Exelon Corp. says the $800 million it would cost to build the towers is more than the 40-year-old Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station is worth.
But environmentalists say the job could be done for about $200 million.
Earlier this year, the state Environmental Protection Department required the plant to build one or more cooling towers instead of relying on water drawn from the Oyster Creek in Lacey Township to cool the reactor.
The state says that process kills billions of shrimp and tens of thousands of fish, crabs and clams each year.
