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Byron Generating Station

Nuclear power plant in Illinois, United States of America. Approximate location 42.0742, -89.2819.

NuclearIllinoisUnited States of America

Byron Generating Station is a 2,450 MW nuclear power station in Illinois, United States of America. It is operated by Exelon Nuclear. Based on reported annual generation of 20,118 GWh, it can supply roughly 5,748,000 homes. It ranks #36 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1986, it is around 40 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, nuclear supplies about 17.4% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

2,450MW installed capacity
20,118GWh reported / yr
5,748,000homes powered
1986commissioned (~40 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0006023.

Reported generation trend

2013: 19,547 GWh20132014: 19,252 GWh20142015: 19,471 GWh20152016: 19,600 GWh20162017: 19,144 GWh20172018: 20,051 GWh20182019: 20,118 GWh201920k GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Exelon Nuclear. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This nuclear plant uses heat from nuclear fission to raise steam for a turbine-generator. It sits in a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 42.1°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

8.8°Cannual mean temp
3,661heating degree-days (base 18°C)
313cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
239 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -7 °CJF: -4 °CFM: 2 °CMA: 9 °CAM: 15 °CMJ: 20 °CJJ: 22 °CJA: 21 °CAS: 17 °CSO: 11 °CON: 3 °CND: -4 °CD22 °C

Heating degree-days here run 49% above the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 79/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #10 largest nuclear power plant of 58 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 58 nuclear power plants in this dataset, together about 104,233 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 42.0742, -89.2819 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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