The state of New York on Monday dismissed the call from a pro-nuclear climate organization to prevent the Indian Point Energy Center from closing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reactor Unit 2 at the upstate nuclear power plant is scheduled to power down permanently by April 30, followed a year later by the third and last operational reactor, Unit 3. Indian Point Unit 1 was retired in 1974.
In an open letter to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), the Climate Coalition said using executive authority to keep Indian Point alive, “and preventing a surge of new, toxic fossil fuel pollutants from spewing into the air while people are perishing from respiratory failure, is probably the most critical, preventative thing you can do to ease suffering and additional deaths.” The letter cites research from Harvard University that found a connection between air pollution and deaths from the novel coronavirus 2019.
The New York Public Service Commission was not convinced by the plea.
“There is no reason nor need to allow Indian Point to remain open because of the pandemic,” spokesman James Denn said by email. “Electricity demand across New York State has fallen nearly 8 percent during the last two weeks of March and into the first week of April due to pandemic’s impact on the economy, according to the NYISO. Once the economy returns to normal, we will continue to see a decline in the State’s energy load thanks in part to our aggressive energy efficiency measures.”
Entergy, the New Orleans-based power company, hopes to sell the entire property in Buchanan, N.Y., to energy technology company Holtec International, of Camden, N.J. First, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must approve the transfer of the site’s reactor and spent-fuel storage licenses.
The agency has scheduled a webinar for 1 p.m. ET today on decommissioning of Indian Point. The agency is considering requests from the New York state Attorney General’s Office and three nongovernmental groups on the license transfer application.
Decommissioning the three reactors is projected to cost $2.3 billion. Holtec says it can complete the job in 15 years.
