Saving our clean energy cathedrals in Illinois feat. Madi Czerwinski

The Byron and Dresden nuclear plants, which supply 30% of
Illinois CO2-free energy will power down in 4 months without
government intervention. These plants, which are licensed to
operate well into the future, are uneconomic amid deregulated
energy markets and the cheap natural gas unlocked by the fracking
revolution. Keeping existing nuclear plants operating in the
northeast USA has a carbon abatement cost of $25/ton of CO2. This
is half the social cost of carbon in Biden's proposed carbon tax
of around $50/ton.    By comparison, rooftop solar
costs $800/ton and utility wind and solar $300/ton. As Robert
Bryce has pointed out, solar gets 250x and wind 160x more in
federal tax credits than nuclear per unit of energy produced.


In a number of jurisdictions, legislators have recognized the
important contribution of nuclear to grid resiliency,
decarbonization, and clean air with measures like Zero Emissions
Credits. In some areas these subsidies have paradoxically
decreased the cost of electricity. 


The Biden administration has committed itself to a decarbonized
power system by 2035. There are mixed signals from his
administration of their perception of the importance of nuclear
energy to have a chance at achieving this ambitious goal. Senator
Joe Manchin has urged Biden to support the continued operation of
the US fleet and Jennifer Granholm, the DOE secretary, has
floated the idea of federal subsidies to keep existing nuclear
plants open. However, firm commitments to creating effective
policy that can preserve the 50% of all US clean energy that
nuclear provides are lacking. If Byron and Dresden are allowed to
close, they will be replaced largely by imported fossil fuels
with their accompanying pollution and carbon emissions.


In this context Madi and a group of committed volunteers are
leading an all-out effort to save the Byron and Dresden Nuclear
plants, the zero-air pollution and zero-emissions energy they
provide, and the thousands of union jobs that are on the line.
Sadly they are opposed by environmental NGOs, like the NRDC,
which recently danced on the grave of Indian Point, which had
provided 2.5x the amount of zero-carbon power as the entire New
York wind and solar fleet.


To learn more about the campaign to save Byron and Dresden follow
@Madi_Czerwinski and the @Campaign_GND, @ByronDresden, and check
out https://savebyron.com/ https://saveilnuclearpower.com/