Dr. Conca reports that Exelon announced that it will buy the James A Fitzpatrick nuclear power plant in upstate New York from Entergy. The two companies reached an agreement worth $110 million following the NY adoption of a Clean Energy Standard that supports nuclear energy as well as renewable energy. When approved by state and federal regulatory agencies, Entergy will transfer Fitzpatrick operating license in mid-2017 to Exelon, which operates two other New York nuclear plants, Nine Mile Point and Ginna, along with 21 other reactors from Illinois to New Jersey. This transfer will save 7 billion kWhs of carbon-free electricity a year, $500 million for the regional economy, 600 high-paying direct jobs and over 1,500 indirect jobs.
Like other recent nuclear plant closings, the 838 MW Fitzpatrick reactor was at risk of closing prematurely, because of the transient, warped energy market structure of the unregulated merchant markets, especially in the north and east. In these competitive electricity markets, prices are lower than they should be because the rules and operations of the marketplace are not capable of capturing everything that should be included in the price. This is known as price formation and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is trying to fix this defect. In addition, the tax credits for carbon-free renewable generation allows them to undercut all other energy sources, even natural gas, by transferring the costs of electricity from the ratepayer to the taxpayer. But almost every constituency and politician involved with this issue said they really did not want the plant to close, including the utility itself, the local community, the Governor of NY, the NY Representatives, the NY Senators and the Obama Administration.
Fortunately, the Clean Energy Standard adopted last week by the NY Public Service Commission offered a way out. The Clean Energy Standard recognizes and supports the carbon-free generation provided by nuclear power plants.
For original URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2016/08/11/exelon-buys-fitzpatrick-nuclear-plant-setting-the-standard-for-us-carbon-goals/#4d32c90e70e0
Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-
