[Originally published in the Barre Times-Argus.]
During this year’s biennial elections, the relicensing of Vermont Yankee became, cynically and unfortunately, a part of the political discussion. Quite probably, this was in the hope that it would boost the political prospects of some individual candidates and that its relicensing would ultimately succumb to negative political pressures.
Lodged somewhere in the collective psyche of many Americans is an almost pathological fear of all things nuclear. It may relate to anything as powerful or poorly understood as nuclear energy, or to the disasters at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. Or it may be part of collective American guilt over having razed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Many who share this aversion to nuclear enterprise in any form are unalterably emotionally committed to fighting everything nuclear from the production of weapons to the generation of electricity. With the possible exception of medical technology, there is nothing good for true believers in any nuclear application.
Whatever is behind it, the political, antinuclear mindset is playing a powerful role against the relicensing of Vermont Yankee.
On the other hand, America is a capitalist country in which profit and all its benefits play a critical role. It is in Entergy’s financial interest to extend its license to operate Vermont Yankee for another 20 years. In arguing its own position, Entergy cites the relatively low cost of electricity to Vermont, state taxes paid, jobs produced and, in terms of climate change, zero greenhouse gases. Vermont companies and individuals needing low-cost energy to remain competitive are clearly involved in a ramped-up TV campaign to support these positions. These arguments are valid. But are they really important?
In our current discussion of Yankee relicensing, we are playing a role in the ongoing debate about climate change. Whatever we decide to do, all of the economically feasible, green alternatives available to us can only provide, at absolute best, about a third of our energy needs. That leaves fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) and nuclear as the only candidates to fill the remaining two-thirds.
This is not an argument for relicensing Yankee; it is a suggestion that nuclear is is a suggestion that nuclear energy is definitely in our future if we truly want to deal with climate change, our reliance on foreign energy sources, our balance of payments, our standard of living and satisfying our energy needs.
Yankee aside, would our anti-Yankee advocates be prepared to accept a new nuclear power plant in Vermont? How about on the shores of Lake Champlain or again on the Connecticut River, or one of each? Or would it, in true Vermont fashion, have to go into someone else’s backyard?
Coincidentally, with our NIMBY view of the world, how are we progressing on more benign green energy sources? Will the wind turbines prevail in Vermont? Will we license additional wood-chip plants? Will we continue to remove energy-producing dams in favor of migrating fish?
The problem with Yankee, and probably ultimately with any future discussion of nuclear energy, is that all the wrong issues are being raised. The real issue is not one of jobs or taxes or climate change or nuclear energy itself. The only real issue is one of safety.
Is any nuclear power plant safe? One answer to that would seem to lie in the fact that most of the industrialized world is increasing nuclear generation to the point where it ranges from around 30 percent up to 80 percent of total electric production. In contrast, the U.S. is at roughly 20 percent. Yet we are the world’s No. 1 per-capita user of energy.
Is Vermont Yankee safe? Our vision of safety is so influenced by the emotionalism and politicization of the issue that it is difficult to know. The only people capable of giving us a truly objective answer to that question are somewhere in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The views of “experts” on the evils of nuclear power simply cannot stand up to truly objective, current, professional scrutiny. They are simply handy shills for the naysayers.
What can be safely said is that Entergy Nuclear, the proprietor of Vermont Yankee, has not managed its plant or its relationships with the state of Vermont and its residents in an acceptable manner. Misstatements and omissions, conscious or not, have ruled the day.
It is perfectly possible that the real issue with Vermont Yankee is poor, inattentive management, rather than the inherent safety of the plant. In any event, we should not allow ourselves to be significantly influenced by emotional advocates on either side of the relicensing argument. Safety must decide that argument.
Haviland Smith lives in Williston.
