Pathfinder nuclear power plant
Pathfinder nuclear power plant is a nuclear site in United States with 1 unit on record. None is currently operating.
Units
| Unit | Status | Type | Model | Gross MW | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathfinder nuclear power plant | Retired | BWR | Prototype | 63 | 1966 |
Pathfinder nuclear power plant in context
The one unit with both construction and grid dates on record took 7.6 years from construction start to grid connection; the median across all reactors connected in the 1960s is 5.0 years.
The nearest other tracked nuclear sites are Monticello nuclear power plant (293 km).
Build time by unit
| Unit | Construction start | Grid connection | Years | Fleet median, same decade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathfinder nuclear power plant | 1959 | 1966 | 7.6 | 5.0 (1960s) |
Nearest tracked nuclear sites
| Site | Country | Distance | Operating GW gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monticello nuclear power plant | United States | 293 km | 0.7 |
How these are worked out: ranks use gross operating capacity; ages count from the start-up year on record, as on the age page; build times run from construction start to grid connection, as on the build-times page; ratings are the tracker's net and design net capacity, as on the uprates page. Distances are straight-line between exact positions, so a site with only an approximate position gets none. A unit missing a date or a rating is left out of the figure that needs it.
| Location | South Dakota, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43.6036, -96.6375 |
| Elevation | about 400 mabove sea level |
| Setting | About 1,510 km from the sea |
| Region | Northern America |
| Units by status | Retired: 1 |
Elevation is read at the listed coordinates from a 30 m terrain model (SRTM 30 m). Two independent models differ by a median of 6 m across our plants and by up to about 40 m on steep or coastal ground, and a point on a shoreline can read as sea level. Distance to the water is measured to a generalised 1:10 million coastline, so a few kilometres or less is not resolved. This is context, not a design-basis or flood-risk figure.
| Owners | Xcel Energy Inc |
|---|---|
| Operators | Nuclear Management |
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Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) , CC BY-SA 4.0, linked, not quoted
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data