Owners of only nuclear power plant in Massachusetts plan shutdown by 2019

ETR says current and forecast power prices have fallen ~$10/MW hour for an annual loss of more than $40M in revenue for the Pilgrim plant.

Entergy said, “Before considering any impairment or the decision to close the plant, Pilgrim was expected to incur annual after-tax losses on an operational basis ranging from $10 million to $30 million for 2015, 2016 and 2017”.

After shutting down, Pilgrim will transition to decommissioning.

In addition, Entergy, like other nuclear operators, said Pilgrim’s economic performance was undermined by unfavorable state energy proposals that subsidize renewable energy resources and a state proposal to provide above-market prices to utilities in Canada for hydro power.

Entergy chairman and CEO Leo Denault said, “The decision to close Pilgrim was incredibly hard because of the effect on our employees and the communities in which they work and live”. As Entergy’s announcement makes clear, the deck is stacked against Pilgrim financially despite its enormous value to New England.

The plant employs about 650 people, majority from the local area. “The remaining period of operation of Pilgrim needs to be with the utmost attention to safety and security, and must include rigorous oversight by the [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] to ensure that Entergy has and is spending the resources needed”.

“They are closing because of financial constraints and that will prevent Entergy from corrective action to fix several safety violations, ” she said. “New England represents an attractive market for investment due to its transparency and incentives for reliable generation”, Matt O’Connor, Carlyle managing director and co-head of Carlyle Power Partners, said in a statement.

The spent nuclear fuel at the site will be safely placed in storage onsite and could be there for decades, Mohl said. It first began generating electricity in 1972.

Markey said the Pilgrim shutdown was further evidence that the marketplace is properly hostile to nuclear energy.

Pilgrim and its owner Entergy continue to be hounded by several grassroots organizations and politicians including the very vocal State Senator Dan Wolf who has called for the plant’s closure.

Pilgrim’s closure will leave the country with only 98 nuclear power reactors.