Entergy identified several factors that make running the plant no longer economically viable.
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The company says the facility is losing around $60 million annually. The closure of Pilgrim could take place even earlier, as Entergy could choose to shut Pilgrim down during the plant’s scheduled refueling and maintenance in 2017.
“Given the financial challenges our merchant power plants face from sustained wholesale power price declines and other unfavorable market conditions, we have been assessing each asset”, said Leo Denault, Entergy’s chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement. “As part of this review, we previously announced the closure of the Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station in Massachusetts and have now decided that despite good operational performance, market conditions require us to also close the FitzPatrick nuclear plant”. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including almost 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power, making it one of the nation’s leading nuclear generators.
Entergy says the low-priced natural gas produced by fracking from the Marcellus shale formation in New York’s Southern Tier is a big factor in the plant’s shutdown.
Entergy announced last month that it plans to close the Pilgrim plant by June of 2019 and it is also in the process of decommissioning its Vermont Yankee plant.
The company blames the closing on “deteriorating economics” because of falling natural gas prices.
Entergy plans to file the plant’s retirement plans with the New York ISO and state utility regulators today.
State officials engaged in confidential discussions with Entergy for at least two months, apparently seeking a compromise that would keep FitzPatrick open. FitzPatrick is simply too important to New York’s energy security, as well as the financial security of so many families, to leave this decision unchallenged, and it is my hope that working together, we can find a way to continue the plant’s operation and protect these jobs and the future of these communities.
Cuomo last week said his goal was to keep open Fitzpatrick but close Indian Point, saying they are two different situations because of the dangers of Indian Point’s proximity to New York City.
The move means New York would be down to five power plants. The biggest price for the loss of FitzPatrick will be paid by the hundreds of hard-working, highly skilled men and women who work at FitzPatrick, by local communities, and by the environment.
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Each plant employs about 600 people. The company said it “remains committed overall to nuclear power”.
