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No going back on nuclear plant decision

 
Published Feb. 9, 2013

No going back on nuclear plant

With Duke Energy planning to keep the Crystal River nuclear plant in storage mode for the next couple of decades, might the utility consider restarting the plant rather than eventually dismantling it?

The answer: no.

"The retirement decision will not be revisited," said Suzanne Grant, a Duke spokeswoman.

On Tuesday, Duke announced that it would permanently shut down the 36-year-old nuclear plant after a botched upgrade project resulted in cracks in the reactor's 42-inch-thick concrete containment wall. The utility estimated that it would cost $1.5 billion to $3.4 billion to fix, and decided to permanently close the facility and build a natural gas plant as early as 2018.

Closing the plant will mean the loss of hundreds of jobs. But at least one nuclear plant in the Northwest United States wants to hire laid-off Crystal River workers.

Energy Northwest is looking to fill positions at its Columbia Generating Station in Richland, Wash. The utility also has been seeking job applicants from Dominion Power's Kuwaunee plant in Wisconsin that is set to close.