Conservation Law Foundation warmly welcomed the news that Vermont Yankee will soon close. The closure is long overdue for this tired old plant, following a history of leaks, false testimony, broken promises and poor management.

For over ten years, CLF has been actively showing that Vermont Yankee is not a good deal for Vermont. The state has been saddled with this poorly managed, uneconomic dinosaur for far too long, enduring environmental damage and the persistent threats to public health and safety that come with operating a nuclear power plant well beyond its planned life.

Image Credit: Tim Newcomb

With no place to put the waste that will remain dangerous for thousands of years, no power contract that would provide reliable and low cost power to Vermonters, and rapidly escalating costs to shut down and clean up the site—and little money available to make that happen—the numbers just never added up. The plant has been a pig in a poke for some time. The schemes from the plant’s wily owners to eke out a profit and keep the plant running, finally failed.

Vermont Yankee’s closure is good news for Vermont and the region’s economy and energy future. It heralds a transition away from older and polluting power supplies. Old technology, whether nuclear or coal-fired, cannot compete with newer, more efficient resources, renewable energy and energy efficiency. As New England undergoes a massive technology transition that hastens the demise of old polluting power plants throughout the region, we can begin investing in cleaner supplies that will meet our energy needs and create good, green jobs, instead of propping up polluting old plants and paying too much for their power.

Throughout the past decade, CLF added a strong oar pulling to move away from Vermont Yankee. We explained to state regulators, courts, legislatures, federal agencies and blue ribbon commissions the problems with water pollution, management and poor economics of the plant operation. Our advocacy built on a history of holding states and power plant owners responsible for acting in the best interest of ratepayers.

In the 1980s, we led a successful campaign to prevent a second reactor from being built at the Seabrook Station nuclear power plant in New Hampshire because the economics didn’t make sense. In 2000, we helped avert a fire sale of Vermont Yankee that was a bad deal for Vermont ratepayers. And in 2006, CLF showed how cleaner energy efficiency could help meet our power needs and reduce the need for massive transmission that would prop up older plants.

Throughout New England, whether it’s these old nukes, or old coal-fired power plants, we and our allies—the people who have paid and continue to pay with their health, their wallets and their children’s futures to keep them running—are shaking the region from simply accepting business as usual. The demise of Vermont Yankee—and the Salem Harbor and Somerset Station coal plants—was the result a changing energy landscape brought about by  advocates like CLF, who held  plant owners to account year after year, and  built legal, political and popular support for a better deal for New Englanders. Who knows how much more life their owners may have tried to wring out of these old plants at our expense if CLF and others had not been there to keep the pressure on for them to move aside?

Economics and advocacy are closely intertwined. Regardless of which straw finally broke Yankee’s back, the end of these old, polluting power plants is clearing the way to a cleaner energy future in our region. Thanks to the persistence and dedication of many, that is now within our reach.

Photo from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

On June 4, Judge Reiss of the Federal District Court in Burlington, Vermont will take up the latest lawsuit from Vermont Yankee’s owners. Once again, Entergy, the owner and operator of Vermont’s tired old nuclear plant, is asking a federal court to give it a free pass.

Entergy wants to stop Vermont regulators from having any say over its operations.

This latest skirmish involves the building of a back-up diesel generator. Entergy claims the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires the generator and that Vermont is getting in its way. It needs the Federal Court to stop any Vermont review of the proposal.

Hold on. Vermont’s regulators already issued a proposal that would approve the generator. The only deadline is one that is self-imposed by Entergy. The current schedule allows a final decision even before Entergy’s self-proclaimed “deadline.”

So what’s this really about? Entergy’s world view seems to suggest that the less oversight it has the better. But that’s not good for Vermont. The federal court should see through Entergy’s antics and allow the Vermont proceedings to continue.

You can read Entergy’s Complaint here and the State’s reply here.

Can the Vermont Public Service Board determine the meaning of its own orders? The answer would seem to be “Of Course!” But that is the question that Vermont Yankee’s owners are putting before the Vermont Supreme Court.

In two orders the Vermont Public Service Board issued a strong rebuke to Entergy.

The Board refused to amend its prior orders and confirmed that the conditions of Entergy’s permits remain intact. Those conditions include that Entergy will not operate Vermont Yankee past March 2012 without new approval from the Board.

Entergy brought this appeal to challenge those orders.

On Monday Conservation Law Foundation’s brief, filed jointly with New England Coalition and Vermont Public Interest Research Group challenged Entergy’s claims. Our brief noted:

Rather than comply with the conditions … and Board orders that were not appealed, Entergy instead seeks to ignore Vermont law and expand the application of this simple statute to sanction continued operation regardless of the current license requirements and prior commitments that were incorporated into the Board’s Order approving the sale of the plant to Entergy.

The State of Vermont also filed a brief opposing Entergy’s appeal.

It seems obvious that Entergy should be held to its commitments. We gave the Vermont Supreme Court some good arguments to encourage it to agree with us. Entergy will file a reply brief next month and a decision is expected within a year.

Come join Conservation Law Foundation and our allies THIS SATURDAY in Burlington, Vermont for a discussion on Vermont’s Energy Choices.

Vermont’s Energy Choices: Old Dirty Problems and Clean Energy Solutions
Saturday, April 27th, 1:30 PM at the Billings Auditorium at UVM in Burlington

The time is NOW to move away from dirty sources of energy such as tar sands, nuclear, oil and coal. Solutions are available now to move us away from expensive, dangerous and polluting energy.

Come hear national and international experts on the problems of dirty energy – from fracking to tar sands – and  the real-world successes of renewable power – including community based renewable power in Europe.

Throwing up our hands is not an option. Come find out how to make a clean energy future our reality.

You can sign up and more information here:  See you Saturday!

photo courtesy of Shannon Henry @ flickr.com

The past few weeks have not been kind to Vermont Yankee or its owners. Investment analysts continue to raise doubts about Yankee’s economic future. It is costing more to run the plant and its future looks bleak.

In Vermont, hearings began last week before the Public Service Board on whether state approval should be granted. Entergy’s four – that’s right, four – law firms are packing the hearing room, but the plethora of high-priced lawyers are having a hard time showing that Vermont will be better off to keep the plant running. Much of their time is spent raising objections and claiming nearly every matter is out of bounds, and cannot be considered by the Board.

The Board must decide if continued operation is in Vermont’s best interests. Matters of radiological safety cannot be considered by the state board, but matters of economics, power supply and the environment are fair game.

During the first week of hearings, Vermont Yankee’s witnesses were on the stand. It was an impressive collection of corporate executives, economists, professors and power professionals. Their testimony had been previously submitted in writing. The hearings allowed the Board and the parties to ask questions.

Just like the tired old plant, the questions revealed real cracks in Vermont Yankee’s claims. One of Entergy’s top executives acknowledged “very serious issues” regarding “misinformation” about the existence of underground pipes at the plant in 2010. He also acknowledged a number of past incidents where penalties had been imposed for failing to follow required rules.

On power supply, the plant is not needed for reliability. The lights will still stay on without Vermont Yankee. There is an excess of power available in New England and the growth in renewables alone over the next decade is greater than the total output of Vermont Yankee.

When asked about environmental problems at the plant, Entergy’s executive confessed he is not an expert on environmental law noting he took that class “Pass/Fail” in law school. Too bad. Vermont deserves better.

Hearings continue February 19 at the Vermont Public Service Board, and are expected to finish February 25. The Board has asked for additional Entergy witnesses to explain how it has complied with prior commitments and also about events that happened in 2010. The State of Vermont, Conservation Law Foundation and the other parties will then make available their witnesses who will answer questions about power supply, the environment and economics.

Keeping the lights on shouldn’t be this difficult. The response by Entergy to the outage at the Super Bowl is very reminiscent of the responses by Entergy to the many problems at its Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. It boils down to a piece of equipment failed and the power went out. A repeated problem at Vermont Yankee has been equipment failures – from cooling tower collapses to leaking pipes.

Sure problems happen, but c’mon. Enough already. The problem is that the same company that can’t keep the lights on for the Super Bowl is also challenged to keep its nuclear fleet running smoothly.

Even without news of the Super Bowl outage, UBS issued another report  about the shaky financial future of Vermont Yankee. The report states:

“We continue to believe Entergy is likely to decommission at least one of its units, such as Vermont Yankee, in 2013. We anticipate the process of decommissioning will become of greater importance to Entergy shareholders, as concerns around shareholder-financed contributions to decommissioning funds continue to garner concern.”

The financial outlook looks bleak. Meanwhile, next week hearings begin at the Vermont Public Service Board about Vermont Yankee’s future. Entergy has money to keep four law firms employed working on the case. That money would be better spent closing the plant and cleaning up the site.

photo courtesy of topher76@flickr.com

This past week has shown Vermont first-hand the high cost of nuclear power. Hosting a plant in your state is clearly a high-stakes bargain.

Vermont went to Court in Manhattan this week before a three judge panel at the United States Court of Appeals. (Read more here and here). It had fifteen minutes for its lawyer to explain to the judges why the decision of the District Court blocking the actions of the Vermont Legislature should be reversed. A tough task.

With clarity and nimbleness, Vermont proved it was up to the task. Its lawyer, Attorney David Frederick, an experienced appellate lawyer who argued a case last week before the United States Supreme Court, explained that Vermont has every right to determine Vermont Yankee’s fate. And doing so does not impinge on the federal government’s oversight of radiological issues.

In a nutshell, there were three points.

First the United States Supreme Court case from 1983 that let stand a California law enacting a moratorium on nuclear plants would allow the Vermont law. If a state can ban all nuclear plants, it can certainly allow the Legislature to determine the fate of one plant.

Second, the lease on Vermont Yankee expired and like a landlord, Vermont can simply refuse to renew the lease. Period. Any tenant knows this. Vermont is hosting this plant and can say it wants the property used for another purpose.

Third, Vermont has huge skin in the game and economic exposure from Vermont Yankee. If Entergy, the owner of Vermont Yankee, goes bankrupt or simply chooses to walk away, Vermonters are left holding the bag for what Conservation Law Foundation has described as the nuclear equivalent of junk car in its backyard. This possibility is more likely following recent reports that Vermont Yankee is not pulling its weight and that Entergy would be better off closing the plant.

The stakes are high. Apart from hosting this plant, Entergy is seeking to recoup over $4 million in legal fees, and now has four law firms working to push every legal angle possible. Times change. When Vermont first approved the Vermont Yankee facility in the 1970s, there was a hearing for three days before the Vermont Public Service Board. Clearly nuclear power and hosting plants is more expensive and time consuming than ever.

Vermont is right to begin extracting itself from this nuclear legacy. Unfortunately, that is proving to be not so easy.

Photo courtesy of Andy Hares @ flickr.com

The financial world is waking up to what a drag Vermont Yankee really is. The tired, old and leaking nuclear plant in Vermont is not carrying its weight. Financial analysts report that Vermont Yankee is economically vulnerable and a retirement announcement would boost stock prices for its parent, Entergy.

You can read the UBS Investment Research report “Re-assessing Cash Flows from the Nukes” here. It states:

“Notably, we believe both its NY Fitzpatrick and Vermont Yankee plants are at risk of retirement given their small size; while potentially negative to sentiment, an announcement to retire the units would likely drive positive FCF revisions.”

Clearly it is past time to close this plant.

Analysts today dropped the projected price target for Entergy’s stock. They see high debt and little cash coming in. Not good news for any investment.

It is good the financial world is waking up to what Vermonters have known for years. Vermont Yankee is not a good deal. It hasn’t been for years. It is expensive and financially risky. Conservation Law Foundation submitted testimony to the Public Service Board on the lousy economics of allowing Vermont Yankee to continue to operate. It does not have enough money for decommissioning, low energy prices mean it is not making money and any problems would saddle Vermont with big problems. You can read CLF’s testimony here.

These are not problems we need. Nuclear power was once touted as too cheap to meter. That has never been true. Now it is too expensive to even keep operating. Thank goodness financial markets are waking up to this fact.

Photo courtesy of Wiertz Sébastien @ flickr.

It’s been a great year for CLF — and a great year on CLF Scoop. We’ve had lots of great posts by our advocates, staff and volunteers. See below for the most read 10 blog posts published in 2012.

Counting Down to Shark Week 2012
Nov 11, 2011 by Robin Just

The Promise of Urban Agriculture: New Growing Green Report
Jul 12, 2012 by Jo Anne Shatkin and Melissa Hoffer

Latest Research: Northern Pass Worse for the Climate than Advertised
Feb 14, 2012 by Christophe Courchesne

The “New Route” for Northern Pass Won’t Cure Its Failings
May 24, 2012 by Christophe Courchesne

Salem Harbor Enforced Shutdown: The Beginning of the End for Old Coal in New England
Feb 10, 2012 by N. Jonathan Peress

Risky Business: Leaking Natural Gas Infrastructure and How to Fix It
Nov 28, 2012 by Shanna Cleveland

Everything You Know Is Wrong: Growing the Economy Without Growing Electricity (and Energy) Demand
Oct 1, 2012 by Seth Kaplan

It’s Time to Stop Subsidizing PSNH’s Dirty Power
Feb 1, 2012 by Christophe Courchesne

Save the Beach or Save Your House: Which Would You Choose?
Apr 25, 2012 by Tricia K. Jedele