Dresden Generating Station
Nuclear power plant · Grundy County, Illinois
Nameplate capacity
2,019 MW
Rank in Illinois
#4
of 580 plants
In service since
1970
August 1970
Details
- Primary fuel
- Nuclear
- Technology
- Nuclear
- Operator
- Constellation Nuclear
- County
- Grundy County
- Generating units
- 2
- Share of state capacity
- 3.83%
- Rank among nuclear plants in Illinois
- #4 of 6
- EIA plant code
- 869
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Nuclear | 1,009 MW | 902 MW | 1970 | Operating |
| 3 | Nuclear | 1,009 MW | 895 MW | 1971 | Operating |
Nameplate is the maximum rated output; summer capacity is what the unit can reliably deliver on a hot day, which is typically lower.
Similarly sized plants in Illinois
| Byron Generating Station | Nuclear | 2,450 MW |
| LaSalle Generating Station | Nuclear | 2,340 MW |
| Quad Cities Generating Station | Nuclear | 2,019 MW |
| Powerton | Coal | 1,786 MW |
About this data
From EIA’s inventory of operable generators, May 2026 release. Capacity is nameplate — the maximum rated output of the equipment, not what the plant actually generates over a year, which depends on how often it runs. A 2,019 MW solar plant and a 2,019 MW nuclear plant have the same entry here and produce very different amounts of electricity.
“In service since” is the earliest in-service date among the units still listed, so a site rebuilt around newer equipment can read as younger than the site itself. All Illinois power plants · What Illinois actually generates