Economics
Shale Gas Hands Cuomo N.Y. Nuclear Closure He’s Waited Years For
- Entergy says nuclear plant’s closing due to economic reasons
- Revenues have dropped as cheap gas sends power prices lower
Natural gas drilling operations in Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has won his years-long battle to force a nuclear power plant into early retirement. His greatest weapon? The shale boom.
Entergy Corp. said Monday that cheap natural gas flowing out of the Marcellus shale formation in the eastern U.S. had depressed power prices to the point where its Indian Point plant, just north of New York City, would start losing money. While Cuomo had fought for the plant’s closure for safety concerns, Entergy said economic factors were behind the company’s decision, announced Monday, to close the plant in 2021.