nuclear-news

Video: Why Indian Point nuclear plant should be closed

VIDEO   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/17/indian-point-nuclear-nrdc-report_n_1015377.html

 Indian Point Nuclear Plant Should Be Closed, Report Says, Huffington Post 10/17/11  A report released Monday says southern New York State’s Indian Point Energy Center should be closed, despite pressure to keep it open.

The Indian Point Energy Center is located along the banks of the Hudson River in Westchester County, less than 40 miles north of New York City. The report, commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Riverkeeper, suggests that the plant can and should be closed, in favor of readily available alternative energy options, according to a press release.

The report, from consulting firm Synapse Energy Economics, claims that shuttering the nearly 40-year-old plant when its current license expires in 2015 would not mean a need for greater capacity in the region’s electric grid until 2020.

In the aftermath of the disaster in Japan, closing Indian Point is important for safety reasons,according to the NRDC. The nuclear power plant is located within a mile of a seismic fault, and is located within the largest metropolitan area in the U.S.

An Associated Press investigation after August’s East Coast earthquake found that the earthquake risk to many of America’s nuclear plants is much higher than previously estimated.

The NRC found that Indian Point “doesn’t have adequate protection against earthquakes,” making it one of “the most vulnerable [nuclear power plants] to a seismic disaster in the entire nation,” according to an NRDC blog post by Frances Beinecke.

The NRDC report claims that the region’s energy needs could be met, or exceeded, through wind and solar energy and by increasing the efficiency of existing natural gas plants…

The NRDC suggests that if half of the currently proposed renewable projects are built by 2020, they would provide 580 megawatts of electricity. Combining this with a 1.5 percent reduction in electricity consumption each year, totaling 1,550 megawatts of efficiency measures for the area surrounding New York City, would effectively replace Indian Point’s 2,000 megawatt capacity.

Additionally, building several currently-proposed electric transmission lines from upstate New York and New Jersey would further satisfy future energy demands…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/17/indian-point-nuclear-nrdc-report_n_1015377.html

October 18, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Resources -audiovicual, safety, USA