Exelon Generation retiring Byron, Dresden Illinois Generating stations in 2021

Exelon Generation announced plans last week that will result in the retirement of the Byron and Dresden Generations Stations in Illinois decades ahead of schedule, citing market rules that favor polluting plants over nuclear energy.

While Dresden is licensed to operate for another 10 years and Byron for another 20, the company will retire both in the fall of next year, shuttering four nuclear generation units that supply energy to more than 4 million homes and businesses. The shuttering will undoubtedly have an economic impact on northern Illinois, as, between them, the stations employ more than 1,500 full-time workers and bring on 2,000 supplemental employees during refueling outages.

“Although we know in our heads that shutting down the uneconomic Illinois plants is necessary to preserve even more jobs elsewhere, our hearts ache today for the thousands of talented women and men that have served Illinois families for more than a generation and will lose their jobs because of poorly conceived energy policies,” Christopher Crane, president and CEO of Exelon, said. “But we are only about a year away from shutdown, and we need to give our people, the host communities, and regulators time to prepare.”

Exelon noted the two plans are among the most efficient and reliable in the country but face revenue shortfalls to the tune of hundreds of million dollars due to declining energy prices and market rules allowing fossil fuel plants to underbid clean resources in the PJM capacity auction. The plants pay nearly $63 million in taxes annually and supply 30 percent of Illinois’ carbon-free energy.

LaSalle and Braidwood nuclear stations, also in Illinois, may face closure if the existing market rules remain in place, Exelon said. However, the company has opened its books to lawmakers to judge its plants’ profitability for themselves.

“We agree with Governor Pritzker that policy reform is urgently needed to address the climate crisis and advance Illinois’ clean energy economy, and we support the objectives of the Governor’s recent energy principles,” Crane said. “That’s separate from today’s announcement to retire these two zero-carbon nuclear plants, which was not a decision made lightly and is one that has been in the works for some time.”