Nuclear power plant that Vermont lawmakers tried to shut down will close

Less than two weeks after a federal appeals court rejected the Vermont Legislature's attempt to shut down the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant for safety reasons, owners of the plant announced "plans to close and decommission the power station following its current fuel cycle," reports the Brattleboro Reformer, a daily paper that covers Windham County, where the plant is located. The plant is scheduled to close next year.

The plant's owner, Entergy Corp., said in a press release Tuesday that the decision was "driven by sustained low power prices, high cost structure and wholesale electricity market design flaws for Vermont Yankee plant."

Leo Denault, Entergy's chairman and chief executive officer, said in the release: "This was an agonizing decision and an extremely tough call for us. Vermont Yankee has an immensely talented, dedicated and loyal workforce, and a solid base of support among many in the community. We recognize that closing the plant on this schedule was not the outcome they had hoped for, but we have reluctantly concluded that it is the appropriate action for us to take under the circumstances." (Read more)