Limerick Generating Station
"The smokestacks is what we often call'em, big and quiet but fair teaming with ghouls and other irradiated mutants. Some folks say that the Followers of Atom have a secret bunker somewhere in the plant, but that's just a rumor." -Phoenix's Mill settler
Purpose / Function
The original purpose of the Limerick Generating Station was to utilize nuclear energy in order to better power the southeastern region of Pennsylvania. When it was first constructed it was one of eight power plants that dotted across Pennsylvania, but later in that year Fusion energy was discovered, though at a limited capacity.
Alterations
In late 2066 the station began the slow conversion to fusion energy it was scheduled to be completed by 2087, but unfortunately this work was halted by the outbreak of the Great War in 2077. By the time the war broke out the first unit of the two-unit system of the power station had been completed and was powering nearly 40 million homes in the King of Prussia and Reading Areas.
The outbreak of the Great War caused a halt to the construction of the second unit of the fusion reactor, the partial dismantling of the old Fission reactor caused a meltdown and later water pressure explosion within the second containment building on October 3rd, 2078, heavily irradiating the Schuylkill River and the surrounding area of the plant.
Defenses
The station and its cooling towers are defended by a small chain link fence affixed with barbed wire, in its prime the perimeter of this fence would be patrolled by armed security and local law enforcement. In late 2023 the station's main lawn was outfitted with retractable sentry turrets which protected the main driveway from any potential sabotage.
History
Limerick Generating Station began its construction in June of 1974, and completed the construction of its second unit on January 8th, 1990. Just a few short months before the discovery of Fusion power was discovered by the United States. In 2055 Mass Fusion struck a deal with PPE who owned the generating station, to begin plans to slowly transition the powerplant from its Fission Reactor to a Fusion one, which would nearly quadruple its output.
Eleven years later in 2066 construction began in earnest to retrofit the old fission reactors into operational fusion reactors capable of powering every home and building from King of Prussia to Allentown. The construction and retrofit were scheduled to be completed in late summer of 2078 but due to the breakout of the Great War on October 23rd, 2077, the construction was left unfinished. On September 11th, 2077, the first unit of the two-unit fusion reactor system of the Limerick Generating Station was complete and began to output enough power to light over 40 million homes within the King of Prussia and Reading areas.
On October 3rd, 2078, the partially dismantled fission reactor of Unit 2 in the powerplant suffered a catastrophic failure and melted down. Causing a massive water pressure explosion which destroyed much of the second containment building of the plant and heavily irradiated the Schuylkill River which acted as the cooling agent for much of the reactor. In addition to the river, the cover above the reactor had been partially breached and the surrounding area became heavily irradiated. Due to this heavy radiation the nearby quarry became a prime breeding ground for a small population of Deathclaws, these same creatures guard the powerplant along with a small horde of ghouls who stalk the front lawn of the building.
On January 5th, 2135, strange lights were reported from the interior of the first containment building of the power plant, the location of the completed fusion reactor. Later that night, a strange flash of all of the working lights in the buildings of the King of Prussia area was reported by many settlers, in an event known as The Last Breath. Many believed that it was the last pulse of power from the Smoke Stacks before they went cold forever.
On February 9th, 2140, a large plume of smoke began to generate from the cooling tower over containment building one. Many settlers believe that the powerplant had finally caught fire and the end was coming soon. The smoke continued to billow out of the cooling tower for 6 months but suddenly ceased. This event created a sort of cult around the power plant, many settlers believed that this was a sign that the fusion reactor was still active and in fact was alive, and that it demanded sacrifice in order to continue to operate and live. On August 8th, the Children of The Smoking Tower began to operate in the area outside of the radiation dead zone near the power plant.
The Children of The Smoking Tower claim possession over the power plant and are the first line of defense of the plant building itself. They have spent countless generation fiercely defending the station and oddly living in harmony with the deathclaws and ghouls of the plant.
This pattern went undisturbed for generations, until the Enclave's forces reached the area around Pottstown in 2270. In April of that year the Enclave's forces discovered the Limerick Generating Station and the Children of The Smoking Tower, Enclave forces decimated the children, scattering what little remained of their numbers across the Pottstown area. After this the Enclave attempted to gain access to the power plant, however, they were repelled by the security systems of the plant coupled with the deathclaw and ghoul populations inhabiting the area. After several failed expeditions into the area around the powerplant, the area was considered to be too great a risk for the Enclave to pursue for the time being and was quarantined by the Enclave to ensure that the asset remained in their control.
In 2283 the Brotherhood of Steel dispatched a Verti-bird to the power plant, the aircraft came under immediate fire from the Enclave forces within the area and was shot down over the quarry nearby the plant. The status of that Verti-bird remains unknown, but its last transmission was a distress call which transmitted to The Wall in Iron City, summoning more Brotherhood forces to the power plant.
In 2286 when the Enclave Brotherhood War broke out in full scale, Limerick Generating Station became a priority one asset for both the Enclave and Brotherhood, and it still highly contested over to this day.
RUINED STRUCTURE
October 3rd 2078
October 3rd 2078
Founding Date
January 8th, 1990
Alternative Names
The Smoke Stacks
Type
Power plant
Parent Location
Owning Organization
Contested By
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