Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant To Shut Down In 2019

NPR ^ | May 30, 2017 11:58 AM ET | Merrit Kennedy

[Olog-hai]

The company that owns the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, site of the worst nuclear disaster in U.S. history, announced that it plans to shutter the facility in 2019 unless the state of Pennsylvania steps in to keep it open.

The plant near Harrisburg, Pa., hasn’t been profitable for the past five years, according to owner Exelon Corp. The company announced last week that it failed to auction off future energy production from Three Mile Island for the third year in a row.

“Today is a difficult day, not just for the 675 talented men and women who have dedicated themselves to operating Three Mile Island safely and reliably every day, but also for their families, the communities and customers who depend on this plant to produce clean energy and support local jobs,” Exelon CEO Chris Crane said in a statement.

Tuesday’s announcement highlights the challenges to the nuclear power industry — which “faces slowing demand for electricity, and competition from cheaper natural gas and renewables,” as StateImpact Pennyslvania’s Marie Cusick has reported. …

[Buckeye McFrog]

unless the state of Pennsylvania steps in to keep it open.

translation: Force me to subsidize you with my tax money. No thanks.

[a fool in paradise]

Sell it to Iran and then the Leftist protesters will hush up,

[teeman8r]

so it cannot make a profit, because no one wants to buy power from a nuclear plant...

i bet if the subsidies to the renewable energies were lifted, the price would be comparable...

[mountn man]

translation: Force me to subsidize you with my tax money. No thanks.

Tuesday’s announcement highlights the challenges to the nuclear power industry — which “faces slowing demand for electricity, and competition from cheaper natural gas and renewables,”

The "renewables" they mention are a small fraction of electrical power production, but are cheaper than nuke BECAUSE of the subsidize given them. $176 billion worth. For 1.9% of all power produced in the US.

[Buckeye McFrog]

The low price of natural gas is cleaning their clock.
That and the maintenance expense for a nuke plant turns
out to be far higher than what was projected at the time
it was built.

[Timpanagos1]

Fracking Wins!

[NonValueAdded]

So much for “too cheap to meter”

[DIRTYSECRET]

Still we should build the storage facility at Yucca Mountain. Deposit our waste and that of foreign nations.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Yup. Exelon is essentially screaming “Me too! Me too!”

[old gringo]

yes i rembemer that.so cheap they said no meter needed.

[Olog-hai]

Never mind unnecessary regulations on nuke power generation.

[DoughtyOne]

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...this is a general all-purpose message, and should not be seen as targeting any individual I am responding to...

Just $401.00 to 63.00%

[meatloaf]

Early nineties repeat. Once the price of natural gas soars, as it will, it will be a different story.

[hopespringseternal]

Then the KGB financed anti-nukes and Carter happened, basically freezing nuclear technology in 1950s technology and driving up the cost of every aspect of nuclear power generation.

And renewables are not at all cheaper — they are horrendously subsidized.

[Timpanagos1]

“And renewables are not at all cheaper — they are horrendously subsidized.”

Would you happen to know to what extent nuclear power has been subsidized?

[DUMBGRUNT]

Once the price of natural gas soars, as it will, it will be a different story.

What is the capacity of the natural gas pipelines in the TMI service area?

I hear the pipeline permits can take forever.

They may want to get on it now.

[meatloaf]

As far as I know, none of the pipelines are in the TMI area. Lots are being built in western PA and WV. If you’re traveling and see large stockpiles of green coated pipe, that’s a staging area for the pipeline. Those pipelines are under construction. It’s going to be a mixed bag with exports providing an impetus to higher prices and a larger amount of shale play gas getting moved to market and putting downward pressure on the price of gas. The wild card is how many natural gas fired power plants will come online. In the early nineties a similar construction frenzy spiked the price of natural gas. Enron had around 200 units on order when they went bankrupt.

[clearcarbon]

"yes i rembemer that.so cheap they said no meter needed."

I believe that was Nixon on developing fast-breeder reactors. That idea was killed over concerns about "nuclear-proliferation," which was something the government use to worry about.

[hopespringseternal]

LOL. Just about the only thing that isn’t subsidized are people actually working for a living.

The point isn’t whether something is subsidized to get it going, but whether it requires continuing support to even be viable. Hydrocarbons and nukes could be done without subsidy (Whether they ever will be is a separate issue).

“Renewables” are only as renewable as the tax money flowing in.