Let’s start with the A-listers. You’ve got the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan—which is currently retired, like a rockstar on a permanent farewell tour. Then there’s Diablo Canyon in California, hanging out by the coast like it owns the place (it pretty much does, power-wise).
Head down to the Southeast, and you’ll find the Watts Bar Unit 2 in Tennessee. It’s the newest reactor in the US, completed in 2016. It took 43 years to build. Talk about a slow cooker! But hey, better late than glowing in the dark.
Don’t forget Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. It’s famous for a partial meltdown in 1979, but it’s safely shut down now. Think of it as the nuclear plant that learned its lesson and now just sits there, giving tours and selling t-shirts.
The Secret City: Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oh, you want a real weird dot? Oak Ridge is a whole town that didn’t exist on maps during World War II. It was built to enrich uranium for the atomic bomb. Imagine your mail going to “P.O. Box 123, Secret Nuclear Town, USA.” Today, it’s a research hub. They have a giant, scary museum about the atomic bomb, and it’s honestly a fun day out. Just don’t lick the exhibits.
