Now it's time to think green
Toolbox
Published: February 28, 2010
The low point in the debate last week about Vermont Yankee came on Tuesday when an executive from Entergy Corp., owner of the nuclear plant, said that if Vermont extended Yankee's license, the company would sell the state a block of low-cost power for three years. He said it was a gift and had nothing to do with the vote that loomed in the Senate.
The offer exhibited a level of cynicism that doomed for good Yankee's prospects in the Senate, which was scheduled to vote on Yankee's license the next day. Vermont policymakers and utility executives have expressed astonishment at the cluelessness of Entergy executives about Vermont. That the man from Entergy would offer a bribe, with the effrontery to say it wasn't a bribe, demonstrated how far removed from the practice of ordinary honesty Entergy executives have veered.
Another low point occurred when a group of Yankee workers angrily confronted a group of anti-Yankee business people at the Statehouse. It was a low point not because of the workers' anger. Rather, the incident demonstrated that the people hurt the most by Entergy's incompetence and dishonesty may be Entergy's own employees.
Imagine that you are a Vermonter who has undertaken the education and training to become a nuclear engineer or technician. You have gone to work at a facility that provides you and your family with a good living, and you conscientiously do what you can every day to make the plant operate safely and effectively. You know that nuclear power frightens some people and remains a focus of controversy for many, but your understanding of the science and technology of the plant gives you the confidence that it is a safe and useful source of energy for the region.
Then you learn that the company you are working for has lied to legislators and regulators about an underground piping system that, it turns out, is now leaking radioactive water into the ground. You get an unsettling feeling that the company's plans to sell off the plant are really a way for the company to shirk its cleanup responsibilities while carting off a big profit.
The glee of anti-nuclear activists about the Senate vote not to extend Yankee's license does not take into account the disappointment and potential hardship facing many hundreds of people who have worked to make Yankee a productive energy source. Foes of nuclear power have been striving for decades to shut down Yankee, and they experienced sweet vindication because of the Senate's vote. But the vote was more about Entergy's corporate failures — to the state and to its own employees — than it was about the larger, still unresolved debate about nuclear power.
The result in the Senate was decisive. The tally was 26-4. Only Republicans Peg Flory and Phil Scott and Democrats Richard Mazza and Robert Starr voted in favor of extending Yankee's license.
Sen. Susan Bartlett distinguished herself earlier in the week with a statement saying that, though she opposed extending Yankee's license, she believed that the vote was premature. She said the Legislature was still awaiting reports on Yankee's reliability and economic impact, suggesting that a more deliberate process would have greater credibility. It was a valid point, though in the end Bartlett joined the overwhelming majority to vote against the license extension.
Gov. James Douglas continued to argue that the Senate vote was essentially "meaningless." Strictly speaking, he was right. The vote was not a positive action to close down the plant on schedule in 2012. It was simply a refusal at this time to approve a license extension. Entergy can come back next year to make its case why Vermont Yankee should be allowed to operate until 2032.
But politically, the Senate vote is meaningful. It demonstrates that neither Republicans nor Democrats will countenance corporate dishonesty. Conceivably, Vermont voters could rebel this November and elect legislators with a different view of Yankee's future. But Vermont's senators clearly do not fear that will happen. Entergy now has a far steeper hill to climb than before if it intends to convince the Legislature that it is fit to operate Vermont Yankee.
The Senate vote now sends a signal to the next governor and Legislature to begin the planning necessary to enter an era without Vermont Yankee. Progressives have long argued that shifting away from nuclear power will stimulate the creation of thousands of jobs in green technology. We need to begin taking steps to make that happen.
55