Though I am typically pretty hard on NextEra because they try to force wind turbines on me even though I don’t want them so close to me, there is one plan NextEra has that I, and I think most Iowans can, and should support: The reopening of the Duane Arnold Nuclear Power Plant.
I know the word “nuclear” scares a lot of people, but here are some facts I hope will put your minds at ease:
- In 75 years of nuclear power, there have only been two accidents that have caused any significant offsite contamination. Chernobyl was caused by terrible Soviet reactor design that cut major corners when it came to safety. Such a reactor would never have been approved to operate in the United States.
- Japans’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant actually survived the initial earthquake with no damage, but did not survive the tsunami that followed. The obvious lesson here is that you don’t build nuclear power plants in tsunami prone areas. (Or if you do? Make sure the buildings that house your backup generators are waterproof.)
- Three Mile Island, though serious, did not release any significant offsite radiation. And we learned lessons from it that allowed us to improve plant safety.
- Nuclear power plants have been directly hit by tornadoes in the past, but they are so bullet-poof that they have suffered no serious damage that posed any risk to the public.
I live 10 miles away from the Duane Arnold Nuclear Power Plant, and I have always felt 100% safe living that close to it. For nearly 50 years, Duane Arnold provided us with safe, clean, green, and quiet electricity. In nearly 50 years, it never had an accident that was any threat at all to the general public. It did not disturb people or domestic animals living near it. The plant itself takes up a very small part of the land it actually owns. The rest of that land is a wildlife preserve and public park. It has no effect at all on the animals or people who live near it.
Here’s an interesting fact: in the entire history of nuclear power in the United States, there has never been a single accident that claimed a single civilian life. Not even one. Is there any other industry in the entire country that can claim that kind of safety record?
Furthermore, when you consider the efficiency of a nuclear power plant compared to the efficiency of wind turbines? It would take 200 to 300 wind turbines to replace the electrical generating capacity of just one nuclear reactor. That and nuclear power plants are basically always on, unlike wind turbines which have unreliable generation capacity, can fluctuate wildly depending on wind conditions, and, on calm days, produce no electricity at all.
I also feel the need to point out here that Duane Arnold provided over 500 good paying permanent local jobs. And every two years during the refueling cycle? It brought in more than 1,000 temporary workers who stayed at local hotels, ate at local restaurants, and so on. Duane Arnold truly created local jobs and brought in local business, something that wind turbines simply don’t do.
NextEra has introduced a plan to reopen Duane Arnold, possibly as early as 2028. And this is a plan we can and should all get behind. Nuclear power, not unreliable wind turbines, are the way forward to meet our future energy demands.
