Ohio faces a decision soon about its two nuclear reactors, Davis-Besse and Perry, and on Wednesday, neighbors of one of those plants issued a cry for help. The reactors’ problem is that the price of electricity they sell on the high-voltage grid is depressed, mostly because of a surplus of natural gas. And the reactors do not get any revenue for the other benefits they provide. Some of those benefits are regional – emissions-free electricity, reliability with months of fuel on-site, and diversity in case of problems or price spikes with gas or coal, state and federal payroll taxes, and national economic stimulus as the plants buy fuel, supplies and services. Some of the benefits are highly localized, including employment and property taxes. One locality is already feeling the pinch: Oak Harbor on Lake Erie, home to Davis-Besse. The town has a middle school in a building that is 106 years old, and an elementary school from the 1950s, and on May 2 was scheduled to have a referendu
Comments
We are being scared into supporting nuclear power on a campaign of fear supported by current issues such as global warming and drought. i'm not saying that these issues are not bonafide, simply that they are being exploited by big business to support nuclear power. similar to the war on terror starting with a fear campaign by bush to garner support from the americans and the rest of the world. so too, nuclear power is gaining acceptance in much the same fashion.
soon we will realise that it is a hoax and that there are other, better ways forward on this issue.