In my heart the VT Yankee relicense question never felt right to me. But in the interest of being reasonable I have explored the facts with an open mind. I am very sensitive to protecting Vermont's business climate, because I do believe that the health of the Vermont business community should be a top priority to strengthen our state. But my conclusion, like State Senate Candidate Robert Wagner's as detailed in his press release, is that Vermont Yankee is not a valuable asset to Vermont and it should be decommisioned in 2012.
The economic bottom line is that VY's "offer" of $.06 per kilowatt hour, more than a 40% increase over their current rates, is not competitive with Vermont's other options for long-term power contracts. And nearly everyone admits that Entergy cannot be trusted.
Regardless of your interpretation of how much risk or liability VY brings, there is little reward. Just last week, Washington Electric signed long term contracts for just under $.05 per kilowatt from the ISO New England grid, and Hydro Quebec reduced their mid-term price forecast by 150% from their previous forecast. In December, the ISONE grid reported that there is currently a surplus capacity of 14,000 MW of power.
Yes that's forteen thousand megawatts of excess capacity. VY has a listed capacity of 956 MW, and Vermont would get only about half that much under the new offer.
Read the US Energy Information Administration data VT Yankee capcity here. http://www.iso-ne.com/nwsiss/pr/2009/outlook_december_2009_advisory.pdf
Read exerpt below, and follow this link to see the full ISONE report. http://www.iso-ne.com/nwsiss/pr/2009/outlook_december_2009_advisory.pdf
"Holyoke, MA—December 21, 2009—New England is expected to have sufficient resources to meet consumer demand for electricity this winter, according to ISO New England Inc., the operator of the region’s bulk power system and wholesale electricity markets. This winter’s capacity outlook, as well as the actions ISO New England and others in the energy industry take to prepare for the winter season, are discussed in the latest issue of the organization’s quarterly newsletter, ISO New England Outlook.
ISO New England projects that sufficient resources will be available to meet the expected peak level of demand for electricity for the 2009/2010 winter. Consumption could rise as high as 22,100 megawatts (MW) this winter, while the region has capacity totaling about 36,300 MW, including 2,520 MW of demand-side resources such as energy efficiency, load management, and emergency generation."
The power Vermont Yankee is offering VT going forward seems to me to be insignificant relative to this capacity factor. Not to mention the $.062/kwh plus inflation-escalators offer from VY, is significantly higher than current long-term price contracts that GMP and Washington Electric have available to them from the open market.
Even without the ISO capacity, HydroQuebec could easily cover the lost supply from VY. The other important factor, of the 200 VT jobs (600 total, but only 200 are Vermonters) that will be lost if VY closes, would be easily offset if VT extends the FIT program.
And we can also aggressively build new capacity in VT with renewables including our own hydro-power. For every MW of solar/wind/biomass power installed, there between 4 and 8 design/installation/operation jobs created.
Expanding the "Feed-In-Tariff" (FIT) from 50MW to 300MW, for example, could create over 1000 “green collar” VT jobs, and more of the revenue from the power would go to local VT economies, vs out of state corporations.
This would be a tremendous economic value to Vermont that would more than offset the slight increase in retail power rates that FIT expansion would create.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Decommission Vermont Yankee Says Ripton Candidate for VT Senate
Ripton, Vermont - January 28, 2010 - Vermont State Senate independent candidate Robert Wagner has come out in favour of decommissioning the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Reactor.
"Relicencing a nuclear reactor is not a decision to be made in the margin," Wagner said, referring to the Legislature's recent examination of whether the billable cost per kWh would be competitive with other energy sources. "You don't play with the public's health and our future, on cost alone. This is a decision to make with the heart."
Mr. Wagner visited the site of Chornobol, Ukraine, in 1998, and personally witnessed the ongoing devastation, human suffering and economic cost visited on that country as a result of the accident at that nuclear reactor a decade previous.
"Back in the USSR, experts would testify to the safety of operations; the general belief and political mentality was that we are a modern superpower, a major accident could never happen here. Well, it happened, and I may be the only other person in Vermont who has seen it with his own eyes. For that reason I cannot believe the US experts of today that are saying the exact same things."
Governor Douglas has recently requested that the decision on relicencing Vermont Yankee be taken from the Legislature and entrusted to "experts". In addition, Wagner challenges the low cost estimates for electricity sourced from Vermont Yankee.
"You have to take into account costs that are externalised by Entergy onto the people of Vermont. That includes a rent for the surface water drawn from the Connecticut River for cooling, the cleanup costs for the waste currently stockpiled beside the river, and a risk premium on groundwater contamination."
As for Entergy's decommissioning fund of over $400 million, Wagner says that "Vermonters will still be left holding the bag for a shortfall of $200 million. The real challenge before the Legislature is not only the courage to say 'NO' to a huge corporation, but to plan for a sustainable and fiscally sound energy future for Vermont," said Wagner.
"A plan requires proactively engaging Hydro Quebec to expand the existing contracts, engaging Vermont businesses in commercial wind and hydro development projects on both a state and a community scale. In my home of Addison County, there are several potential sites for community hydroelectric projects. There has to be a long-term political commitment, partnering with Town Planning boards and local business development, for projects such as these to succeed."
Robert Wagner is running for the Vermont Senate, representing Addison County, as part of THE THIRTY Independents.
Contact: Robert Wagner robert@senatorwagner.com
1049 Lincoln Road, Ripton, Vermont Ph: +1 802 388 0670