nuclear-news

Bye, bye, Quad Cities. The site’s failure to clear the PJM capacity auction is likely to presage its permanent shutdown. And that can’t come too soon for these aging Fukushima-clone reactors.

Exelon’s troubled nuclear fleet ran into still more trouble Friday, when three of its nuclear sites–totaling four reactors–failed to clear the PJM capacity auction for 2018, despite PJM’s efforts to bolster big-time nuclear and coal generators.

The three losers were the two Quad Cities reactors, Three Mile Island and Oyster Creek.  Another Exelon reactor that is bleeding money is Clinton, in downstate Illinois, which is not part of the PJM service area.

Failing to clear the auction does not necessarily mean that these reactors will close, nor, for that matter, that they are even uneconomical. Although, in this case, they are either losing money or barely breaking even.

The capacity auction is held by PJM to ensure a reliable…