Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station in Nebraska powers down
The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station in Nebraska was shut down last week after more than 40 years in operation.
At the time of its decommissioning, Fort Calhoun was the smallest operating nuclear power plant in the United States, with a capacity of 478 MW. The facility generated nearly 10 percent of Nebraska’s electricity, while Cooper Nuclear Station, Nebraska’s other nuclear plant, generated more than 15 percent.
According to the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), which in June voted unanimously to retire the plant, the closure was in the best financial interest of both OPPD and its customers.
According to data submitted to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Nebraska plans to add 420 MW of wind and natural gas-fired generating capacity in 2016 and 2017, which will amount to a total nearly equivalent to that being lost by the shutdown of Fort Calhoun.
Fort Calhoun is the first nuclear plant to have been retired since 2014, when Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant was shut down.
Seven other nuclear reactors are slated for retirement in the next decade. with Exelon Corp. announcing the scheduled decommissioning of Clinton and Quad Cities in Illinois, and Oyster Creek in New Jersey. Entergy Corp. has announced plans to retire its Pilgrim plant in Massachusetts. And Pacific Gas and Electric Co. stated it will not seek license extensions for its Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California.
