Great op ed article from the editors of the Daytona Beach National Journal on the future of Nuclear power for Florida:
Nuclear power expansion in Florida is still under fire, despite the growing need for cleanly generated electricity. At issue is how much Florida power consumers spend now to cover planning costs for building or expanding nuclear power plants.
While the Florida Public Service Commission needs to keep those fees from causing economic hardship for homeowners or large industrial users, the state also needs to promote planning for the future of electricity generation…
The PSC will decide in the next few weeks how much Florida Power and Light and Progress Energy Florida will charge customers in 2012 for reactors that have yet to be built and plants that need to be upgraded….
Large industrial users of electricity and nuke opponents are suggesting the plants will never be built. Construction costs are rising, technology is changing for the better and public sentiment is turning in wake of the nuclear disaster earlier this year in Japan, they say.
If the reactors are unlikely to be built, why charge consumers for them?…Opponents of nuclear power suggest new technology, conservation and alternative energy will help ease demand in the future….
That is far too hopeful. Right now, coal accounts for about 25 percent of Florida’s electricity. To reduce that usage to something that causes fewer or zero carbon emissions, the state will have to turn to natural gas and nuclear power….
On the green front, the state should encourage wind and solar options, but those methods do not generate anything close to what Florida needs from major sources of electricity.
It’s not unusual for states to look far ahead when planning for nuclear power plants. The plants are costly, they need to have the most up-to-date technology and reactors, and they have to get through mountains of red tape. But once running, nuclear power plants efficiently provide millions of watts of power…
Florida must be prepared to deal with the growing demand for power. The state shouldn’t become too reliant on any one energy source — especially coal. Nuclear plants should be part of the mix.
Go read the whole article here.
Tweet TAGS: Daytona Beach National Journal, Florida, Florida Power and Light, Florida Public Service Commission, Progress Energy Florida, PSC
Posted in: Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power Plants | No Comments»
