Pilgrim shutdown ends nuclear power era in Massachusetts

[TexasTowelie]

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — The Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Plymouth has permanently shut down after 47 years of generating electricity, bring to a close the era of nuclear power in Massachusetts.

The final shutdown occurred at 5:28 p.m. Friday.

Entergy announced in 2015 it would retire Massachusetts' only remaining reactor, citing competition from less expensive energy sources.

Entergy had said the shutdown would take about five hours with technicians first reducing Pilgrim's power output from the 40% to 26% to about 8%, before launching the final step of inserting control rods into the fuel assembly to seal off further nuclear reactions.

The focus now turns to the daunting task of cleaning up and dismantling the plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is reviewing Entergy's proposal to sell Pilgrim to a private nuclear waste management firm that promises a speedier decommissioning.

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/pilgrim-s-shutdown-ends-nuclear-power-era-in-massachusetts/510656722/

[sprinkleeninow]

1. Read the linked article. For me, informative and interesting. 👍 eom

[CentralMass]

2. On a tangentially related note, I ran the now defunct Cape Cod relay race for many years.

It was an 80 mile relay race that started at Plymouth Rock and finished up in Provincetown. The first leg started at Plymouth Rock and the 2nd started just before the Plymouth nuclear power plant.
Just after the plant was probably the steepest and longest hill on the cape. Since I was a good hill runner I got "nominated" to run that leg a few times over the years. I think it was a 9.5 mile leg. I always eyed the plant with suspicion as I ran past it. The Cape has so much vacation traffic in the summer that trying to evacuate the area in the event of a emergency would have been a nightmare.