The oldest nuclear power plant in the country shut down Monday over a year ahead of schedule.
New Jersey’s Oyster Creek Generating Station went offline at noon after 49 years of operation. In February, the plant was scheduled to close in October, which was already one year ahead of schedule.
Exelon Generation, parent company of the nuclear plant, said in a February statement when it announced the aging plant’s closure that high maintenance costs contributed to the decision.
The company added at the time that closing the plant “will also help Exelon better manage resources as fuel and maintenance costs continue to rise amid historically low power prices.”
There are only 60 nuclear power plants operating in the U.S. currently as more affordable liquid natural gas production competes with coal and nuclear energy production. The costs of maintaining coal and nuclear power plants have started to outweigh the revenues from electricity production.
Oyster Creek supported 500 direct jobs and added $80 million into the local economy, according to USA Today. At its peak, the plant produced enough energy to supply 600,000 homes.
In a statement on Twitter Monday, Exelon focused on the plant’s safe and clean energy production over the years.
“The plant’s lifetime carbon-free footprint was the equivalent of removing nearly 31 million cars from the road,” the company wrote.
The Energy Information Administration expects nuclear energy production to continue declining between 2017 and 2050.
