Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, Massachusetts

Currently the only nuclear power plant operating in Massachusetts, Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station is located a few miles down the coast from Plymouth Rock. Like many similar plants, it was constructed by Bechtel, and is powered by a General Electric reactor and generator. Built at a cost of $231 million in 1972 by Boston Edison, it was sold in 1999 to the Louisiana-based Entergy Corporation, as part of a complex deal resulting from the deregulation of the electrical utility industry. Initially Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station relied exclusively on an on-site storage pool to house its spent fuel rod assemblies, until a decision was made to utilize a newer method called dry cask storage, which has been in use since 1986, and is growing in popularity. In 2016, Entergy announced its intention to close the facility by 2019, due to its inability to compete with electricity produced by lower cost natural gas.