Nuclear plant owner: It's gov's fault

Oct 14 - McClatchy-Tribune Content Agency, LLC - Jordan Graham, Matt Stout Boston Herald

The owner of the Bay State's only nuclear power plant blamed state energy policies for creating impossible economic conditions as it announced it would shut down the Plymouth plant within four years, eliminating a huge chunk of the state's capacity to generate clean energy.

"When you have other folks making decisions on renewables, on preference power from Canada, on subsidization of gas pipelines ... you are basically picking winners and losers," said Bill Mohl, president of New Orleans-based Entergy Wholesale Commodities, which owns Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. "(The) consequences are the shutdown of viable facilities."

Mohl yesterday said they will close Pilgrim by 2019, because government subsidies for renewable energy and low natural gas prices have combined to make nuclear power too expensive to generate in New England. Entergy is forecasting a roughly $40 million annual loss in the coming years.

Gov. Charlie Baker, who has been pushing a plan that includes Canadian hydropower, said Pilgrim's closure will leave a gap in energy generation.

"Pilgrim generates about 700 megawatts of energy every single day that the grid can count on and we need to replace that," Baker said. "It creates a certain sense of urgency around our hydro proposal, which would make it possible for us to generate significant megawatts ... and do so in a way that would be competitive and cost-effective."

The news of Pilgrim's planned closing comes after federal inspectors in September downgraded its safety rating and said they would increase oversight.

The plant is due for refueling in 2017, and Entergy said it will decide next year if the plant will close before 2019.

Pilgrim pays the town of Plymouth nearly $10 million every year in property taxes.

"It's not a devastating blow to us, fiscally," Town Manager Melissa Arrighi said. "We've been setting money aside ... to deal with the eventual closing of the plant."

The union representing the more than 600 workers at Pilgrim called on Entergy to find a way to keep the plant open.

"Entergy needs to sharpen its pencil, go back to the drawing board ... and come back with a plan to keep this plant running affordably and safely," said Craig Pinkham, acting president of the Utility Workers Union of America Local 369. "It is not acceptable to walk away from a resource this valuable."

http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=37646445