Protect the Climate and Clean Energy by Treating Millstone Nuclear Plant Fairly and Equally

For Immediate Release May 2, 2016

Protect the Climate and Clean Energy by Treating Millstone Nuclear Plant Fairly and Equally

Statement by Michael Shellenberger, President, Environmental Progress:

Over the last several months, Environmental Progress has worked with over 60 of the world’s leading climate scientists including James Hansen, and environmentalists including the founder of the Whole Earth Catalogue, the former CEO of the Nature Conservancy, and the former Executive Director of Greenpeace, to urge policymakers across the country to protect existing nuclear power plants to achieve climate goals.

I am writing now, as President of Environmental Progress, to urge Connecticut lawmakers to do all in their powers to protect Millstone nuclear power so it can run its full lifetime.

Allowing Millstone to close would create an environmental and energy disaster. If Millstone is closed it will almost certainly be replaced with natural gas, which will create the carbon emissions equivalent of adding roughly 1.4 million cars to the road — and Connecticut will go from being a climate leader to a climate laggard.

Millstone will not be quickly or easily replaced by solar or wind. Currently there is very little wind or solar in Connecticut. But even if there were, it could not replace Millstone, which produces 13 times more electricity than the world’s largest solar farm (Topaz).

Nuclear power plants are suffering around the country because of unfair public policies. At the federal level, solar and wind receive 140 times and 17 times more in subsidies than nuclear, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. While cheap natural gas is partly to blame, both wind and solar have boomed during a period of cheap natural gas thanks to these skewed subsidies.

Environmental Progress strongly urges the Connecticut legislature to do the right thing for the natural environment our children and their children will one day inherit.

Contact: Michael Shellenberger, President, Environmental Progress, @shellenbergerMD, @envprogress