First it was Vermont Yankee. Will the next nuclear plants to go be Pilgrim, Seabrook and Millstone?
New England has a gas pipeline shortage, it can't rely much longer on oil or coal for electricity production, the amount of solar and wind power is very small, and there's not much additional hydropower out there. The loss of 4,629 megawatts of nuclear power would send New England electricity prices skyrocketing, cause a sharp increase in air pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions, and do untold damage to the region's economy and energy security.
So you say that couldn't happen. Why not? Vermont Yankee, a safe and reliable nuclear plant that had its operating license renewed in 2011 and would have provided Vermont with its cheapest power for the next 20 years, is being shut down prematurely. Never mind that this is a nuclear plant that has kept electricity prices lower than they otherwise would be without it and avoids 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year.