Louisiana power plant owner Entergy closed its 620-megawatt Vermont Yankee nuclear plant on Monday, amid outcries from the industry.
Entergy made the decision to close the 42-year-old Vermont plant earlier this year after the rise of low-cost natural gas power plants in New England made running the nuclear plant less economically feasible. The announcement came after Entergy fought a protracted legal battle with the Vermont state government, which was pushing for the shutdown.
With the 620 megawatts of emissions-free power coming off the regional electric grid, administrator ISO New England will need to find that electricity elsewhere to meet the demand for the region. That power likely will come from natural gas power plants, except during times when natural gas supply is low, then oil and coal plants likely will be the substitutes.
Entergy still has to decommission the Vermont Yankee plant, which won’t take place until after the nuclear waste has cooled sometime in the 2040s.
Connecticut has two nuclear plants in the decommissioning process: Connecticut Yankee in Haddam and Millstone 1 in Waterford. The state still has two operating nuclear reactors at the Millstone Power Station in Waterford, which is New England’s biggest power plant.
