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posted by martyb on Sunday June 04 2017, @10:55AM   Printer-friendly
from the needs-more-wealthfar dept.

New Jersey Spotlight reports

Three Mile Island may be the next nuclear power plant to be shuttered by its owner unless it gets financial help to keep the facility afloat.

Exelon Corp., the owner of the Pennsylvania generating station, announced yesterday it will retire the plant by or about September 30, 2019 absent any change in that state's policies dealing with nuclear power.

The announcement is the latest by an owner of a nuclear plant to threaten or close its facility unless given financial assistance to make the facility profitable, a drama that could play out soon in New Jersey with its three nuclear units operated by the Public Service Enterprise Group in South Jersey.

If Exelon follows through on its threat, it would mean the Oyster Creek plant in Lacey Township, also owned by the Chicago energy giant, could outlast TMI, the site of the nation's biggest nuclear accident when it had a partial meltdown in 1979.

Oyster Creek, the country's oldest commercial nuclear plant, agreed to shut down at the end of 2019 under a settlement worked out with the Christie administration in 2010.

[...] Environmentalists oppose extending the incentives renewable sources obtain to nuclear, because unlike solar, wind, and water, the former is not sustainable. “It’s not renewable; you have to keep buying the fuel,’’ said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.


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  • (Score: 2) by urza9814 on Monday June 05 2017, @05:16PM

    by urza9814 (3954) on Monday June 05 2017, @05:16PM (#520848) Journal

    Everyone who wants the coal plants shut down, should just disconnect from the electric grid. Just stop using coal-powered electricity, NOW! Ditto with nuclear. You know you're getting nucelar generated electricity, so just shut it off, NOW!

    What about people who pay a premium for "renewable" grid energy? I mean obviously they aren't getting specific renewable electrons, but in theory at least they're buying renewable.

    Kinda pissed about the options available in my area for that though...specifically because none of them include nuclear. I bought into the "100% wind" program, because while I REALLY don't think wind is an ideal solution, it's the best one available to me at the moment. The other "green" choice is a renewable mix that includes hydro (worse than wind, limited availability and requires flooding large areas) and biodigester (better than just letting the stuff rot I guess, but still never going to be a major power source, and it's not necessarily carbon free or renewable either.) The standard grid mix up here is 27% nuclear and ~50% fossil fuel. I'd like to "vote with my wallet" to support nuclear but there's no way to do that. I can support stupid methods of clean energy or I can stay at the default, mostly support fossil fuels, and send the message that I just want it cheap and dirty. And I live in an apartment so there's no possible way for me to go off grid right now either.

    As for "using whatever is available" -- they don't give you many options and in many locations electric service is a legal requirement (ex: see Rhode Island Code - § 45-24.3-8 (e), any dwelling within 300 feet of a power line MUST have electric service.) So yeah, people "use whatever is available" because they aren't given any other choice.

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