Entergy to close upstate nuclear plant, keep Indian Point open
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the upstate plant and Westchester plant are two different scenarios.
Entergy Corp., which owns the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, said Monday it will close its nuclear plant in upstate New York, even as it continues to fight to relicense its plant in Westchester.
State officials vowed to fight the company's decision to close the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Oswego County, while anti-nuclear power activists welcomed it.
"The state of New York will pursue every legal and regulatory avenue in an attempt to stop Entergy’s actions and its callous disregard for their skilled and loyal workforce," said Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a statement, noting the plant provides jobs for over 600 workers.
Entergy said the announcement will have no impact on Indian Point, which is facing attempts by state leaders, including Cuomo, to shut it down.
Indian Point provides about 30 percent of the power used by New York City.
Cuomo said last week that the two Entergy plants are entirely different situations because of the dangers posed by Indian Point’s proximity to New York City.
The closing of the Fitzpatrick plant comes after failed negotiations with the state over ways to avoid a shutdown. The plant generates 838 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 800,000 homes. The plant is slated to be closed late next year and into 2017, Entergy said.
The Oswego plant, which has been in operation since 1975, loses about $60 million annually, and its financial viability is worsening lately because of cheaper electricity generated through natural gas, according to the company.
But Indian Point's financial feasibility is different from FitzPatrick because of its direct access to the Lower Hudson Valley and New York City with their higher power prices, Jerry Nappi, Entergy spokesman, said Monday.
Susan Shapiro, a member of the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition, said Monday state leaders should be applauding Entergy's decision because it would mean less nuclear power waste in New York State.
"I'm very happy that they are finally closing the plant because it was a financial drain on the entire community and the state," Shapiro said. "Now the next thing they need to do is closing Indian Point, because that's the most dangerous thing in the New York metropolitan area."
Leo Denault, Entergy’s chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement that: “Given the financial challenges our merchant power plants face from sustained wholesale power price declines and other unfavorable market conditions, we have been assessing each asset."
"As part of this review, we previously announced the closure of the Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station in Massachusetts and have now decided that despite good operational performance, market conditions require us to also close the FitzPatrick nuclear plant.”
The decision by Entergy to close the plant in Oswego County is the latest uncertainty surrounding New York’s aging power plants. Last month, Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. and the owner of the Ginna nuclear facility near Rochester proposed a deal to add extra surcharges on RG&E customers to keep the plant viable.
The future of several upstate coal plants are also in limbo. For example, the Cayuga Power Plant in Lansing, Tompkins County, has been under review for two years as the state Public Service Commission weighs whether to allow it to transition to natural gas or close.
Also, earlier this year, NRG Energy put on hold a $150 million plan to transition a coal plant in Dunkirk, Chautauqua County, to natural gas.