Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant was a completed General Electric nuclear boiling water reactor located adjacent to Long Island Sound in East Shoreham , New York . The plant was built between 1973 and 1984 by the Long Island Lighting Company ( LILCO ) . The plant faced considerable public opposition after the 1979 Three Mile Island accident and the 1986 Chernobyl disaster . There were large protests and two dozen local groups opposed the plant . In 1983 , Suffolk County determined that the county could not be safely evacuated in the event of a serious nuclear accident at the plant . Governor Mario Cuomo ordered state officials not to approve any LILCO-sponsored evacuation plan &mdash; effectively preventing the plant from operating at full capacity . The plant was completed in 1984 and in 1985 LILCO received federal permission for low-power ( 5 percent power ) tests
Three Mile Island accident
Three Mile Island accident
Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant