinton, Illinois, USA.
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