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Ray and Irene Zukley of Zion, Illinois were forced to sell this Lake Michigan beach cottage to make way for Zion Nuclear Station back in the late 60s. The Zukley's and other Zion residents hoped the plant would last for at least forty years, but after fits and starts, it closed fifteen years early.

There are no plans to add a second nuclear reactor to the Clinton power plant anytime soon, Exelon Nuclear officials say, despite rumors to the contrary. Exelon Nuclear received an early site permit in March 2007 from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. That allows the utility to "bank" the property adjacent to the Clinton plant for a potential new reactor for up to 20 years. "We have no immediate plans to build a nuclear plant at the site, but if over the course of the next 18 years we decide to do something, we have the process started," Exelon spokesman Bruce Paulson said.

Power company Exelon Corp expects to extend its hostile bid for NRG Energy Inc past the January 6 deadline as it awaits regulatory approvals, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. Exelon, which has offered to buy Princeton, New Jersey-based NRG at a price now valued at about $5.8 billion, has sought U.S. regulatory approval for the deal, although NRG management has rejected the offer as too low.

Illinois was once the cradle of the commercial nuclear power industry. In fact, utilities built so many reactors the Prairie State is still number one in nuclear generation. In 1987, though, Illinois turned its back on that legacy. Concern over nuclear waste and high costs led to a ban on any new nuclear plants. Recently, one legislator suggested Illinois repeal that moratorium and consider a nuclear renaissance.

As the world media filled with the victory of Barack Obama, a defeat for atomic power in his own back yard sent a Solartopian message to the new administration. In the Chicago-area communities of Oak Park, Berwyn and Riverside, voters approved by well over two-to-one a referendum asking that "our elected officials in Illinois take steps to phase out nuclear power in the state, replacing it with renewable sources such as wind and solar."

A gas explosion rocked an outbuilding near Exelon Corp's 1,734-megawatt Quad Cities nuclear power plant in Illinois early Monday, the company said in a release. There were no injuries to plant personnel, no damage to equipment and at no time was there any concern for the health and safety of the public, the company said, adding there was no radiological release.

Exelon Corp, the largest nuclear power operator in the United States, made an unsolicited offer to acquire NRG Energy Inc (NRG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for $6.2 billion in stock, in a move to expand geographically and boost earnings and cash flow. The combined company would be the No. 1 U.S. power company, with generating capacity of around 47,000 megawatts, or enough electricity to serve nearly 45 million homes, Exelon said in a statement on Sunday.

Exelon Corp launched a hostile bid for NRG Energy Inc (NRG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on Tuesday, two days after the power producer rejected its $6 billion-plus offer. "Their decision to reject our proposal, without any discussion with us as to the merits or structure of our proposal, has left us with no choice but to bring the offer directly to the NRG shareholders," Exelon Chairman and Chief Executive John Rowe said in a statement.

NRG Energy, Inc. rejected Sunday a $6.1 billion takeover bid by Exelon Corp., openly challenging whether the Chicago-based parent company of Commonwealth Edison could successfully manage what would have been the country's largest power generation company. Exelon made an unsolicited all-stock offer last month that valued NRG at a 37 percent premium, a figure that dipped to 9.4 percent by the close of the stock market Friday. The offer proved underwhelming to the board of directors at NRG, which unanimously turned down a merger it said "significantly undervalues" the Princeton, NJ-based company.

A plan to dismantle Zion's nuclear power plant will be delayed by up to 15 months because the fund that will pay for the $1 billion decommissioning has declined in value, officials announced this week. The fund's value, estimated at $900 million in January, has dropped by about 10 percent because of the declining economy, said Marshall Murphy, spokesman for Exelon Nuclear, which is responsible for fund oversight and owns the power plant.

Exelon Nuclear officials have very little to say about the latest assessment of the Byron Generating Station. Ogle County Supervisor of Assessments Jim Harrison set the plant's assessment at $525.4 million, $70.2 million more than the value set by the Ogle County Board of Review (BOR) at an appeal hearing last January.

The subject of reducing U.S. reliance on foreign oil keeps coming up, but the answer doesn't always include the words "nuclear power." But the two candidates for U.S. Senate in Illinois agree that the country should pursue more nuclear power. It's the details that show the differences between the candidates.

David Huber held the Texas flag with 50 protesters stationed outside Exelon Nuclear's headquarters in Chicago. Rally-goers marched with signs that read "No Thirsty Nukes" and "Don't Mess with Texas Water."

Morris could possibly still be in the running for a nuclear recycling facility - not now, but maybe in the future, a federal spokesman says. "The key word here is 'maybe,'" noted Brian Quirke of the U.S. Department of Energy. "I know people likes yeses and nos, but we can't say that at this point. It is premature to say whether Morris will ever be considered in the future siting processes for GNEP-type activities."

Morris could possibly still be in the running for a nuclear recycling facility - not now, but maybe in the future, a federal spokesman says. "The key word here is 'maybe,'" noted Brian Quirke of the U.S. Department of Energy. "I know people likes yeses and nos, but we can't say that at this point. It is premature to say whether Morris will ever be considered in the future siting processes for GNEP-type activities."

BRIDGMAN - Fire crews were called to battle a small fire at the Cook Nuclear Plant, along Red Arrow Highway in Bridgman. Firefighters were called to put out the fire in a nonnuclear part of the plant, said Cook spokesman Bill Schalk late Saturday.

Exelon Nuclear spokes-man Bill Stoermer says dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel is safe, secure, and reliable. Stoermer, government affairs manager for the utility, told the Marseilles City Council during the regular bi-monthly meeting Wednesday evening that La Salle Generating Station is constructing a dry cask storage facility at a cost of $30 million to $40 million.

Exelon representatives brought the Ogle County Board up to speed July 15 on their plan for storage of spent fuel at the Byron Nuclear Generating Station. Communications director Robert Kartheiser said construction has already begun on a dry cask storage system which he said is necessary to the operation of the nuclear plant.

State legislators have stalled an amendment to lift Illinois' 21-year-old state moratorium on new nuclear power plants, raising old concerns over the safe storage of nuclear wastes. "Some of our members thought we were moving too fast, and I don't have a problem with that," said amendment sponsor Rep. JoAnn Osmond (R-Antioch).

n the first of a series of public meetings, members of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission outlined plans to decommission the Zion nuclear power plant by 2018. The plant, which sits on 250 acres of land along Lake Michigan, has not been functional since 1998.