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
Former blog for NEI featuring news and commentary on the commercial nuclear energy industry. Head to NEI.org for the latest blog posts.
Comments
It's easy for some bloggers to make Nuclear Energy look bad when they compare 40 year old reactors to Solar tech that might be available in 10 years. However, it's just crazy to say that current wind, solar, or biomass tech is better than current nuclear tech.
Also, what biomass plant is going to make hydrogen for a fuel cell? What's the environmental impact of manufacturing photo-voltaic panels for 1000's of homes?
Keep up the good work and keep fighting for intelligent energy solutions.