Former owner provides as part of shutdown
New York State announced on Oct. 27 that it would distribute $15 million in communities near the former Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan.
The funds are coming from the plant’s former owner, Entergy, as part of a 2017 agreement to close the plant. The Town of Cortlandt and Village of Buchanan will receive $7 million to plan four shared sewer projects and the Hudson River Foundation will receive $6.5 million for a river biological monitoring program.
In addition, Historic Hudson Valley will receive $750,000 for improvements to its museum property; the Hendrick Hudson school district will receive $500,000 for air monitoring equipment at its elementary school during the decommissioning of the plant; and Teamsters Local 456 will receive $250,000 to purchase a commercial driver training simulator.
Why are they distributing funds?
$6.5 million seems like a lot to count fish when there are state agencies to do so, and when people and businesses lost their livelihood due to the closure and could use the money.
In April, the Indian Point nuclear power plant shut down. Politicians, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, called for the plant to be shut down, citing environmental concerns about nuclear power. Although Indian Point had issues, I believe nuclear power will play an important role in fighting global warming.
One advantage of nuclear power is that it does not produce air pollution or carbon dioxide. This makes it safer than fossil fuels for the environment. After Indian Point closed, the energy was mostly replaced by natural gas. Another advantage is that nuclear energy is not weather dependent. This makes nuclear power more reliable than wind and solar energy, which are weather dependent.
The biggest concern was the possibility of an accident occurring at a plant so close to New York City. But while a disaster was possible, the odds show that it was unlikely. For example, the risk of earthquake damage at the third reactor is 0.01 percent per year. By comparison New York City had a 7.9 percent chance of being hit with a Category 3 hurricane in 2020, the same category as Hurricane Sandy.
Also, Indian Point’s third reactor was deemed the riskiest of all nuclear power plants in the U.S. Other plants do not have the specific issues that Indian Point had and as a result, are significantly safer. Considering that nuclear power is cleaner than fossil fuels, more reliable than renewables, and safer than many believe, nuclear energy should be part of the solution to fighting global warming.