Consolidated Edison – Indian Point Energy Center (I.P.E.C.)

Consolidated Edison’s Indian Point Energy Center (I.P.E.C.) sits on the east side of the Hudson River, just about 36 miles north of New York City and Midtown Manhattan. It is a three-unit nuclear power plant station in Buchanan, in Westchester County, New York, south of Peekskill.  The IPEC consists of three Westinghouse pressurized water reactors that have been permanently deactivated – Indian Point Units 1, 2 and 3.  Con Edison launched the Indian Point Nuclear Reactor 1 in 1962, followed by Indian Point 2 in 1974 and Indian Point 3, which was sold to the New York Power Authority before its completion. Indian Point 1 was permanently shut down in 1974.  Entergy bought the remaining Indian Point reactors in 2000 and 2001.

Indian point 1 was originally built by Con Edison back in 1954. It was a pressurized water reactor supplied by Babcock & Wilcox, and it began operations on September 16, 1962. The first core was shut down in October 1965 because it used a thorium-based fuel with stainless steel cladding, and it did not meet regulatory requirements.  Construction of the two other reactors, Indian Point Units 2 and 3, was completed in 1974 and 1975; they are four-loop Westinghouse pressurized water reactors and are protected by containment domes made of 40-inch thick, steel-reinforced concrete with carbon steel liners. Indian Point utilized water from the nearby Hudson River for cooling.

Despite the safety precautions put in place, still a number of incidents at the facility raised concern.  There were also concerns about storage of used fuel rods, environmental impacts, earthquake risks, emergency planning, and possible terrorist attacks,

The closure and deactivation of the Indian Point facility came about as a result of pressure from politicians and environmental groups, and then-Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo ramping up political action by opening investigations with the state public utility commission, the department of health, and the Department of Environmental Conservation.  It was announced that the plant would shut down by 2021.  As of April 30, 2021, this facility has permanently ceased operations, and over 1,000 employees lost their jobs as a result. Holtec International will be purchasing the plant from Entergy and dismantling it.

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