Should the Nuclear power plant at Indian Point NY be shut down? That seems to be the question being asked by some NY residents lately. Both sides argue points both for, and against, the shut down of the plant. Following the Daiichi Power Plant incident more people have begun to question the safety of our own Nuclear power plants.
Brief background
The Indian Point Nuclear plant is located 38 miles outside of New York City on the shore of the Hudson river. It has been running since about 1974. According to Wikipedia,
“The plant generates over 2,000 megawatts of electrical power, comprising as much as 30 percent of the electricity used in New York City and Westchester County. ” This is a lot of power. If it was shut down suddenly without a ready replacement New York may experience some strain upon its grid especially in the summer months when more people are running their air conditioners.
However, in 2007 the power plant got in trouble when a transformer explosion caused a small fire and they were caught storing too many dangerous chemicals. Although the fire was not considered very dangerous and the plant was fined for its storage infraction,it is no surprise that these incidents (combined with the Daiichi disaster) put up a red flag for many people especially once they found out that their may be plans to license the plant to run for 20 years beyond its original allotted time-frame.
“The penalty is a slap on the wrist in the context of a higher-stakes struggle between the state agency and Entergy over whether the two Indian Point reactors should continue to operate beyond 2014 and 2016, when their initial 40-year operating licenses are scheduled to expire. The reactors are licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is moving toward granting a 20-year extension for each reactor, but Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo wants them shut down when their licenses expire.”
(http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/1-2-million-fine-for-indian-point-fire/)
Those Who are For the Plant.
When one does a “Google” search of the plant the top result after its Wikipedia is a site specifically dedicated to advocating for the continuation of the Power Plant’s role in supplying energy to New York. It makes itself clear by name alone, safe, secure and vital make up its web dress.
http://www.safesecurevital.com/
The website states that “Indian Point safely and reliably provides 25 percent of downstate New York’s power, with virtually no greenhouse gas emissions, at far lower costs than other power plants. Its continued operation is a vital component of the region’s economic and environmental future.”
Those in favor of keeping the plant running keep citing environmental friendliness but don’t propose a solution to long term waste management. They also all seem to have something to gain financially by keeping it open.
And Against It.
On the other hand those who want to shut down the plant are make equal use of the internet expressing their concerns and the following video shows protestors who are against Indian Point.
The first speaker says that they are ant fraking and anti nuclear, my question is then, what are you going to use for energy? He expresses fear that a natural disaster could cause the power plant to melt down. This may be acceptable if it was because he was concerned about the age of the plant but it seems he just doesn’t like Nuclear power as a general rule.
The second speaker, Chris Williams, Professor of physics at Pace university is more likeable and seems to want to explore other alternative energy sources such as wind geothermal, tidal and solar. He cites Germany as an example of a large economically well off country that does not use nuclear power. I agree that these alternative sources would be great but are they feasible yet?
These activists have their own website as well. http://shutdownindianpointnow.org/ They make many good points in favor of shutting down the plant. Here are 4 of them.
- •About 1,550 MW in savings from new energy efficiency resources in the Indian Point region, beyond those that are already planned. Additional savings are available in the rest of the state.
- •Nearly 600 MW of renewable energy capacity to meet peak electricity demand (and up to 3,000 MW total capacity) by 2015. In total, more than 6,000 MW of renewable energy projects like wind and solar are already in the planning process in the state.
- •8,000 MW from proposed new transmission lines to bring power to New York City from upstate New York and other regions, including the already approved 660 MW Hudson Transmission Line, and nearly 2,000 MW of lines are already well along in the approval process.
- •More than 1,000 MW from increased efficiency at existing, outdated natural gas plants in New York City, which involves updating their technology to increase power output and reduce air emissions and other pollution
So what are the pros of shutting down the plant?
It would settle a lot of fears
Less nuclear waste generation.
It may force people to implement even better safer cleaner power sources.
Cons to shutting down the plant?
The loss of a clean and safe(maybe???) energy source
Loss of about 1,000 jobs
Conclusion
When first writing this article I thought that I would agree with those who wanted to keep the plant open because nuclear energy is great, especially compared to coal and gas. However, I think the protestors have swayed me. Now I see that the plant is old and in a poor location and though it may not be as dangerous as they say, and though it is better than coal and gas it still posses a potential threat. I can see New York leading the way into even better, cleaner more renewable energy sources. If Nuclear is better than coal, then solar, wind and geothermal are even greater by far. I think maybe this is idealistic and perhaps unrealistic in the short term but if enough people decide they want to make a change for the better, then I believe it could happen.
