Report Suggests Clinton Plant Could Shut Down Early

The author of a study on the economic future of nuclear plants suggests facilities like the Exelon plant in Clinton will give away to less costly sources of power.

Mark Cooper is a senior fellow for economic analysis at Vermont Law School.

His research suggests that aging reactors are too costly to operate, while just a couple new ones are under construction, citing cost overruns. 

Cooper said even the few that have been built recently are over capacity, and they don’t last as long as expected.  

He said this should prompt more research into options like wind and solar power.

“Not only should we make these decisions not in a crisis mode, but the solution to the problem is actually presenting itself," he said.  "We have lower cost alternatives that are becoming available. And so we shouldn’t be afraid of an old an aging being retired early, because it’s being retired for the right reason.”

Cooper said he’s not implying Exelon has any plans to shut down the Clinton plant. 

But he sais keeping any nuclear reactor on line is becoming ‘dicey’ because of potential repair cost if anything goes wrong.  

Exelon is the largest nuclear utility in the U.S.