Washington, D.C. (August 9, 2016) - Nuclear Matters issued the following statement on the announcement today that Exelon Generation has agreed to assume ownership and operations of Entergy Corporation's James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant in Scriba, New York.
"Today's news is a welcome testament to the real results that effective public policy can help drive. Thanks to the leadership of Governor Andrew Cuomo in working with New York's Public Service Commission (PSC) to enact a Clean Energy Standard (CES), and Exelon and Entergy's cooperation, the FitzPatrick nuclear power plant, which was once in danger of shutting down prematurely, can now continue to operate and bring its many economic and reliability benefits to New York. These benefits include maintaining the 600 well-paying jobs the plant provides, as well as the carbon-free energy it supplies to more than 800,000 homes in upstate New York. Upon completion of this transaction, New York will also be well-positioned to meet its longer-term carbon reduction goals, as it is the first state to officially recognize nuclear for its carbon-free attributes and provide a pathway to keep these plants open.
There is still more work to be done. There are still many regulatory approvals that are needed from the state and federal government to ensure that this process is completed. As energy stakeholders and policymakers move forward, they should keep in mind that the sale of FitzPatrick is in the best interest of all stakeholders, including employees, owners, customers, and communities. And as other states consider policy solutions that help them meet their clean energy goals, they should look to the New York CES as a model for how to maintain a low-carbon energy portfolio that meets the energy needs we have today while allowing us to work towards our greater and greener energy goals of tomorrow."
These plants provide 61 percent of New York's emission-free electricity so closing any one of these plants would only make the reduction of carbon emissions more difficult. It is also worth noting that the approval of the CES will allow Exelon to invest $400-500 million in operations, integration and refueling expenditures in upstate New York, which will have a positive impact across the state.