Entergy Corp. will be shutting down its Vermont Nuclear Power Station but company officials say no similar plans are underway for Buchanan”™s Indian Point station
Entergy spokesman Jim Steets said Indian Point employees need not worry that their plant will close.
“Vermont Yankee is the smallest nuclear power plant in our fleet,” Steets said. “It has one unit that produces 585 megawatts of electricity. Indian Point has a larger facility containing two units producing more than 2,000 megawatts of electricity. Indian Point is certainly recognized as a plant that significantly contributes a reliable supply of electricity.”
The decision to close Vermont Yankee was based on the fact that the natural gas market has undergone a dramatic shift in supply due to the impacts of shale gas, Steets said. This resulted in sustained low natural gas prices and wholesale energy prices. The same market doesn”™t exist in the Indian Point region, he said.
Leo Denault, Entergy chairman and chief executive officer, said closing its Vernon, Vt., facility was an “extremely tough call,” which would leave “talented, dedicated and loyal workforce” without jobs.
“We recognize that closing the plant on this schedule was not the outcome they had hoped for, but we have reluctantly concluded that it is the appropriate action for us to take under the circumstances,” Denault said.
Indian Point is currently seeking to renew for 20 years its operating licenses with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The approval process is being contested by several environmental groups and politicians who believe the facility”™s location within the New York City metro area poses health risks and potential dangers.
