Exelon to close Byron and Dresden plants in 2021Nuclear NewsPower & OperationsAugust 27, 2020, 1:56PM|Nuclear News StaffExelon Generation, operator of the largest nuclear reactor fleet in the United States, intends to downsize that fleet next year by retiring its Byron and Dresden plants. In an announcement released early this morning, Exelon said that the two-unit Byron, located near Byron, Ill., would be permanently closed in September 2021, followed in November by the two-unit Dresden, located in Morris, Ill.Byron is licensed to operate for another 20 years; Dresden, a much older facility, is licensed for another decade.What they’re saying: “Although we know in our heads that shutting down the uneconomic Illinois plants is necessary to preserve even more jobs elsewhere, our hearts ache today for the thousands of talented women and men that have served Illinois families for more than a generation and will lose their jobs because of poorly conceived energy policies,” said Christopher Crane, president and chief executive officer of Exelon Corporation. “But we are only about a year away from shutdown, and we need to give our people, the host communities, and regulators time to prepare."Crane added, “We recognize this comes as many of our communities are still recovering from the economic and public health impacts of the pandemic, and we will continue our dialogue with policymakers on ways to prevent these closures. To that end, we have opened our books to policymakers and will continue to do so for any lawmaker who wishes to judge the plants’ profitability.” Exelon’s explanation: Byron and Dresden, despite being efficient and reliable units, face revenue shortfalls in the hundreds of millions of dollars because of declining energy prices and market rules that allow fossil fuel plants to underbid clean resources in the PJM Interconnection capacity auction. The plants’ economic challenges are further exacerbated, the company said, by the December 2019 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order regarding PJM’s forward-looking capacity auctions, which instructed PJM to expand its minimum offer price rule (MOPR) to include new and existing energy resources, such as nuclear, that receive state subsidies. In Exelon’s view, the MOPR will discourage clean energy resources from entering the capacity market.Not really a surprise: Exelon warned last year that it would be forced to shutter nuclear plants in Illinois unless state lawmakers passed legislation in 2020 to aid the utility’s financially troubled facilities. In a third-quarter earnings call with analysts last October, Crane made the company’s position abundantly clear, stating, “Plants will shut down. That’s the reality if something doesn’t happen in the spring. … Something we’re not going to do is sit around and damage the balance sheet. We can’t sit here and bleed cash and build up debt.”Readers may recall that following a June 2016 statement from Exelon regarding its intention to close its Clinton and Quad Cities plants, legislation ensuring their continued operation was signed into law in Illinois in December that year.Why it matters: Byron and Dresden supply zero-emissions energy to more than four million homes and businesses in northern Illinois and, according to Exelon, employ more than 1,500 full-time staffers and 2,000 supplemental workers during refueling outages and pay nearly $63 million in taxes annually to support local schools, fire, police, and other services. Next: Exelon said that in the days and weeks ahead, it will file a deactivation notice with PJM and inform key stakeholders and regulatory agencies of the retirements. In addition, the company plans to make official shutdown notifications to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission within 30 days, terminate capital investment projects required for long-term operation of Byron and Dresden, and scale back the refueling outages scheduled for this fall at the plants. The move will result in spending reductions of $50 million and the elimination of up to 1,400 of more than 2,000 mostly union jobs typically associated with the two refueling outages, according to the company.Tags:byronclintondresdenexelonfercmoprpjmquad citiesShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
EIA: Nuclear, coal will account for majority of U.S. generating capacity retirements in 2021According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s latest inventory of electric generators, 9.1 gigawatts (GW) of electric generating capacity is scheduled to retire in 2021.In total, it appears that 30 plants (nuclear, coal, petroleum, and others) will be retired in 2021. Five nuclear reactors are included in the closure list—Indian Point-3, Byron (two units at the plant), and Dresden (two units at the plant). Those three plants produce 5.1 GW of power, accounting for more than half of the total capacity expected to be retired.Go to Article
The year in review 2020: Power and OperationsHere is a look back at the top stories of 2020 from our Power and Operations section in Newswire and Nuclear News magazine. Remember to check back to Newswire soon for more top stories from 2020.Power and Operations section Defense Department invests in three microreactor designs: Three reactor developers got a boost on March 9 when they each were awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to design a reactor that can fit inside a standard shipping container for military deployment. Read more.Go to Article
Exelon CEO urges Illinois legislators to save nuclear plantsCraneChristopher Crane, president and chief executive officer of Exelon, wrote in a Chicago Sun-Times op-ed, “The failure of national energy markets to support clean energy will soon force the premature retirement of two of [Illinois’s] six zero-carbon nuclear plants, putting thousands of people out of work, raising energy costs, and taking us decades backward in the fight against climate change."Crane urged Illinois policymakers to act quickly, as they face critical decisions about the future of energy that will affect the state’s environment, the economy, and the health of every family for years to come.Go to Article
Illinois AFL-CIO releases updated nuclear impacts reportIn response to Exelon’s announcement of the premature closure of two Illinois nuclear power plants—Byron and Dresden—the Illinois AFL-CIO released an updated version of the Brattle Group’s Illinois Nuclear Impacts Report.The report highlights the economic losses and environmental impacts Illinois’ and its local communities will face with the retirement of these plants, according to a January 5 article posted to the 23WIFR website.Go to Article
Searching for lost revenue from shut-down nuclear plants, NY law allows towns to assess waste storageIndian Point nuclear power plant. Photo: Entergy NuclearCommunities across the United States where nuclear power plants have been shut down face huge gaps in tax revenues, sometimes in the tens of millions of dollars. States such as New Jersey, Illinois, Wisconsin, and California are watching events in New York now that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a new law that says cities can “assess the economic value of storing waste” on sites where nuclear plants once operated, as reported by Bloomberg.Go to Article
Local leader speaks out to keep Byron nuclear plant openChesneyAn Illinois lawmaker is hopeful that legislation is coming in the state that would benefit nuclear power plants. “I believe we’re going to have an incentive program that will be in partisan legislation,” said Andrew Chesney, Illinois state representative for the 89th District.Chesney’s comment was included in a video story that aired on a TV news channel in Rockford, Ill. The news story focused on the negative financial impact that would result if the Byron nuclear power plant were to close in 2021.Go to Article
Game-playing AI technique may lead to cheaper nuclear energyIn this AI-designed layout for a boiling water reactor, fuel rods are ideally positioned around two fixed water rods to burn more efficiently. MIT researchers ran the equivalent of 36,000 simulations to find the optimal configurations. Colors correspond to varying amounts of uranium and gadolinium oxide in each rod. Image: Majdi Radaideh/MITResearchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Exelon show that by turning the nuclear fuel assembly design process into a game, an artificial intelligence system can be trained to generate dozens of optimal configurations that can make each fuel rod last about 5 percent longer, saving a typical power plant an estimated $3 million a year, the researchers report.The AI system can also find optimal solutions faster than a human and can quickly modify designs in a safe, simulated environment. The results appear in the journal Nuclear Engineering and Design.Go to Article
Study completed on BWRX-300 deployment in PolandThe completion of a study assessing the feasibility of deploying a fleet of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s (GEH) BWRX-300 small modular reactors in Poland was announced recently by the Polish firm Synthos Green Energy (SGE). The feasibility study, which was prepared by Exelon Generation, was not made publicly available by SGE. The study covers the analysis of key aspects of SMR technology implementation, including cost issues, personnel policy, regulatory and security issues, construction models, and operational issues, according to SGE.SGE is a subsidiary of Synthos S.A., a manufacturer of synthetic rubber and one of the biggest producers of chemical raw materials in Poland. According to SGE, it views SMR technology as an opportunity for the deep decarbonization of Polish industry and the country's heating sector.Go to Article
Senate approves Trump’s FERC nomineesChristieClementsThe Senate has confirmed the nominations of Republican Mark Christie and Democrat Allison Clements to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by voice vote, bringing the agency to its full, five-member complement for the first time since before Cheryl LaFleur departed in August of last year.The chamber’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted on November 18 to advance the pair to the full Senate for confirmation, following their testimony before the committee in September. President Trump announced his intention to nominate Christie and Clements in July.Go to Article
Talk of Exelon splitting utility and non-utility assets continuesAlthough a much-discussed October 12 story from Bloomberg headlined “Exelon Weighs Shedding Nuclear Plants, Other Non-Utility Assets” went unconfirmed, a new report from Greentech Media says that confirmation has now taken place.Go to Article