We hear so much about our dependence on foreign oil, and we have rock stars, celebrities, and the Prophet Gore preaching at us to “scale down, cut back, do without”… isn’t it about time to DO SOMETHING about it? Talk is cheap, doing something takes guts.
How about we build a new nuke out in the desert? Well, here’s a company that wants to just that. I’ve heard Don Gillispie, the CEO of Alternate Energy holdings, on the local radio talk shows and he is an interesting and passionate guy, but he’s doing more than just talking, he’s actually doing it. From the Statesman online we have this
…Alternate Energy Holdings filed an application for a conditional-use permit with the county Monday. Don Gillispie, the company’s president and CEO, said while the county permit process is ongoing the company intends to start the process of filing an application for the plant with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The conditional use permit is to change the zoning use of the private property from agricultural to industrial. The county permit process is estimated to require as many as 20 public hearings, so it could be awhile for this to play out. In the end of June 2007, the company received a letter of intent for the financing. The estimated cost will be $3.5 billion, and it is proposed to output 1,600-megawatts. The design is for a “dry” powerplant that doesn’t require as much water for cooling, as well as using some of the excess heat to also produce biofuels. The site is in Owyhee County near the C.J. Strike Reservoir, which is south of Mountain Home in Southwest Idaho. The Idaho Press Tribune adds
…Assuming the company gets county approval, the next step is approval from the federal government — a process that could cost up to $100 million and take several years. But if it goes well, the Idaho Energy Complex could be producing 1,600 megawatts of energy and providing an estimated 500 full-time jobs by 2013.
Let’s see now
…Idaho relies on imported fossil fuels for approximately 80 percent of its energy needs. This exposes consumers to geopolitical events such as instability in the Middle East that drive up the price of crude oil. It also means that most of the $3 billion dollars that Idahoans spend each year on energy are sent outside the state, providing little secondary economic benefit.
I think we ought to get behind this guy and see if we can make this deal go. I appreciate that nuclear power does not address the usage of oil in transportation, but Idaho has a coming growth problem, and if folks won’t allow a coal plant, let’s see the alternatives from the “no” voters (and don’t start telling me windmills and solar panels on all of our roofs is the answer!).
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