Wow, Democrats and Republicans Agreeing on a Climate Related Issue.

[NNadir]

One doesn't see this sort of thing very often any more, real bipartisanship:

Lawmakers urge federal funding for Palisades restart.

A bipartisan group of nine House members is calling on the Department of Energy to give “fair, full, and swift consideration” to Holtec International’s application for DOE Loan Programs Office funding to restart the company’s Palisades nuclear plant, closed last year by the facility’s previous owner, Entergy.

Holtec submitted its application in late February of this year, having earlier sought, unsuccessfully, financial assistance for resurrecting the Covert, Mich., plant through the DOE’s Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program.

The pitch: “Repowering Palisades could significantly grow the region’s economy, strengthen our domestic energy security, and return safe, reliable, and carbon-free generation back to the electrical grid,” wrote the lawmakers in a December 15 letter to energy secretary Jennifer Granholm and Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair Christopher Hanson. “Restoring Palisades’ 800 megawatts of baseload generation, which is sufficient to reliably power more than 800,000 homes with clean energy, would be critical to addressing our nation’s fast-growing energy needs. In addition to clear energy benefits, Palisades has the potential to directly drive economic growth and create hundreds of highly skilled jobs, including a union workforce and long-term opportunities in STEM fields. Having only been off line since mid-2022, the plant remains in workable condition . . . .”

Letter signatories included Reps. Jack Bergman (R., Mich.), Bill Huizenga (R., Mich.), John Moolenaar (R., Mich.), Donald Norcross (D., N.J.), Hillary Scholten (D., Mich.), Elissa Slotkin (D., Mich.), Haley Stevens (D., Mich.), Jeff Van Drew (R., N.J.) and Tim Walberg (R., Mich.)...

Governor Whitmer is also in support of the effort.

[LymphocyteLover]

1. I think using safe nuclear energy is important in this stage of the climate crisis

[NNadir]

2. It's not merely important; it's essential.

[SarahD]

3. I'm not confidant.

That plant has a history of being passed from one operator to another. The government needs to assume an active role in ensuring safe operation.

[NNadir]

4. I'm confident that the plant will do what it has done for decades, save lives from dangerous air pollution.

Prevented Mortality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Historical and Projected Nuclear Power (Pushker A. Kharecha* and James E. Hansen Environ. Sci. Technol., 2013, 47 (9), pp 4889–4895)

Just because people don't care if fossil fuel waste, aka "air pollution" kills seven million people per year, doesn't mean it doesn't.

Nuclear energy saves lives.