NYT: Aging Nuclear Power Plants May Affect (NE states) Emissions Pact

[DeepModem Mom]

Aging Nuclear Power Plants May Affect Emissions Pact
By MATTHEW L. WALD
Published: September 14, 2005


WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 - A proposed agreement among nine Northeast states to cap greenhouse gas emissions from power plants casts a new light on arguments in New Jersey and Vermont about whether the licenses of two aging nuclear plants should be extended.

Community groups in both states are opposing the extensions of the licenses beyond their 40-year terms, but environmentalists are generally supportive of the proposed agreement among the governors to reduce these greenhouse gases, which contribute to global climate change. Shutting down the two reactors would mean immediate, substantial increases in the emissions, because it would increase reliance on fossil fuel plants, probably tripling emissions in Vermont and doubling them in New Jersey.

"I think the environmental community is confused right now in terms of where they want to go," said Richard A. Valentinetti, director of Vermont's air quality program, who has been deeply involved in drafting the nine-state agreement. "Obviously there's some real polarization."...

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Engineers and environmental experts have long predicted that planners would eventually have to choose between greater greenhouse gas emissions and heavier reliance on nuclear power. The debate has been mostly hypothetical, since nobody in the United States has ordered a new nuclear plant since the 1970's, long before global climate change was widely perceived as an issue. It was also hypothetical because there were no limits on carbon dioxide emissions in the United States.

Suddenly, both parts of the question are changing. The governors are proposing a cap on emissions, and renewal of power plant licenses has become imminent....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/14/national/14nuke.html