News Archive 2003

Indian Point: Good for Westchester
By Dan O'Neill
Mayor, Village of Buchanan
Westchester County Business Journal
October 6, 2003

The Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan provides more than inexpensive electricity to Westchester and the New York City metropolitan area. It provides an economic base for the region and, as is often ignored, serve as a benefit for our environment.

Indian Point should remain open in a safe manner, not just because it provides affordable and necessary electricity to the region, but also because it makes Westchester a better place to live and do business.

I live almost within a "stone's throw" to Indian Point, less than one mile away, and can actually see parts of the plant from my house. Long before anti-nuclear activists started to gain traction from the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, by calling for the plant's closure, my neighbors and I had put Indian Point under the microscope. For years we have had countless meetings with plant officials and those from regulatory bodies charged with scrutinizing it. Our scrutiny has continued unabated and will always remain so.

Safety Has Been Demonstrated
My neighbors and I are convinced that Indian Point is safe and secure, and history has proven that time and again. If I had any doubt, my family and I would move immediately. While the village of Buchanan and Hendrick Hudson School District receive revenues from the power plants, no one would trade the safety of their loved ones for a smaller property tax bill.

My confidence comes from many factors: the plant's design, the quality and commitment of the plant's employees including security personnel, hundreds of millions of dollars in recent upgrades since Entergy, the plant's owners, acquired the two operating units from Con Edison and the New York Power Authority in the last three years.

I have personally toured the plant and seen, first hand, the intense and extensive safety and security systems in place.

Any terrorist who believes the plant can be successfully attacked is greatly mistaken. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has called Indian Point, "The most heavily defended industrial facility in America," partly because the Defense Department has various measures in place to prevent an air attack. Given this reputation and visible protection, it would seem highly unlikely that a terrorist group would seriously consider an attack on Indian Point.

Even if a terrorist-piloted plane were somehow to get through the extensive protection network, the domes covering the nuclear reactors are made of three- and-a-half feet thick concrete, reinforced by heavy steel rebar, that make it impossible for even the largest jetliners to penetrate the facility. In addition, the plant has automatic shutoff systems, both on site and at multiple locations outside the control room, which can "power down" the facility within two seconds.

Economic Imperative
Indian Point is not just a well-fortified facility. It is a highly efficient, massive electricity generator. It produces 1,874 megawatts of electricity, nearly the output of the Hoover Dam. As such, it provides 20 percent to 40 percent of the New York metropolitan region's energy needs, depending on time of year and usage levels.

Indian Point's nuclear energy is also less expensive than other fuels. This is particularly apparent now with natural gas and imported oil spiking in cost.

The recent blackout also put an exclamation mark on the need for New York to develop additional sources of energy. Even before this historic event, the New York Independent System Operator called for New York to develop at least 5,000 megawatts of additional generating capacity. Yet plans to increase energy production are consistently opposed by community and some environmental groups.

Taking Indian Point out of the equation would make blackouts — and the upheaval and costs that they bring with them — a regular occurrence. But as important as keeping our lights and refrigerators on are, there are many other benefits of keeping Indian Point.

County is business friendly
Closing Indian Point would send a stark signal to corporations and entrepreneurs, particularly those in the energy-intensive tech sector, that Westchester is not the place for them. No County official would be able to tell a company that the county's electrical infrastructure is adequate, let alone strong, to reliably meet their needs.

Westchester would be in the vulnerable and untenable position of largely "importing" electricity. When California tried this a few years ago the results were disastrous and are still reverberating in the state. The Italian government is now rethinking the practice of importing a larger percentage of electricity from neighboring countries because of the Sept. 27 blackout in Italy.

Offsets Property Tax HIKES
Indian Point pays $34 million in annual property taxes and supplies many cities, villages and towns in Westchester with cost savings of 20 percent or more on electricity. Shutting down Indian Point would increase electric costs for homeowners, businesses and all levels of government. The cost for the county to somehow purchase Indian Point would be astronomical.

Cleaner Environment
Replacing Indian Point with equivalent gas and oil fuels would result in more than 14 million tons a year of additional air pollution. A 785-megawatt coal-burning power plant burns about 9,200 tons of coal per day, or 18.4 million pounds per day. Much of this must be generated in Westchester, or areas to the west of the county that would blow the pollution our way.

Alternative fuels are not yet a realistic solution. As the Manhattan Institute points out, it would take 300,000 acres of Statue of Liberty-sized windmills strewn across the landscape to generate as much power as Indian Point produces on 240 acres. Given the environmental and economic costs, it would make far more sense to replace fossil fuel burning plants rather than Indian Point, whenever alternative fuels become a viable source of electric production.

Westchester has been a great place to live and work for so long because of its dynamic economy and quality of life. Indian Point has helped contribute to the county since 1962. It should continue to do so in our future.

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