Ohio faces a decision soon about its two nuclear reactors, Davis-Besse and Perry, and on Wednesday, neighbors of one of those plants issued a cry for help. The reactors’ problem is that the price of electricity they sell on the high-voltage grid is depressed, mostly because of a surplus of natural gas. And the reactors do not get any revenue for the other benefits they provide. Some of those benefits are regional – emissions-free electricity, reliability with months of fuel on-site, and diversity in case of problems or price spikes with gas or coal, state and federal payroll taxes, and national economic stimulus as the plants buy fuel, supplies and services. Some of the benefits are highly localized, including employment and property taxes. One locality is already feeling the pinch: Oak Harbor on Lake Erie, home to Davis-Besse. The town has a middle school in a building that is 106 years old, and an elementary school from the 1950s, and on May 2 was scheduled to have a referendu
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Comments
Polar Bears 1
Al Gore (and producers, etc.) 0.
I was a sailor once, and used to sail along the California coast. On one race from San Francisco to Santa Barbara, I recall passing Diablo Canyon. It was a beautiful day and the containment buildings were actually pleasing to look at.
And then I noticed it…there were whales! Lots of whales! The whales were broaching in the warm water at the discharge. Perhaps it was coincidence. Perhaps the warm water resulted in lots of food and a happy place for those humpbacks. Given the absence of millions of tons of combustion products, and just some clean warm water coming out, I tend to believe the polar bears and the whales have it about right.
Keep up the effort.
Russ
A Nuke
A midwife’s spouse