Back in July I wrote about a start up company that had a proposal to build a nuclear power plant in Idaho, in the Bruneau area. This morning I read about another company, which has some not so start up backing, that is looking at some property in Payette county for the same purpose.
..A newly formed nuclear energy company controlled by billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is considering building a nuclear power plant in northern Payette County.
MidAmerican Nuclear Energy Co., a subsidiary of the Des Moines, Iowa-based MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., has been doing geologic testing on about 3,300 acres of private land south of Paddock Valley Reservoir.
According to the article, this holding company runs Rocky Mountain Power which provides power to the eastern part of the state, and PacifiCorp, the big Oregon power company. What an excellent idea! The size of this plant would be between 1100 and 1600 megawatts, which is the same size as the proposed plant from Alternate Energy holdings. 1600 megawatts is more power than all three hydro dam powerplants in Hells Canyon, and, are you enviros ready for this, no hydrocarbon emissions to contribute to global warming. Lots of “yeah buts” from the usual suspects though.
..Ken Miller, an energy specialist with the Snake River Alliance, says it makes sense for MidAmerican and other power companies to seek out nuclear power. “They need to reduce their carbon footprint, and nuclear has no emissions,” Miller said.
But Miller, whose organization calls itself Idaho’s nuclear watchdog, said nuclear power still generates radioactive waste that must be disposed of and strains water supplies.
“We take a position that we should be developing renewable energies and getting serious about energy conservation before going down that road,” Miller said.
Before going down that road?! Mr Miller, what renewable alternate source of energy are you proposing that can get 1100 to 1600 watts of CLEAN power online in 10 to 12 years? (crickets)… It would be even faster than that, but for the politicians and the government regulation. And speaking of politicians, isn’t Governor Otter supposed to be a supporter of nuclear power?
..Paul Kjellander, administrator of Otter’s Office of Energy Resources, said the state is aware of the project.
“I’m glad to see there is an interest in Idaho,” Kjellander said. “If you look at our energy future, nuclear has the potential to play a significant role. The governor supports the concept of nuclear energy, and that may make Idaho a little more attractive.”
Kjellander cautioned that nuclear power isn’t a full answer to the state’s energy needs.
“We can’t ignore energy efficiency, demand-side management or renewable resources,” he said. “These have to all remain on the table. The reality is that nuclear power is 10 to 15 years away from a reality, and we still have a lot of work ahead of us.”
The state is aware of the project, and Butch supports the concept of nuclear energy? Good. What are you DOING to support it? Nobody is saying that either of these projects is the final or complete answer to Idaho’s future energy needs. But for crying out loud people, here are two companies with good ideas and you’re whining about alternate sources, and complaining about how long it will take. Has it occurred to you that one of the major reasons it takes so long is because whining politicians stand in the way? “Interest in Idaho” is a fine and typical thing for politicians to say but it only goes so far, and it doesn’t heat homes, power industry, build roads, or provide new infrastructure.
Would you really like to see the United States, and Idaho, become more energy independent? Create a political climate that facilitates ALL types of energy production. We’ve already told the coal power people they aren’t welcome. Are we going to whine about nuclear for a couple years, put up a no man’s land of regulatory obstacles, and then tell them we don’t want them either? Come on Idaho, let’s support the folks who are actually doing something, and quit sitting around with the hand wringing crowd waiting for the government to figure something out.
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