nuclear-news

The plummeting price of a competing fuel, natural gas, and the reluctance of federal and regional officials to provide financial incentives for nuclear power plants put further pressure on Entergy to close the plant, Mohl said. ……

Opponents of Pilgrim, who have long protested the plant’s safety record and have raised environmental concerns, celebrated the announcement.

“They should shut down now, saving them money and us peace of mind,” said Mary Lampert, director of Pilgrim Watch, a Duxbury group that has been calling for the plant’s closure for years.

Senator Edward J. Markey, another longtime critic, called Entergy’s decision prudent. “While nuclear energy was once advertised as being too cheap to meter, it is increasingly clear that it is actually too expensive to matter,’’ he said in a statement. “The remaining period of operation of Pilgrim needs to be with the utmost attention to safety and security.’’

Officials at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said they will maintain close oversight of the plant through its decommissioning, which by law could take up to 60 years after the plant shuts down, said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the commission. Until the plant closes, Pilgrim will be subject to expensive federal inspections that will review whether equipment failure, procedural trouble, or human error led to the shutdowns in 2013 and 2015…..

What comes afterward, at the moment, remains unclear, Mohl said. As with other nuclear plants that have been shuttered in the region, the operators will need to leave radioactive waste on the site of Pilgrim until the federal government finds a suitable location to store the spent fuel. Where to store the waste permanently has divided politicians for decades.

Some neighbors in Plymouth worry about the prospect of nuclear waste remaining at the plant for years to come.

“What has happened is that a bad dream is turning into a nightmare,” said Jeff Berger, chairman emeritus of a nonpartisan advisory group to the town called the Nuclear Matters Committee. “The plant is going to have a lot fewer people guarding a lot of nuclear waste, and that’s a real concern.” https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/13/entergy-close-pilgrim-nuclear-power-station-nuclear-power-plant-that-opened/fNeR4RT1BowMrFApb7DqQO/story.html