Editing Limerick Generating Station (section)

{{Short description|Nuclear power plant in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,  US}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2008}}

{{Infobox power station
| name = Limerick Generating Station
| name_official = 
| image = LimerickPowerPlant.JPG
| image_size = 
| image_caption = NRC image of Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 & 2.
| image_alt = 
| coordinates = {{coord|40|13|36|N|75|35|14|W|region:US-PA_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| country = United States
| location = [[Limerick Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Limerick Township]], [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery County]], [[Pennsylvania]]
| status = O
| construction_began = {{start date|1974|6|19}}
| commissioned = Unit 1: February 1, 1986<br/>Unit 2: January 8, 1990
| decommissioned = 
| cost = $7.246 billion (2007 USD, Unit 1 only)<ref>{{cite web|title=EIA - State Nuclear Profiles|url=https://www.eia.gov/nuclear/state/archive/2010/pennsylvania/|website=www.eia.gov|access-date=3 October 2017|language=en}}</ref>
| owner = [[Constellation Energy]]
| operator = [[Constellation Energy]]
<!------------------------- NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS -->| np_reactor_type = BWR
| np_reactor_supplier = [[General Electric]]
| np_fuel_type = 
| np_fuel_supplier = 
| ps_cogeneration = 
| ps_cooling_source = [[Schuylkill River]]
| ps_cooling_towers = 2 × [[Natural Draft]]
<!------------------------- GENERAL -->| ps_units_operational = 1 × 1130 MW<br/>1 × 1134 MW
| ps_units_manu_model = [[GE BWR|BWR-4]] (Mark II Containment)
| ps_units_uc = 
| ps_units_planned = 
| ps_units_cancelled = 
| ps_units_decommissioned = 
| ps_thermal_capacity = 2 × 3515 MW<sub>th</sub>
| ps_heating_capacity = 
| ps_electrical_capacity = 2264
| ps_electrical_cap_fac = 93.77% (2017)<br/>90.85% (lifetime)
| ps_storage_capacity = 
| ps_annual_generation = 19,309 GWh (2021)
| website = [https://www.constellationenergy.com/our-company/locations/location-sites/limerick-generating-station.html Limerick Generating Station]
| extra = 
}}
The '''Limerick Generating Station''' is a [[nuclear power plant]] located next to the [[Schuylkill River]] in [[Limerick Township, Pennsylvania|Limerick Township]], [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery County]], [[Pennsylvania]], approximately {{convert|29|miles|km}} northwest of [[Center City Philadelphia|Center City]], [[Philadelphia]]. The facility has two [[General Electric]] [[boiling water reactor]] (BWR) units, cooled by natural draft cooling towers. According to its owner, [[Constellation Energy]], the two units are capable of producing 2,317 megawatts of power, which combined would provide electricity to around 2 million households. Constellation owns and operates this facility following their separation from [[Exelon Corporation]] in 2022. With the exception of refueling outages, Limerick Generating Station continuously operates at 100% power. The plant is connected to the grid, and transmits power, via multiple 500kv transmission lines.

Limerick is a [[black start]] plant, meaning it does not require grid power for stator excitation. For critical standby power, Limerick depends on eight [[Fairbanks Morse 38 8-1/8 diesel engine]] generator sets that each deliver 3000 kilowatts of power and are capable of achieving rated speed within ten seconds of start.

The cooling towers for the Limerick Generating Station can be seen for miles away in parts of Montgomery, [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester]], and [[Berks County, Pennsylvania|Berks]] counties, and can be seen from the top of the tallest buildings in Philadelphia, including the [[One Liberty Observation Deck]] at [[Liberty Place]].

On the first Monday of each calendar month, a 30-second-long "growl" will sound from sirens located within a 10 mile radius of the plant. This is with the exception of December of June, where the full volume siren sounds for 3 minutes long.