WASHINGTON, May 6, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Exelon Corp. announced today that it could close the Clinton and two Quad Cities reactors in Illinois if the state legislature does not pass legislation providing additional value to the facilities by May 31. Following is a statement by Marvin Fertel, the Nuclear Energy Institute's president and chief executive officer.
"The warning from Exelon is alarming and should prompt immediate action in Illinois to keep the Clinton and Quad Cities nuclear power plants operating. Hundreds of good-paying jobs and the backbones of the local tax base in their respective communities are on the line. The ripple effects to the region's electric grid and the state's clean air energy goals will be profoundly negative.
"The Clinton and Quad Cities facilities power more than 2.5 million Illinois homes; employ 1,450 professional workers; and drive approximately $2.7 billion in annual economic activity. They prevent the emission of over 20 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year, the equivalent of taking nearly five million cars off the road, and constitute 15 percent of the carbon-free electricity in Illinois.
"In addition to putting Illinois' clean air goals in jeopardy, the state likely will face long-term reliability challenges. Considering that Dynegy announced on May 3 that it will close 1,835 megawatts of coal generation in southern Illinois with another 500 megawatts targeted for shutdown, the state cannot afford to lose another 2,900 megawatts of baseload generation. Clinton and Quad Cities each could provide clean-air electricity for decades to come and play a major role in preserving long-term energy reliability for consumers.
"The time for Illinois to take action is now."
The Nuclear Energy Institute is the nuclear energy industry's policy organization. This news release and additional information about nuclear energy are available at www.nei.org.
Contact NEI's media relations staff at media@nei.org, 202.739.8000 during business hours or 703.644.8805 after hours and weekends.