Henry Spitz opines by asking whether there is a better answer to electricity that is supplied 24-7 than nuclear power? Not coal, which emits more carbon than any other form of energy. Not natural gas, which has a history of price volatility. Not solar and wind power, which are of no use when the sun is not shining and the wind does blow enough. The sun only shines about half the time. Wind turbines generate electricity about half the time.
Nothing else in Ohio provides as much full-time clean energy as the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear power plants. And does it at a price that has been relatively stable. Yet Ohio could lose nuclear power if the state government and regional electric grid continue to undervalue it and do not act.
As with most nuclear plants in states where electricity was deregulated 20 years ago, Davis-Besse and Perry plants are at high risk of being closed prematurely because they are excluded from state and regional clean energy policies. Neither plant gets any credit in electricity markets for its unique value in providing a reliable supply of electricity that is carbon-free....and inexpensive and 24-7.
Nuclear power provides 91% of zero-carbon electricity and it prevents the emission of tens of thousands of tons of air pollutants. Although the Davis-Besse and Perry plants are safe and efficient, operating on average at a capacity factor of nearly 90% over a three-year period, they are vulnerable to being retired prematurely due to competition from low-cost natural gas and subsidized wind power.
Forget that gas has a history of wild fluctuations in price. California and Texas learned that lesson the hard way when gas prices soared a few years ago and renewables could not produce enough electricity to help residential consumers and businesses.
There is a way out of this dilemma. Until recently, Illinois and New York, two of the states with deregulated electricity, were in the similar situation as the Ohio nuclear power plants.
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Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-
Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-