Full Title: Putting New Yorkers at Risk
Author(s): Herschel Specter
Publisher(s): Micro-Utilities, Inc.
Publication Date: February 1, 2018
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
On January 9, 2017 many were shocked to learn that NY State, Entergy, and Riverkeeper had signed an Agreement to shut down the two operating Indian Point nuclear power plants by 2020 and 2021, respectively. On February 28, 2017, members of NY State’s Legislature held a public hearing on this shutdown Agreement. Representing the State of New York were Richard Kauffman, the State’s “energy czar” and Audrey Zibelman, then head of the Public Service Commission.
These witnesses made three principle claims:
a. The electricity from Indian Point would be replaced by a combination of clean energy and greater energy efficiency achieved through the State’s Clean Energy Standard (CES), i.e., there would not be any increase in emissions,
b. The overall reliability of New York’s electricity system would be adequate,
and
c. The main reason for shutting down Indian Point was a matter of safety.
Within a year all three claims were disproved.
On December 13, 2017 the New York Independent Systems Operator (NYISO) issued a report “Generator Deactivation Assessment Indian Point Energy Center”. This NYISO report ruled out the use of renewable energy to replace Indian Point because of severe transmission constraints. “Due to transmission constraints into the Lower Hudson Valley from upstate (Zones A-F) and Long Island (Zone K), additional resources in any other zone would not effectively resolve the deficiency.” The Indian Point plants will not be replaced by wind energy from upstate New York or proposed wind farms off of Long Island. Indian Point will be replaced by a fossil fuel, natural gas.