The original letter of intent to purchase a single 454 megawatt (MW) nuclear unit from
Westinghouse Electric Company for a fixed-price was issued by Wisconsin Electric and Wisconsin Michigan Power Company (a Wisconsin Electric subsidiary) on December 30, 1965. The right was reserved to order a second, duplicate unit under the same terms. In May, 1966, the announcement was made that the plant would be built on a 1,200-acre site in the town of Two Creeks. On November 28, 1966, following Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) endorsement and a brief public hearing, Alfred Gruhl, Glenn Reed, and Sol Burstein turned the first symbolic spades of dirt for the official ground-breaking. In May, 1967, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), predecessor to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), issued the official construction permit (number 32) for Point Beach Unit 1. The Unit 2 construction permit (number 47) was issued approximately a year later. The Unit 2 steam generators were replaced in 1996–1997. In 2005, the NRC approved the initial license renewal application for the Point Beach plant, extending the operating license from forty years to sixty. in 2011, the NRC approved a 17% increase in power output (a.k.a. extended power uprate) from both units. This entailed significant upgrades to several plant systems and components, including safety-related pumps and valves, as well as the turbine-generator sets.
NextEra Energy Resources purchased the plant from
Wisconsin Electric Power Company in October 2007. As part of the sale, We Energies agreed to repurchase all of the power produced by the plant for at least 20 years. In 2000–2007 the plant was managed by the
Nuclear Management Company. Owners submitted applications for 20 year subsequent license extension for both units to the NRC in November 2020. The decision announcement was expected in July 2022, however this was delayed as the NRC required additional environmental impact evaluation be completed. A NRC public meeting was held on February 17, 2021 to solicit public comments on the scope of the environmental review. Both units were granted subsequent license extensions on September 29, 2025, allowing the plant to operate until the early 2050s. The plant is interconnected to the grid by four 345
kV lines. One leaves the area to the northwest connecting to the
We Energies North Appleton
substation. Another interconnects with the now-closed
Kewaunee Nuclear Generating Station located a short distance north of Point Beach. The remaining 345 kV lines exit towards
Milwaukee. == Electricity production ==