Ilya Marritz
Ilya Marritz covers business for WNYC.
New Power Plant Siting Law Could Boost Efforts to Close Indian Point
Monday, June 27, 2011
Legislative action in Albany last week may make it easier to shut down the controversial Indian Point nuclear power station north of New York City.
The bill, known as Article X, would greatly simplify the permissions process for new power plants.
If Indian Point is closed, new generators will have to be built to make up the 2,000 megawatts supplied by the nuclear facility's two reactors. Indian Point is estimated to meet about 20 percent of New York City's energy needs.
"It is one of the pieces of the puzzle that we needed quite frankly to address a transition away from Indian Point," said Phillip Musegaas, an attorney with environmental group Riverkeeper.
The Independent Power Producers of New York, an industry group, estimates it currently takes about seven years to build a new power plant because of all the regulatory hurdles. But under Article X, the approval process would be fast-tracked to just 12 months.
IPPNY, which sometimes spars with environmental groups, is supporting the measure.
The final decision about whether to extend the operating licenses for Indian Point rests with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Comments [2]
To replace the energy production and output of Indian Point, New York would have to build TWO generators. So, it takes two new facilities to replace Indian Point but the public is to believe that Indian Point is not a necessity? Why not build new generators to work alongside Indian Point, which is the best option and allows New York to be the major producer of its energy. This eliminates the need to buy it from surrounding areas and would grow the state’s economy by creating new jobs instead of creating more of the unemployed.
The purpose of article X was to simplify the process for new power plants not to replace Indian Point, which is a vital piece of the New York energy puzzle. With an increase in the demand for reliable energy sources in the state of New York, closing down one of the biggest and most effective energy producing plants is a waste of time and resources. Indian Point provides for 11% of the state of New York’s energy needs, and accounts for 25% of NYC’s energy. New plants should be built to supplement Indian Point’s production, not replace it. Article X is a means to add power plants to address a growing energy need, due to a steady population increase, and stimulate the economy. Using the bill as a means to close Indian Point which is providing a major, state produced source of energy is counterproductive and makes the state less energy independent.
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