Vermont Yankee nuclear plant taken off line permanently

• 9 years ago (2014-12-29)
• Junior Isles

Nuclear 640

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The 620 MW Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, located on the banks of the Connecticut river in Vermont, is to be disconnected from the power grid after four decades of producing electricity according to parent company Entergy Corp.

Entergy Corp. cited economic reasons for the shutdown, including high regulatory costs, increased competition from natural gas power plants and unfavourable market structures.

Entergy estimates that decommissioning will cost a total of $1.24 billion.

The power plant itself had been a major point of conflagration between anti-nuclear protestors over the years and was even subject to a failed attempt by the Vermont legislature to close it in February 2010.

In recent years however, the power plant suffered a number of high-profile mechanical failures including cooling tower collapses in 2007 and 2008 and tritium leaks in 2010 and 2011.