The Exelon nuclear power plant located in Cordova Ill. Exelon Corp. said Thursday that it will retire two money-losing nuclear plants in Illinois after state lawmakers declined to pass legislation that would have helped keep them running. The company, which owns utilities serving Chicago, Philadelphia and Baltimore as well as many power plants, said it will shut down its Clinton plant in Clinton, Ill., in mid-2017 and Quad Cities plant in Cordova, Ill., in mid-2018. The plants lost $800 million in the past seven years. The announcement underscores the impact that low wholesale electricity prices are having on owners of older power plants—especially nuclear facilities, many of which are threatened with closure . Prices for wholesale electricity recently hit a 15-year low and experts expect them to rise too slowly to help generators much. Fifteen to 20 nuclear reactors are considered at risk of premature closure in the next […]