On nuclear power, mixed reaction from LI energy experts
The Shoreham nuclear plant stands with lights reflecting in the waters of Wading River just before sunrise. (Aug. 1, 1986) Credit: Newsday, 1986 / Jerry Gay
Long Island energy experts and officials involved in the protracted struggle over the Shoreham nuclear plant had mixed responses Tuesday to news of federal loan guarantees for two proposed nuclear reactors in Georgia.
Some welcomed the prospect of a nuclear revival in the United States, where an enthusiastic Cold War push for the technology petered out nearly three decades ago amid huge cost overruns and safety concerns.
"Nuclear power has to play a very significant role in our energy future if we're going to have any possibility of limiting greenhouse gases and global warming," said Dowling College business school dean Matthew Cordaro, who was a top executive at the Long Island Lighting Company, which built the Shoreham plant.
Others cautioned that Long Island's battle over the facility offered hard lessons for those looking to build new reactors.
Embraced by federal energy officials when proposed in 1965, the Shoreham plant ended up costing $5.2 billion. It met with fierce opposition from residents and activists who said Long Island could not be evacuated in case of an accident. Ultimately, the plant was decommissioned in 1994 - before it ever produced any commercial power.
"Basically, it was really ignoring local concerns," said Huntington Town Supervisor Frank Petrone, a former regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Petrone said much more care should be taken when deciding where to put plants and how to build them. Using standardized designs - as is done in Europe - would make it easier to vet plans and head off cost overruns from technical problems like those that plagued Shoreham, he said.
Others said nuclear plants, which take years to build, should take a backseat to other projects. "We ought to be spending most of our money on energy efficiency, renewables and investing in infrastructure improvements such as upgrading the grid," said Richard Kessel, president and chief executive of the New York Power Authority and a former anti-Shoreham activist.
All three agreed there is little chance another nuclear plant will be built here anytime soon.
"I think we had a very bad experience with Shoreham," said Kessel. "It cost Long Island almost $6 billion, and we're still paying for it."
