Skip to main content

Larger Lessons Inside Indian Point Debate

By Eric McErlain
Over at Energy Outlook, Geoffrey Styles has digested the public reaction to the NAS study on replacing the electricity generated by Indian Point Energy Center, and he thinks it doesn't augur well for the future of New York and New England:
The Indian Point situation exemplifies several trends that I've focused on since the inception of this blog two-and-a-half years ago. First, there's the inherent incompatibility of economic growth facilitated by increasing energy consumption with regulatory policies that make it extremely difficult to build new energy facilities near population centers. This is compounded by the sort of NIMBY-ism that takes no account of the economic benefits of the facility in question. Add to this the current strain of unprioritized environmental concern, and you have a recipe for disaster. While nuclear power is a mixed bag, environmentally, it is undeniably the largest source of greenhouse-gas-free electricity that we have. Climate change poses a much bigger problem than nuclear power, as many people are starting to realize, including some notable environmentalists.

(snip)

The federal report on Indian Point suggests it would be very difficult to replace the 2,000 MW capacity of these plants, and I don't doubt that either, because alternative generation (and its fuel sources) won't get permits, and the mooted efficiency projects-- which certainly have the potential to displace the load being served by Indian Point--have a way of never materializing or being swamped by new demand.

Sadly, I continue to believe that we are headed for a national train wreck on energy, and there's every indication that this part of the country will experience it before many others. That's not why I'm moving my family south, but it's a nice side benefit.
For more on the situation in New England, visit the Boston Globe.

Styles is moving his family to Northern Virginia, just outside Washington. Welcome to the neighborhood.

Technorati tags: , , , , , ,

Comments

Anonymous said…
I highly recommend Styles' blog, "Energy Outlook." He's an intelligent and considered thinker about energy issues.

That said, we don't always agree but not because he's some kook from left field, just an oil guy.
June 16, 2006 at 5:40 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Activists' Claims Distort Facts about Advanced Reactor Design

By
Below is from our rapid response team . Yesterday, regional anti-nuclear organizations asked federal nuclear energy regulators to launch an investigation into what it claims are “newly identified flaws” in Westinghouse’s advanced reactor design, the AP1000. During a teleconference releasing a report on the subject, participants urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend license reviews of proposed AP1000 reactors. In its news release, even the groups making these allegations provide conflicting information on its findings. In one instance, the groups cite “dozens of corrosion holes” at reactor vessels and in another says that eight holes have been documented. In all cases, there is another containment mechanism that would provide a barrier to radiation release. Below, we examine why these claims are unwarranted and why the AP1000 design certification process should continue as designated by the NRC. Myth: In the AP1000 reactor design, the gap between the shield bu...
23 comments
Read more

Wednesday Update

By
From NEI’s Japan micro-site: NRC, Industry Concur on Many Post-Fukushima Actions Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues • There is a “great deal of alignment” between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry on initial steps to take at America’s nuclear energy facilities in response to the nuclear accident in Japan, Charles Pardee, the chief operating officer of Exelon Generation Co., said at an agency briefing today. The briefing gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss staff recommendations for near-term actions the agency may take at U.S. facilities. PowerPoint slides from the meeting are on the NRC website. • The International Atomic Energy Agency board has approved a plan that calls for inspectors to evaluate reactor safety at nuclear energy facilities every three years. Governments may opt out of having their country’s facilities inspected. Also approved were plans to maintain a rapid response team of experts ready to assist facility operators recoverin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nuclear Utility Moves Up in Credit Ratings, Bank is "Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy"

By
Some positive signs that nuclear utilities can continue to receive positive ratings even while they finance new nuclear plants for the first time in decades: Wells Fargo upgrades SCANA to Outperform from Market Perform Wells analyst says, "YTD, SCG shares have underperformed the Regulated Electrics (total return +2% vs. +9%). Shares trade at 11.3X our 10E EPS, a modest discount to the peer group median of 11.8X. We view the valuation as attractive given a comparatively constructive regulatory environment and potential for above-average long-term EPS growth prospects ... Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy. SCG plans to participate in the development of two regulated nuclear units at a cost of $6.3B, raising legitimate concerns regarding financing and construction. We have carefully considered the risks and are comfortable with SCG’s strategy based on a highly constructive political & regulatory environment, manageable financing needs stretched out over 10 years, strong partners...
Post a Comment
Read more