"Natural gas has already been blamed for shuttering of coal plants and slowing wind and solar financing. Evidence suggests nuclear is also falling victim to the glut of cheap natural gas. The closure of a nuclear plant in Wisconsin Tuesday is exhibit A."

"A nuclear plant in Wisconsin closed Tuesday, after nearly four decades of power generation. Earlier this year, owners of a plant in Florida opted for retirement over rehabilitation. The fate of the San Onofre nuclear plant in California hangs in the balance.

Differing factors play a role these plants' demise – age, regulations, leaks, and regional market conditions, to name a few. But one unifying pressure on these nuclear plants and others is the abundance of cheap, American natural gas.

Low-cost, low-emission natural gas has already been blamed for shuttering coal plants and weighing on wind and solar financing. Now, it seems, nuclear is also falling victim to the natural gas glut."

David J. Unger reports for the Christian Science Monitor May 8, 2013. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"As Price of Nuclear Energy Drops, a Wisconsin Plant Is Shut" (New York Times) [3]

"Upton 'Outraged' Over Palisades Nuclear Power Plant's Continued Problems" (Holland Sentinel) [4]

"Connecticut's Millstone Nuclear Power Plant Seeks Permission To Use Warmer Long Island Sound Water" (AP) [5]