Indian Point, NY

The major source of electricity to residents in NYC and northern suburbs, all come from the Indian Point Power plant operating since 1962. Since the original reactor back in the day, it’s newly only Entergy has experienced several accidents in the past and is on the federal list of the nation’s worst nuclear power plants.

So question all comes down to whether this power plant’s license should be renewed in the upcoming year, or should it be shut down? The plant produces 2,000 megawatts and proves 25% of the power in NYC, so if we shut it down, a plan must be in tact to take over.

The Governor of NY, Andrew M. Cuomo wants to see the power plant get shut down. He has been on the ball to get this power plant shut down since 2001. He stated in his blog “the reward doesn’t justify the risk”. The reactors would have to be shut down in 2013 and 2015 if the state department of environmental conservation doesn’t sign off on the federal permit required. The shut down could reduce electric bills if the people in NYC are concerned about the possibility, and rethink their usage of electricity.  If NYC had the ability to switch over to a more energy efficiency generator, such as wind power, it’d be easy to produce up north where wind is more constant and land is cheaper. NYC uses kerosene increasing carbon emissions, but without it NYC could have a stronger passion to upgrade more efficiently. It does not have the best standards for fire safety, possibility of sustainability in case of an earthquake, or terrorist attacks.

Entergy explains that it’ll be nearly impossible to find enough replacement power anytime soon. If we replaced the plant, it could take a minimum of 5 years and would require a long-term energy strategy. The city could end up power hungry, blacked out, and the possibility of severe sweating during the global warming summer heat waves. We all remember the brutal days in July last summer; do we take the chance and wind up with not enough power to generate all of NYC’s air conditioners? The power plant would be very expensive to replace, and would increase the percentage of power failures. Not to mention, this power plant employs 1,100 jobs.

In a nutshell, would the state of New York be able to handle the baggage that comes with shutting down this power plant, allowing enough time to smoothly transition to another source of electricity? Or should we wait until a definite plan is created before we go and take our chances of leaving residents in NYC powerless during the upcoming heat wave season.