Local News

Harris Nuclear Plant Turns 20

On May 2, 1987, the Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant began feeding power into the electric grid.

Posted Updated

NEW HILL, N.C. — On May 2, 1987, the Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant began feeding power into the electric grid.

At the time, 16,000 people lived within 10 miles of plant. Twenty years later, 60,000 people are neighbors. The plant serves 500,000 homes and businesses and has produced more than 130 million megawatt-hours of electricity over the last two decades, according to Progress Energy, which now refers to the plant as simply Harris.

The company, the successor to Carolina Power & Light, which opened Shearon Harris, said almost half of the workers at the plant have been there since it opened.

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.