With the unfortunate happenings in Japan, you just knew that this was going to be next: It's too risky to keep Indian Point nuclear power plant open: Gov. Cuomo .
So what is the alternative?
When Mr. Cuomo, Sr. shut down the Shoreham nuke plant on LI (after it was built but before it could be put into service) what was the solution? Why, get power from Upstate NY, of course! So the Utica area was given the Marcy South power line, which not only marred the scenic beauty of this valley, but increased Upstate NY power costs to the point where Upstate could no longer compete with similar areas for jobs, or hold on to the jobs it had. Economic decline followed. So what will it be now? Cover the Upstate landscape with windmills and power lines?
People can understand Downstate residents wanting to shut Indian Point. Perhaps it should be closed. But what do the Governor and Downstate residents propose to take its place? Coal burning plants, apparently, are also targets for shut down in state policy.
Perhaps it's time for the Governor and Downstate residents to start thinking about limiting Downstate growth. Growth there has already in some respects exceeded the capacity of the land to support it. The Downstate-mentored policies that put Upstate in a tailspin can be reversed, and replaced with policies that encourage growth to take place in the Upstate region. Perhaps Upstate's shrunken cities (with big infrastructures) can be brought back to life.
If Downstate wants to send Upstate its Growth, I'm sure it will find a willing audience.
5 comments:
"So the Utica area was given the Marcy South power line, which not only marred the scenic beauty of this valley, but increased Upstate NY power costs to the point where Upstate could no longer compete with similar areas for jobs, or hold on to the jobs it had. Economic decline followed."
Strike, you're blaming the power line for Utica's decline? With such a creative facility to put the blame eslewhere, you should run for office!
I'd say taxes helped. But mostly the reason why business left Utica was that it made good business sense to do so and all those roads we paid for bolstered the belief that you build a better mouse trap just about anywhere you wanted to when energy was cheap.
Someone at MIT figured out how many wind turbines it would take to power NYC. This is average load, mind you. It doesn't account for the fact that more power would be required at peak times.
A wind farm to power New York City would need to be FIVE TIMES the size of the city itself. But hey, land and life is cheap upstate. (Foreign) National Grid would love to raise rates for everyone anyway.
It's like NYRI, Part 2. Had this stupid county even threatened to develop municipal power, NatGrid would have made us a better deal on rates. If not, we could have gone ahead, been almost done by now and pulled thir license when they try to build a huge ass transmission line to downstate.
Dave - Of course the powerline wasn't the ONLY cause of jobs leaving Utica -- but it was a BIG cause because it caused power rates to rise, not only in Utica, but all across Upstate NY. That contributed to the decline in all Upstate cities dependent on manufacturing West of Albany & the Catskills.
For RomeHater, this will REALLY give you a case of AGIDA: Delta Dam on your doorstep is being used for municipal power: by the City of Watervliet near Albany.
I heard that one. Could be worse. I think Illion sold their hydro plant to the power company, who promptly blew it up.
A little off topic but the comment about the relationship between the green dream of wind and solar is telling. It will be imposssible for the so called green enrgies to put much of a dent into our energy requirements given the amount of land coverage they demand. Oil, natural gas and nuclear will continue to fuel the needs of our country and the world. Unfortunately, many of our politicians would rather deal in warm and fuzzy sound bites as our energy policy.
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