Nuclear plant closures will represent the majority of generating capacity retirements in 2021, the Energy Information Administration forecast Tuesday.
The loss of nuclear generating capacity — a total of 5.1 gigawatts — amounts to 56% of the expected capacity loss for the coming year, the Department of Energy organization said.
Exelon’s Dresden and Byron nuclear power plants, with two reactors each, are scheduled to retire in the fall. Indian Point plant’s Unit 3 reactor is set to be decommissioned in April. The closure of five reactors in 2021 “will set a record for the most annual nuclear capacity retirements ever,” the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.
2020 saw the shutdown of Indian Point’s Unit 2 reactor, as well as the end of operations for the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa, fueling a nuclear decommissioning market that far outstrips plans for new plants.
