Closing TMI puts Pennsylvania on the wrong path for the environment from what most of the citizens of the state say they want. The company says the plant has been losing money for … © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. Success! The Three Mile Island accident was a partial meltdown of reactor number 2 of Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station (TMI-2) in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, near Harrisburg, and subsequent radiation leak that occurred on March 28, 1979. The Three Mile Island nuclear power station in Pennsylvania is scheduled to close in September according its owner, Exelon Generation. Period. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Share. Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Is Shutting Down There is one reactor still operating on Three Mile Island in central Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was also the third-largest coal-producing state in the nation in 2017, and it was the second-largest coal exporter to foreign markets. The accident began about 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 28, 1979, when the plant experienced a failure in the secondary, non-nuclear section of the plant (one of two reactors on the site). As a result, the construction of new plants declined in the 1980s and 1990s, according to the World Nuclear Association, an international group that promotes the use of nuclear power. In 1979, the plant experienced the partial meltdown of one of its two reactors. Share Shares Copy Link Copy {copyShortcut} to copy Link copied! I have been a scientist in the field of the earth and environmental sciences for 33 years, specializing in geologic disposal of nuclear waste, energy-related research. TMI Unit 1 began commercial operation on September 1, 1974 and was licensed to keep operating until 2034. Exelon Generation, the company that runs the plant, announced in May that it would officially close the plant by September 30, citing a lack of state action in subsidizing clean energy. The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant unit that partially melted down in 1979 and shut down since was acquired Oct. 15 by Utah-based cleanup firm … Exelon complained the … Exelon Generation plans to shut down the Three Mile Island reactor Sept. 20, 2019, after a $500 million proposal to rescue Pennsylvania’s nuclear power industry failed to gain support. The accident changed the perception of nuclear energy in the United States, stopping future projects. Since Exelon purchased TMI Unit 1 in 2000, the plant has logged over 6 million safe worker hours, operated at over 90% capacity, and offset more than 95 million metric tons of carbon, equivalent to taking 20 million cars off the road. Nuclear plant projects began to reappear in 2007, with the hope to reduce the U.S.'s dependence on oil. "Exelon Generation announced today that Three Mile Island Generating Station Unit 1 (TMI) will shut down by Sept. 30, 2019, as previously announced in May 2017. But Pennsylvania has lots and lots of fossil fuel. The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant shut down unexpectedly Thursday when a reactor coolant pump failed, federal regulators said. Exelon Generation, the company that runs the plant… The … Policy reforms needed to save plant, officials say. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. Exelon Corp., which owns Unit 1, on the right, says it will shut down the plant in 2019 unless the state comes to the rescue. Last Operating Reactor at Three Mile Island to Shut Down The plant’s owner had lobbied for years for more subsidies to support the plant, which has been losing money for years. The nuclear power plant has about 635 employees and contributes over a million dollars to the Londonderry Township in local real estate taxes. Exelon has worked to place plant employees into other positions within the company, according to a company press release. The heated water, in turn, produces steam, which drives a turbine that turns a generator to produce electricity. (CNN) The famous Three Mile Island nuclear plant is officially shutting down Friday, plant spokesperson David Marcheskie confirmed to CNN. Password reset email has been resent. Exelon Generation says it will permanently shut down Three Mile Island Unit 1 at noon on Friday, closing the door on a nuclear power station that became infamous by association with the 1979 accident that crippled its neighboring twin reactor. Tap to unmute. HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The money-losing Three Mile Island, the 1979 site of the United States' worst commercial nuclear power accident, was shut down Friday by its energy giant owner. When … Nuclear reactors are designed to achieve one simple goal—to heat water. Three Mile Island will shut down the plant in 2019 without a financial rescue from Pennsylvania. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images. It is the most significant accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history. In a Department of Labor and Industry posting from August, it shows approximately 112 employees would be affected by the plant’s closure. This caused the plant'… Shopping. CNN’s Julia Horowitz contributed to this story. Shutterstock Did you know that the Three Mile Island nuclear plant only shut down last Friday? Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station shut down today after generating over 240 billion kWhs... [+] over 40 years. The Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear reactor shutdown, which is set to begin no later than in Sept. 30, would take nearly 60 years and $1.2 billion … It now enters a new era—the safe decommissioning and dismantlement of its components, systems and buildings. No one was hurt and there were no effects on human health or the environment from that accident, although the accident achieved mythological status as a dreadful event. Three Mile Island Unit 1 To Shut Down By September 30, 2019 May 8, 2019 MIDDLETOWN, PA — Exelon Generation announced today that Three Mile Island Generating Station Unit 1 (TMI) will shut down by Sept. 30, 2019, as previously announced in May 2017. The essential working parts of the TMI-2 system are the reactor, water, steam generators, steam turbine, pumps tha… Three Mile Island Generating Station Unit 1 (TMI Unit 1) permanently shut down on September 20, 2019, leaving a 45-year legacy of safe, reliable, carbon-free electricity generation and service to the community. Over its life, TMI Unit 1 generated over 240 billion kWhs. About half of Pennsylvania households use natural gas as their primary home heating fuel, and its 49 underground gas storage sites - the most for any state - are key for helping to meet heating demand in the winter. So as we go into the future, Pennsylvania appears dedicated to increasing their carbon emissions, just to save a penny a kWh. In 2018, Pennsylvania ranked second in the nation in electricity generation from nuclear power, which supplied 39% of the state's net generation from their nine nuclear reactors, all operating at over 90% capacity with perfect safety records. The famous Three Mile Island nuclear plant is officially shutting down Friday, plant spokesperson David Marcheskie confirmed to CNN. It will shut down … In fact, nuclear turns out to be the safest form of energy there is. Please click the button below to agree to our Terms and Conditions and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. Three Mile Island is best known as the location of the most serious accident at a commercial nuclear power plant in U.S. history. Three Mile Island is a pressurized water reactor, meaning that the water heated by the reactor is kept under extremely high pressure. In 2017, Exelon said the plant employed 675 people. Page Content. 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