Nuclear power plant in Indian Point NY.

What do you want first? The bad or the good?

Lets start with the good, and leave the bad for the end.

Nuclear Power has been a very important part of any community for many years, but with this importance comes ridicule and has become controversial.  The nuclear power plant in Indian Point New York is one of the biggest sources of electricity in New York. “The Indian Point nuclear plant in Buchanan, N.Y., has been a major source of power to New York City and its northern suburbs since the first reactor went into operation in 1962″( The New York Times, July 14,2011). When a plant has been in such great power for years it becomes a norm within the community. But, with this time there comes a possibility of problems, because of changing times and possibly technology. “But the plant, which is now owned by Entergy, has encountered a string of accidents and mishaps since its beginnings, and has appeared on the federal list of the nation’s worst nuclear power plants”( The New York Times, July 14, 2011).

Here comes the bad news- The plant is  thought of as a danger by some of the community. Since the attacks on september 11, the plant has become a dangerous thought to the community, and some want to shut it down. “Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York called for it to be shut permanently, repeating a position he had taken ever since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, and the earthquakes and tsunami’s. In response, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it would accelerate a planned review of Indian Point and would allow state officials to be part of the inquiry”(The New York TImes, 2011).

The problem with shutting down this plant would be where the energy source would eventually come from, especially because this plant has NYC, and the Northern suburbs to take care of. But, there are some positive aspects if the plant was closed. “Closing the plant could also increase the frequency of power failures, officials who run the state’s high-voltage grid say, given that New York has weak ties to generation capacity in other states”(The New York Times, 2011).

Some think that shutting down the plant is a good idea, because it is such an old plant, but some disagree and believe that if this happens the world will come to an end(no exaggeration). “The study was prepared by Charles River Associates, a consulting group based in Boston, Mass., at the behest of New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The bottom-line conclusion, as reported yesterday by the New York Times: The licenses for the plant’s reactors are scheduled for renewal in 2013 and 2015. Together, the reactors produce as much as 25 percent of the power consumed in Consolidated Edison’s service area, which includes New York City and Westchester County . . . A shutdown also would drive up the wholesale cost of electricity in the city and state by about 10 percent, or a total of $1.5 billion a year, it says. That would translate to a rise of 5 percent to 10 percent in the amount residential customers pay Con Edison for the electricity they consume” (Pentland, Forbes).

“In 2009, Liberty Consulting Company, conducted a comprehensive management audit of Con Edison for the New York Public Service Commission. The audit concluded that: “[Con Edison] has noted that a capacity surplus of about 1,000 MW currently exists in the city, which is expected to grow with a second Astoria plant being built. The surplus has driven down capacity prices in New York City”(Pentland, Forbes).

I thought it would be interesting to see what this ‘potential threat’ of a power plant actually looks like, lets take a tour! Tour the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant

“Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant (NY).” News. 05 Mar. 2012. Web. 05 Mar. 2012.<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/indian_point_nuclear_power_plant_ny/index.html>.

Pentland, William. “Indian Point Pumps Nuclear Nonsense into New York City.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 08 July 2011. Web. 05 Mar. 2012. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2011/07/08/indian-point-pumps-nuclear-nonsense-into-new-york-city/>.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwAO5yRpUs8 (Video)