Offshore Power Systems

[3] The much larger concept was envisioned in 1969 by Richard Eckert, the engineer at Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) tasked with identifying power plant sites.

The power plants would be built with two reactors on a man-made island constructed of steel, anchored in the Atlantic a few miles off the coastline.

The islands would be protected by a massive concrete breakwater composed of 18,000 dolosses, each weighing 80 tons,[1] designed to withstand hurricanes, tornadoes, moderate earthquakes and collision by a loaded tanker.

[7] Much of Blount Island was swampy land until the early 1970s when OPS obtained 850+ acres (3.4 km2) from the Jacksonville Port Authority (JPA) for $2,000/acre.

The world's largest bridge crane,[8] capable of lifting the dome of the reactor containment building was purchased for $17 million and installed across the basin.

After the embargo ended, oil prices remained high and effects of the 1973–75 recession made economic conditions worse.

When President Jimmy Carter placed a moratorium on nuclear power plant construction, OPS began laying off employees.

New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne was opposed to the floating plants, and chided the NRC for not spending more time investigating the possible consequences of a nuclear accident, no matter how unlikely the event.

The city of Jacksonville sued OPS and the Port Authority in an attempt to reclaim the property, assessed at nearly $38 million, but lost.

An artist's concept of two Offshore Power Systems floating nuclear reactors
A floating nuclear power plant from Offshore Power Systems being constructed in a shipyard
Artist's sketch of a completed floating nuclear plant of the Offshore Power Systems design
Sketch of the a completed floating nuclear power plant manufacturing facility from Offshore Power Systems
Overall layout plan of a floating nuclear plant manufacturing facility in the four plants per year configuration from OPS