And so it begins...
Inevitably, the march to shut down existing nuclear reactors after the Japan quake has begun here in Connecticut. Rep. Vickie O. Nardello, D - Prospect has sponsored legislation that would tax Millstone out of operation.
According to the JI, the new law would impose a 2¢ per kwh tax on electricity generated from Millstone. This adds up to $330 Million that Dominion power would have to pay.
Dominion has announced that "If this bill passes, the Millstone power station will not be economically viable to operate and will be shut down".
To be fair, the bill also taxes coal and oil fired plants. Coal plants are taxed at 0.5¢ per kwh (4 times lower for a dirtier, greenhouse gas producing, and far more lethal form of energy). Oil fired plants are taxed at 0.05¢ per kwh. That is a staggering 40 times lower rate!
The tax money is supposed to "help fund alternative energy systems and provide relief to consumers" according to the JI. Really? What alternative energy system are we currently researching that can replace the base load generation that Millstone provides? Solar? Bzzzt. Only works when the sun shines. Wind? Bzzt. Only works when the wind blows. Millstone's nuclear power station provides the ultimate in base load generation. Nuke plants like to be turned on, full blast, and left that way. The more they are left that way, the more efficient they are. ISO New England would shut down every other plant whether coal, oil, or natural gas before they turned down the power from the nuke plants. They run the nuke plants full blast all night too, even when the power is cheap to sell. It's just the nature of the beast.
What's most egregious about this tax is that it is targeted directly at Millstone. It taxes Millstone at much higher rates, even though the environmental and human costs of the plant are far lower. And perhaps the most galling is that the supporters of the bill somehow think this is pro-consumer. Nothing could be farther from the truth!
You knew it would only be a matter of time after the Japan disaster that politicians would go into over reaction mode just like they did last summer after the BP accident. Alternative energy sources will be great when they are economically feasible until then nuclear and natural gas are two of the best options to coal and oil. Hopefully for everyone in CT this legislation doesn't get passed.
ReplyDeleteHmm... is it entirely fair to refer to this as 'Dems sponsor bill...' when it's just one umm... 'misguided' individual? Perhaps you are just link baiting us. ;-)
ReplyDeletePerhaps something like 'Is Rep. Nardello a puppet of the oil & gas lobby?' would work just as well? ;-))
Seriously though, while a lot of Dems are Mother Earth lovin' tree huggers the educated/rational ones realize that nuclear power is a valuable 'alternative' to the environmental damage caused by burning dead dinosaurs.
Yes - it is fair to label this as "Dems..." As far as I can tell, all of the co-sponsors on the bill are Democrats. Democrats also control both houses of the GA, and the Governor's seat. To suggest that anyone BUT the "Dems" are sponsoring this would be ingenuous.
ReplyDelete