Keeping Millstone running avoids the need to use more natural-gas plants, which makes it crucial to a state with ambitious goals for carbon-free electricity. “At a time when most states in New England have decarbonization goals that we need to move rapidly forward on, would have been digging a huge hole in terms of carbon emissions.” And carbon emissions across New England would have increased by 25 percent as the nuclear plant’s production is replaced mainly by gas-fired plants, said Dykes. The high price of the alternativeĪccording to the recent report, if Millstone had closed in 2019, replacing that electricity would have cost Connecticut electric customers an additional $1.8 billion. Whether ongoing discussions result in a regional solution to funding Millstone could determine whether the plant stays open beyond 2029 - and Dominion officials warn that they’ll need to have a viable plan in hand for keeping the plant open by 2025. Ned Lamont as they have pushed for changes at the ISO. That disconnect has been a key point of contention for Connecticut DEEP Director Katie Dykes and the administration of Gov.
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But without a mechanism for the regional grid operator ISO New England to fund the plant regionally, Connecticut officials say they have no choice but to shoulder the burden of keeping Millstone open. In contrast to the general consensus among lawmakers and state energy officials regarding the importance of the continued operation of Millstone for the region, the state’s actual role in keeping the plant open has been the subject of intense debate since Dominion first threatened to close the plant in 2016.Ī number of state lawmakers have questioned why the burden of supporting a power plant so crucial to the entire New England region should fall entirely on Connecticut. Millstone’s owner Dominion Energy likely would have shuttered the plant in 2019 if Connecticut hadn’t stepped in and agreed to buy half the station’s output at a favorable rate until 2029 – and the company warns that it will close the plant if Connecticut or the region as a whole fails to fund the plant after 2029. In a region heavily reliant on natural gas, the 2-gigawatt nuclear plant produces about 15 percent of the electricity in New England and is crucial to the region’s supply of reliable energy.Īnd as a recent report compiled by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection makes clear, nuclear power is crucial to meeting what state officials describe as a carbon-free electrical grid by 2040 – the alternatives would cost billions more without Millstone according to the report.īut the future of Millstone isn’t guaranteed. WATERFORD – The future of energy - and energy costs - in New England hinge on the continued operation of Millstone Nuclear Power Station if Connecticut remains committed to the administration’s goal of a carbon-free electrical grid by 2040.īut keeping Millstone running may require difficult choices in just a few years, as lawmakers and energy officials across look to ensure one of New England’s two remaining power plants stays open – debating options including carbon taxes, cost-sharing and a new energy market specific to funding renewable projects.
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