Supporters of nuclear energy,
Ohio
legislation supporting the state’s nuclear plants is in trouble.
Success of the bill (HB 6) has big implications for both New York’s
largest nuclear plant (Indian Point) and our own Diablo Canyon. Its
passage is considered by many to be essential to the future of U.S.
nuclear power.
That’s
probably why natural gas interests have mounted the largest
issue-related campaign in Ohio history to kill HB 6. With $millions
spent on TV commercials, they intend to convince Ohio voters the plants
are old, unnecessary, and would need to be “bailed out” -
fossil-fuel-speak for allowing nuclear plants to compete on a level
playing field. The bill is being debated right now in the Ohio Energy
and Utilities Committee, and is scheduled to either be dropped, or sent
to the Senate for confirmation tomorrow (Ohio Governor Mike DeWine
supports it). The Ohio legislature adjourns for the summer Thursday, and
if the bill hasn’t been passed Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear plants
will close.
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ACTION ITEM: Please call the office of
1) The committee’s chairman, Senator Steve Wilson, and
2) Senator Larry Obhof, Speaker of the Senate
and
let them know HB 6 is not only important for Ohio ratepayers (they will
save money) but for New York, California, and other states with
struggling nuclear plants. Even though we’re not constituents, a
personal plea about what clean energy means to you, and to the
environment, can make a difference.
Senator Steve Wilson
Senate Building
1 Capitol Square
1st Floor
1 Capitol Square
1st Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Hometown: Maineville
(614) 466-9737
Senator Larry Obhof
Statehouse
1 Capitol Square
2nd Floor
1 Capitol Square
2nd Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Hometown: Medina
(614) 466-7505
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More information below.
Carl Wurtz
Vice President
Californians for Green Nuclear Power
Vice President
Californians for Green Nuclear Power
Zero Emission Credits (ZECs) Aren't "Bailouts." Zero
emission credits for nuclear plants are being labeled "bailouts" in press reports
- BS. They’re not a tax credit either, but a fee clean electricity
plants are permitted to add to the wholesale cost of their electricity,
as a reward, reflecting the benefit the public receives from clean air
and preventing climate change. This avoided cost of carbon is based upon
the EPA’s "social cost of carbon”, currently estimated at $42/ton of
CO2 prevented. Most ZECs start out lower, then are increased annually.
ZECs Level the Playing Field. Ohio's proposed zero emission credit applies to both nuclear and solar energy on equal terms.
Double-Counting is Prohibited. With Renewable Energy
Certificates (RECs), renewable sources currently receive twice as much
credit as they're due by "double-counting" the value of their
generation. It works like this: for each megawatthour (MWh) of energy
coming from a solar/wind farm, operators are awarded a certificate by
the state which can be sold to utilities to erase an equal part of their
dirty generation to help meet their clean-energy quota. By transferring
credit for their clean energy, utilities would logically assume
responsibility for the cancelled emissions in return - but they don't.
Customers are supposed to believe the emissions they've already created
vanish into thin air.
Like a Carbon Tax, but Backwards. Instead of
penalizing consumption of carbon, ZECs reward non-consumption by paying
generators to not use dirty fossil fuels to generate electricity. Though
it adds a minor cost to customers’ bills, studies show keeping nuclear
plants plants open has saved hundreds of $millions more by preventing
utilities from having to buy expensive gas-fired electricity, at market
rates, to meet predictable baseload demand - something nuclear does
better, and cheaper, than anything else.
