UPDATED Tuesday, May 7, 2013 --- 6:04 p.m.

KEWAUNEE, Wis. (AP) -- A Wisconsin nuclear power plant has shut down after nearly 40 years of generating electricity.

Dominion Resources Inc. on Tuesday shut down its 556-megawatt Kewaunee Power Station east of Green Bay.

Dominion was unable to find a buyer for the plant, which employs about 650 people. The Richmond, Va.-based energy provider announced plans last fall to close the plant and decommission it.

The reactor is closing because utilities that had purchased its electricity decided to stop buying it, citing the low price of natural gas.

David Heacock, president of Dominion Nuclear, says the decision to close the plant "was based purely on economics."

Kewaunee went into service on June 16, 1974. Over its life, the plant generated about 148 million megawatt-hours of electricity.

Copyright 2013. The Associated Press.

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UPDATED Tuesday, March 12, 2013 --- 10:36 a.m.

CARLTON, Wis. (AP) -- Owners of the Kewaunee Power Station in eastern Wisconsin say the nuclear plant will be closed in May.

Dominion Resources has notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission the target date for the plant to be shut down is May 7. Dominion hasn't been able to find a buyer for the plant, which employs about 650 people.

The Green Bay Press-Gazette says an analysis by a University of Wisconsin economics expert determined the closure will cost about $85 million annually in direct and indirect income in Kewaunee County.

Copyright 2013. The Associated Press.

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Posted Monday, October 22, 2012 --- 10:40 a.m.

KEWAUNEE, Wis. (AP) -- Local officials say losing the Kewaunee nuclear power plant will have a major impact on the area's economic landscape.

Kewaunee County Administrator Edward Dorner says the plant is one of the county's largest employers with about 400 workers. Dorner says the county will also lose an annual $900,000 utility tax payment from the state when the plant closes next year.

The Virginia-based Dominion said Monday it hasn't been able to find a buyer for the nuclear plant and plans to close it in the second quarter of next year.

Gov. Scott Walker says the closure highlights the need to decrease unnecessary federal regulations slowing the process for companies, like Dominion, to keep their businesses profitable.

Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.