Group warns more nuclear power plants may shut down

The chief executive officer of a trade group representing the nuclear power industry warned Wall Street analysts Thursday that more power plants in the sector may be headed for shutdown.

Marvin Fertel, president and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute, cited the pending shutdown of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power plant in New England as an example that the current competitive market that power producers bid into doesn’t adequately value the reliability the industry’s plants provide. Vermont Yankee’s owner, Entergy, announced in 2013 that the nuclear power plant, which is located along the Connecticut River just outside of Brattleboro, would shutdown at the end of this year.

Fertel said in a statement that the shutdown of Vermont Yankee was a “perfectly rational business decision” for Entergy, but wrong for society as a whole. He also cited last year’s shutdown of the Kewaunee nuclear plant in Wisconsin as another example of the flawed marketplace as it relates to nuclear energy.

“There was nothing wrong with these plants,” Fertel said. “There is something wrong with the design and operation of the markets in which they are operating. They do not value the base load capacity that can be dispatched when needed, do not provide value for fuel end technology diversity.”
[link to www.nhregister.com]
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