Guest View: DEC’s plan for Indian Point ‘preposterous’
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation”™s recent push and legal victory to keep alive a proposal to close Indian Point for up to 92 days in the summer is a preposterous idea, even by government standards. While the proposal aims to reduce the impact of the plant on fish eggs and larvae, it would wreak economic havoc, while also creating far more environmental problems than it would solve.
Businesses, especially those in energy- intensive industries like information technology, manufacturing, hospitality, cleaning and grocery would face much higher prices, and indeed the prospect of periodic blackouts and the economic disruption they cause. The net result is lower profits, fewer jobs and a degraded economic climate.
The DEC proposal to close Indian Point in the summer would take offline 2,000 megawatts of power, enough to power 2 million homes. Up to 30 percent of the region”™s electricity comes from Indian Point and the summer is when that power is needed most.
In 2011, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection conducted its own study evaluating Indian Point and found that closing the plant permanently would mean $10 billion to $12 billion in higher costs for consumers through 2030. This study also found the permanent shutdown of Indian Point would raise electric costs for New Yorkers by $300 million annually. The last thing New Yorkers need is an increase in their electric bills.
Unemployment rates will also rise right along with energy bills, as Indian Point is a job creator throughout Westchester County and the surrounding region. In Westchester alone, 3,300 jobs are dependent upon the continued operation of the plant, according to a 2012 study by The Business Council of Westchester. If the plant is operating at a capacity of only 75 percent, as the DEC proposes, many of those jobs are endangered.
Forced outages will also have a negative impact on the state”™s economy, as out-of-state investments will be discouraged. Industries are unlikely to relocate or expand into a state where the grid is unreliable and the power is arbitrarily turned on and off.
Closing Indian Point also means New Yorkers will have to power their air conditioners and homes through other sources. Only fossil fuel plants will be able to step into replacing the vast majority of the power, leading to an increase in dirty air and smog. In place of the virtually zero carbon emissions that Indian Point provides, New Yorkers will have to contend with an increase in carbon dioxide, particulates, nitrous oxides and sulfur dioxide.
When it comes to water protection, Indian Point”™s owner Entergy has put forward a better proposal to protect fish, fish eggs and larvae than has the DEC. Many major industrial facilities use wedgewire screens to mitigate their environmental impact and these wedgewire screens have a proven track record. Entergy has proposed implementing a sophisticated system of wedgewire screens by Indian Point.
This year-round technology would improve and protect the water around the plant 12 months of the year, 24/7, protecting more fish, fish eggs and larvae. It would also bring jobs and economic activity to the region.
For the benefit of New York”™s economy and environment, the DEC should abandon its ill-advised shutdown proposal and turn to solutions which will have more immediate and tangible benefits for the environment, while also safeguarding the economy.
Arthur “Jerry” Kremer is the chairman of New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance, a group of more than 150 business, labor and community groups whose mission is to ensure that the New York metropolitan area has an ample and reliable electricity supply, and economic prosperity for years to come. Entergy, the owner of Indian Point, is a member of New York AREA, along with many other business and energy organizations, some of which are also based in Westchester County.