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A nuclear plant’s closure was hailed as a green win. Then emissions went up (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Shuttering of New York facility raises awkward climate crisis questions as gas – not renewables – fills gap in power generation

When New York’s deteriorating and unloved Indian Point nuclear plant finally shuttered in 2021, its demise was met with delight from environmentalists who had long demanded it be scrapped.

But there has been a sting in the tail – since the closure, New York’s greenhouse gas emissions have gone up.

Castigated for its impact upon the surrounding environment and feared for its potential to unleash disaster close to the heart of New York City, Indian Point nevertheless supplied a large chunk of the state’s carbon-free electricity.

Since the plant’s closure, it has been gas, rather then clean energy such as solar and wind, that has filled the void, leaving New York City in the embarrassing situation of seeing its planet-heating emissions jump in recent years to the point its power grid is now dirtier than Texas’s, as well as the US average.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

In any case, why not fix the issue rather than just shutting the plant?

Because just patching up an old faulty nuclear power plant thats past its expected service life is a recipe for disaster. Hence why we have service lifetimes for these things in the first place?

And that does not make the headline “inflammatory.” It is accurate

It absolutely is inflammatory. Its specifically trying to conflate environmental concerns of polluted groundwater with carbon emissions, to make it seem like the people who voiced those concerns are idiots.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago

thats past its expected service life

Citation needed. It received a 40-year permit to start because that was the max permit issued.

Lots of things last well past their "expected service life." That is why there is the word EXPECTED. The problem was in the spent fuel pools. They could build brand new ones.

Tell me, what was the expected service life of the Brooklyn Bridge? Should people avoid it because continuing to use it is "a recipe for disaster?"

The fact is, intensive inspections would have been required for another permit to continue operating.

Listen, if you think we should build newer and better nuclear power plants, I am right with you. But until that happens, we cannot just flush what we have down the toilet.

Should we build wind and solar? Absolutely. But we also need green power that works when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing, and that is what Indian Point gave the state of NY for decades.

It absolutely is inflammatory. Its specifically trying to conflate environmental concerns of polluted groundwater with carbon emissions, to make it seem like the people who voiced those concerns are idiots.

It cites a "green win." The groundwater issue is absolutely a green issue.

But even then, those pushing to close it down claimed it would be replaced by green energy. The National Resourced Defence Council claimed that "Indian Point Is Closing, but Clean Energy Is Here to Stay." The claimed that "because of New York’s landmark 2019 climate legislation and years of clean energy planning and investments by the state, New York is better positioned today than ever to achieve its ambitious climate and clean energy goals without this risky plant."

So, yes, it was absolutely advertised as a climate win that the NY would easily replace it with renewable energy, even when those 3 gas turbine plants were being bought online.