Lawmakers Hear Concerns From Nuclear Power IndustryHARTFORD -- Mar 25 - McClatchy-Tribune Content Agency, LLC - Russell Blair The Hartford Courant
If the Millstone Power Station in Waterford shut down, more than a thousand jobs in southeastern Connecticut would be lost and carbon emissions in New England would increase by 27 percent, officials said Thursday. Nobody is claiming the state's only nuclear power plant is anywhere close to retiring, but the legislature's energy and technology committee held a forum on the future of nuclear power in the wake of other plant shutdowns in New England and as the industry struggles to remain financially viable in a market flooded with cheap natural gas. "Their rumblings of concern have risen to more of a roar, at least to our ears," said Rep. Lonnie Reed, D-Branford, co-chair of the committee. Reed asked representatives of Dominion Resources Inc., the Virginia-based company that operates Millstone, if current market conditions would force the plant to close and what changes they were seeking. "If nothing changes, are you leaving, and if not, what are you asking for?" she said. "I do not anticipate in the short term the need to shut down Millstone," said Daniel G. Stoddard, senior vice president of nuclear operations for Dominion. "However, the challenges exist, the challenges are significant and the trends continue to make those challenges more difficult." The plant, the largest nuclear power station in New England, provides about 2,100 megawatts of energy, or roughly half the state's electrical consumption. About 1,000 people work year-round at Millstone, with close to 2,000 during peak times. The plant has two units, one licensed through 2035 and the other through 2045. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration has supported increasing access to natural gas in the state. A 2013 piece of legislation offered incentives to homeowners who switched to gas and called on expanded natural gas pipeline capacity in the state. Although natural gas prices remain low, Katie Scharf Dykes, deputy commissioner of energy at the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said if prices rise, New England ratepayers "would be very exposed to that." And if a gas-fired plant replaced Millstone, it would make it "challenging" for the state to meet targets for reducing carbon emissions, she said. Representatives from the nuclear industry said the plants provide reliable, safe, carbon-free power. Former Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh, co-chair of Nuclear Matters, said 63 percent of zero-carbon electricity comes from nuclear plants. Replacing a plant like Millstone with renewable energy sources that generate a much smaller amount of power per unit -- like wind turbines or solar panels -- would be a monumental undertaking. "As we're trying to meet our concerns about climate change ... the role that nuclear power plays is very, very significant," Bayh said. Millstone representatives said they weren't asking for a government subsidy but wanted to be on a level playing field with other forms of power generation and be part of the conversation when it comes to energy policy. "I would tell you all nuclear is a bad thing, I would tell you all natural gas is a bad thing, all renewables is a bad thing," said Daniel A. Weekly, vice president of corporate affairs for Dominion. "The advice as policymakers, I respectfully give this to you, is to have as many fuel sources and as many people competing for your business as you possibly can." http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=39138316 |