What should we do about Vermont Yankee?

In the United States, the coal industry projects coal generating plants to close down at a rate of one every other day, partly because of EPA regulations, and partly because of competition from natural gas.

The owners of the Kewaunee nuclear plant, in Wisconsin, say they will close it. They tried to sell it, but found no takers. The most important reason to close the plant is competition from natural gas. The owners of the Oyster Creek nuclear plant, in New Jersey, are saying they may close it as well, for the same reason.

Meanwhile, renewable energy is competing successfully with natural gas.  In fact, it is competing well enough that in one recent month, all new grid capacity in the United States was renewable.

All this is important to understand, as we plan our energy future. In particular, it is important to understand as we consider what to do with the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. An blog posting at the geoharvey website explains: [read more]