Calvert County Commissioners say In MY Backyard

With a unanimous vote yesterday, the Board of County Commissioners for Calvert County, Maryland decided to submit a resolution and letter of support endorsing the NuStart Energy Development Corporation’s consideration of the Calvert Cliffs site for one of their proposed new reactors. Board of County Commissioners Submits Resolution in Support of NuStart Energy’s Calvert Cliffs Expansion Proposal.

I just finished my own quiet – it is, after all, only a bit after 4:00 am and the rest of my family is still sleeping – cheer and fist pumping when I read that press release.

Calvert Cliffs is not far from my home in Annapolis, and I have seen the plant a number of times while sailing down the Bay. There are almost always fishing boats near the outfall, especially during winter months. The plant fits rather nicely into a beautiful natural setting that is home to a diverse set of wildlife.

Unlike most of the rest of the power plants that dot the shores of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, the plant does not have a smoke stack that pours out thousands of tons of pollutants every day. From a purely selfish point of view, I also know that expanding the plant there will help to keep my electrical power rates under control, especially compared to plants that use something like imported LNG.

The county commissioners know the plant, they know the workers, and they know that the plant is a major asset to their community. Once again, the people near the plants are telling the world that they want more of them in their own backyard.

One thing that uncommitted observers of the coming debates on new nuclear power plants – and we know that there are going to be some debates – need to think about is the fact that the more closely people live and work around nuclear power, the more they favor its use. Those same people should then consider whether or not that trend applies to competitive energy sources.