Exelon Generation said that nine power plants in the PJM (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland) grid operating region will be retired by June 2020. The utility blamed what it said were "economic challenges" for the closure of 700 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity.

In a statement, Exelon Power president John Barnes noted what he said was a "prolonged period of flat electricity demand and historically low electricity prices."

In June, a researcher from Penn State University said that low power prices were expected to continue for years because energy use has leveled off and efficient natural gas-fired power plants — which are nowhere near peak production — have recently come online. That situation is coupled with low natural gas prices, the result of production increases from fields in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

The nine facilities that Exelon said it will close include four natural gas-fired peaking generation facilities (Southeast Chicago Energy Project in Illinois, and Gould Street, Notch Cliff and Westport generating stations in Maryland), one oil-fired peaking generation facility in Maryland (Riverside), along with four landfill gas generation facilities (Fairless Hills, Pennsbury and Bethlehem in Pennsylvania and eastern Maryland).

The two-unit Fairless Hill landfill gas power plant is located inside the USX Fairless Works Facility in Pennsylvania. Originally built in the 1950s to produce steam to run the steel mills, Fairless Hills has used landfill gas from Waste Management's Tullytown and Grows landfills as its primary fuel source. Exelon bought the plant in 1997 and it ranks as one of largest landfill gas power plants in the United States.

Upon closure, several of the facilities and sites will be marketed for sale. The facilities’ retirements will impact about 40 full-time positions, which the company said it expects to manage through transfers, retirements and its separation process, if needed.

Exelon Generation said it could change the retirement timeline for one or more of these facilities once PJM has assessed reliability impacts.

Nuclear Closure

In September, Exelon closed the 625 MW Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, also in PJM. The plant, which came online on December 1, 1969, is the oldest commercially operated nuclear power plant in the United States.

Oyster Creek was previously expected to retire on December 31, 2019, but its retirement was accelerated by more than a year to coincide with the plant’s fuel and maintenance cycle. The plant employs around 500 people.