The owners of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth have announced that they will close the plant by June 2019.
Entergy Corp. said Tuesday it is closing the only nuclear power plant in Massachusetts because of "poor market conditions, reduced revenues and increased operational costs."
The decision comes about a month after federal inspectors said they would increase oversight of the plant in the wake of a shutdown during a winter storm. The plant needs millions of dollars in safety improvements.
The plant was relicensed in 2012 for 20 years.
The timing of the shutdown depends on several factors, including further discussion with ISO-New England, the operators of the region's power grid.
Entergy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Leo Denault said the decision to close Pilgrim was "incredibly difficult."
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker released the following statement Tuesday morning.
“Our Administration will work closely with Pilgrim’s leadership team and federal regulators to ensure that this decision is managed as safely as possible, and we will continue to work with ISO and the other New England Governors to ensure that Massachusetts and New England has the baseload capacity it needs to meet the electric generation needs of the region,” Baker said. “Losing Pilgrim as a significant power generator not only poses a potential energy shortage, but also highlights the need for clean, reliable, affordable energy proposals which my administration has put forward through legislation to deliver affordable hydroelectricity and Class-I renewable resources. The closure of Pilgrim will be a significant loss of carbon-free electricity generation and will offset progress Massachusetts has made in achieving the 2020 greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, making it more challenging to hit these targets. I look forward to working with the legislature to make our proposal for clean, base-load generation law, as it represents a diversified and balanced approach that will be needed to achieve the commonwealth's greenhouse gas goals.”
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