Three Mile Island closed; operator cites economics

The money-losing Three Mile Island, the 1979 site of the United States’ worst commercial nuclear power accident, was shut down Friday by its energy giant owner.

The end of the 45-year electricityproducing career of Three Mile Island Unit 1 came after Chicago-based Exelon Corp. tried and failed to get financial aid from Pennsylvania in the spring.

Unit 1 opened in 1974 and was licensed to operate through 2034, but Exelon complained the plant was losing money in competitive electricity markets.

Three Mile Island also faced particularly difficult economics because the 1979 accident that destroyed Unit 2 left the facility with just one reactor.