FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Tuesday August 11, 2009
Contact: Michael Canney, 352-226-6164, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Site approval for Progress Energy nuclear plant in Levy County by DEP and Crist Cabinet is premature while problems identified in federal licensing process remain unaddressed, say Florida Greens

Green Party calls for a moratorium on nuclear power construction in Florida, until all costs and risks can be independently evaluated, and all alternative options considered

Greens support repeal of early cost recovery for the nuclear industry; challenge Gov. Crist and state officials to support aggressive conservation measures and renewable energy technologies

Tallahassee, FL -- Today we call upon Governor Crist and his Cabinet, acting as the state's Power Plant Siting Board, not to grant their seal of approval to Progress Energy's application to build two new nuclear power plants on a site in rural Levy County.

The state's primary responsibility is to protect the health and safety of citizens, not the profits of private utility companies. Progress Energy should be required to address the public's concerns about the environmental impacts of the project before site approval by the state is considered.

In February, the Green Party joined with the Nuclear Information and Resource Service and the Ecology Party to file a Petition to Intervene in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's licensing process for the Levy Nuclear Plant, and the Atomic Safety Licensing Board has granted the Petitioners standing, admitting several contentions related to the environmental impacts of the project. 

The petitioners raised a concern that the construction of this power plant will cause irreversible damage to the natural hydrological systems and ecology of  the area, and deficiencies in the plan for storage of nuclear wastes on site were among numerous problems with the PEF application that were identified by the petitioners. The ASLB has ruled that these issues must be addressed by the applicant.

The Department of Environmental Protection and Public Service Commission are among the state agencies that have already recommended approval of the siting for this project, ignoring the concerns about the huge ecological and economic consequences of building a massive new nuclear power facility in the state.

The long term ecological damage caused by uranium mining and processing, and the incalculable costs associated with storing and safeguarding nuclear wastes in perpetuity are not factored into the nuclear industry's bottom line, because the public is expected to pick up the tab, and the government is expected to guarantee a profit. The Department of Energy is responsible for the waste, and the Price Anderson Act  makes the public responsible for insuring nuclear plants, because no private insurer would write a policy for a nuclear plant.

Nuclear power could not compete in the energy marketplace without federal loan guarantees, tax breaks and a myriad of public subsidies, and the Green Party calls for an end to this corporate welfare gravy train for the nuclear industry. They must compete in a free market of ideas and technologies.

"Nuclear power is not clean or renewable, and it is not a solution to global climate change," says Michael Canney a Green Party spokesperson on energy policy. "Greens support a shift in policy toward investing in a sustainable, carbon free, nuclear free energy policy as the only responsible option for the United States and the world. We're fast approaching a tipping point and can't afford to subsidize expensive, dangerous and obsolete technologies." 

The financing of nuclear power plants is also a highly controversial issue, especially for Progress Energy customers who are being forced to pay the costs of the nuclear plant in advance.

"The public interest is not served by granting Progress Energy the right to advance cost recovery," says GPF co-chair Jayne King. "Allowing the utility to charge customers in advance for all the costs of building a new nuclear plant is a virtual license to steal, in effect allowing private corporations to levy taxes on citizens in order to enhance their bottom line at public expense. "

The Green Party calls for the repeal of Florida Statutes granting the Public Service Commission the authority to allow utility companies to turn their customers into involuntary investors in risky ventures, such as the Levy Nuclear Plant. The Early Cost Recovery legislation is based on flimsy legal and constitutional grounds, and gives unfair advantage in the marketplace to industries that might otherwise become uncompetitive..

We call on Governor Crist to assert his leadership in supporting a moratorium on nuclear power construction in the state until an independent and comprehensive evaluation can be conducted, with full public participation, of all the costs and risks associated with this industry.

This is the time for bold leadership. It is imperative that we support investment in clean, renewable and sustainable energy solutions that will safeguard the health and safety of the public and the planet.

For more information:

Green Party of Florida www.floridagreens.org

Nuclear Information and Resource Service www.nirs.org

GPF Green Paper on Energy Policy (PDF)
http://floridagreens.org/greenpaper/climate-and-energy

GPF letter to Governor Crist on climate change 10/17/07 (PDF)
http://floridagreens.org/2007/letter-to-gov-crist

GPF Press Release on energy policy 7/20/07 (PDF)
http://floridagreens.org/2007/crist-climate-initiative

GPF Resolution on GRU coal plant 2/19/05
http://www.scribd.com/doc/18418429/GPF-No-Coal-Plant-GRU-Resolution

Florida Greens join petition against NRC licensing of Levy Nuclear Plant (2/14/09)
www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=181

Docs re PEF Levy Nuclear Plant application on DEP site:
www.dep.state.fl.us/siting/Highlights/applications.htm

References on nuclear power:

Carbon-Free, Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy www.ieer.org/carbonfree/index.html

Institute for Energy and Environmental Research www.ieer.org

Rocky Mountain Institute www.rmi.org

Union of Concerned Scientists - Nuclear Power www.ucsusa.org/nuclear_power

PETITION TO INTERVENE AND REQUEST FOR HEARING In the Matter of PROGRESS ENERGY FLORIDA, Levy County Nuclear Station Units 1 & 2, Docket Nos. 52-029 COL & 52-030 COL Feburary 6, 2009 www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/levy/levyhome.htm

Business Risks and Costs of New Nuclear Power, a new study by CPA Craig Severance, finds that escalating reactor construction and operating costs could lead to electricity from new nukes as high as 25-30 cents per kw/h-significantly higher than industry estimates. www.nirs.org/neconomics/nuclearcosts2009.pdf