|
|
|
|
||
Exelon Generation submits decommissioning plans for 2 Illinois nukesfrom SNL Power Daily with Market Report Exelon Generation submits decommissioning plans for 2 Illinois nukesByline: Stephen Cedric Jumchai Exelon Generation Co. LLC is filing post-shutdown decommissioning activities reports with federal regulators for the 2,346-MW Byron Generating Station and 1,805-MW Dresden nuclear power plants in Illinois, the company announced July 28. The reports, which the Exelon Corp. subsidiary will file July 28 with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, detail long-term site restoration plans for the Byron and Dresden facilities in September and November, respectively. In August 2020, Exelon announced plans to retire the plants, citing wholesale power market rules that fail to compensate the generators for their emission-free attributes. Exelon Generation warned that without a legislative solution, low energy prices leading to revenue shortfalls and market policies that give fossil fuel plants an unfair competitive advantage would force the company to also shutter the 2,384-MW Braidwood Generating Station and 2,313-MW LaSalle County Generating Station sometime within the next few years. "With no signs of a breakthrough on clean energy legislation in Springfield, we have no choice but to take these final steps in preparation for shutting down the plants," Exelon Generation Chief Nuclear Officer Dave Rhoades said in a statement. "We will never stop fighting for policies to preserve Illinois' nuclear fleet, knowing that the minute these plants close, our customers will experience dirtier air and higher energy costs." With the reports complete, Exelon Generation started preparing job reduction notifications for employees impacted by the shutdowns. Plant staffing will fall from nearly 1,500 employees in August 2020 to just around 30 to 40 employees over the next 10 years, the release said. As part of the decommissioning process, Exelon Generation has up to 60 years to restore Byron and Dresden in a process that includes transporting the two stations' used fuel to long-term storage, decontaminating and removing plant components, and razing the remaining buildings. The PJM Interconnection also confirmed that both plants can retire without putting overall grid reliability at risk, the release noted. In May, Exelon said it remains focused on securing additional subsidies for the Byron and Dresden plants. However, more pressure was added in June when the company announced that the Byron, Dresden and the 1,819-MW Quad Cities plants failed to clear PJM's capacity auction for the 2022-2023 planning year. Quad Cities, however, will continue to operate due to support provided by the Illinois Future Energy Jobs Act, which took effect in 2017. |
return to message board, top of board |