Floating entire nuclear power plants on water to minimize stresses and differential deflections resulting from seismic shock may permit their construction offshore, in bays or rivers, and close to populated load centers. The use of open water as an exclusion area, access to cooling water immediately around the station, availability of water transportation, and assurance of safety during earthquakes largely offset the added cost of floating the station and transmitting power to shore. Floating all components on a captive barge decouples a nuclear power plant from seismic disturbance, and no damage will occur within the station during not only an earthquake but any credible environmental condition. Because there is no relative movement of station components, there can be no loss of primary coolant, no fuel melting, no damage to the containment, and consequently, no release of fission products. Several designs have been considered. Only present methods of construction were used in the plans for a preferred design of a 1000-MW(e) station. To develop costs for evaluation, a design site was selected in the shallow water 2750 ft offshore near Los Angeles, where the Bolsa Island nuclear plant was being considered.