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Energy Independence vs. NIMBYs

By Eric McErlain
Over at Reason, Adrian Moore points out a problem with getting construction of new oil refineries approved that many folks in the nuclear energy industry understand all too well:
But getting an oil refinery built is next to impossible, hence the 30-year construction drought. There will always be environmental activists who fight any new proposed refinery, regardless of where it might be located and how environmentally safe it is. And our environmental rules give them the upper hand.

The environmental impact-report process mobilizes the "not in my back yard" elements to oppose any proposed refinery, but it does not mobilize people or groups who are looking at national energy needs. You wind up with a very lopsided discussion where potential problems are thoroughly and perhaps overly represented, but the only group pointing out the benefits of the refinery is the "evil" oil company asking to build it - even though every automobile driver would benefit.

Consider the example of Arizona Clean Fuels, which has been trying to build a small refinery outside Yuma for almost 10 years. It took five years just to get air-quality permits. Now they hope to be operational in 2010, 15 years after they started the project.
Back during the 1970s, the approval process for new nuclear power plants became unwieldy to say the least. And considering the high capital costs required to build a new nuclear plant, delays always proved costly.

As part of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, Congress created the Early Site Permit process; and a second called the Combined Construction and Operating License. Though untested, they both promise to streamline locating and building nuclear power plants, and helping utilities avoid some serious financial risks before the plant even opens.

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Comments

Engineer-Poet said…
There ought to be an economical way to handle this.  Maybe NIMBY taxes with IMBY credits?
September 9, 2005 at 1:42 PM
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