Economic Growth PAC Chairman Asks Legislators To Support a Clean Nuclear Energy Rebuilding Bill

( Wayne, NJ )The New Jersey legislature is expected to consider several bills concerning energy production including legislation that would authorize the state to provide a $300 million annual  subsidy to retrofit the Salem 1 and Salem 2 nuclear power plants, which are run by PSEG.

Organization for Economic Growth Chairman Joseph Caruso is urging legislators to support investment in nuclear power, stating:  “it is for the best long term interests of the state’s residents and businesses to invest in realistic energy generating policy.”

Caruso offered the following comments on nuclear power investment and is encouraging legislators of both parties to support the subsidy for PSEG.

“New Jersey needs a well defined and realistic energy master plan that serves the needs of consumers and businesses alike. As with most public policy issues in New Jersey, the simple solution is usually complicated by a battery of competing interests.

“Legislation that originally focused on providing capital for the much needed retrofitting of the Salem 1 and 2 reactors was soon was larded with environmentalist wish list items ((S-877) based on an exaggerated fear that global warming is a major threat to New Jersey and that, somehow, one of the smallest states in the nation can actually have an impact on a global phenomenon.

“Cutting to the core of the matter – the state legislature should have a clean bill to deal with the pressing need to invest in nuclear power for several very basic and sound reasons:

1. New Jersey needs diversity in its energy supply – harnessing fossil fuels, renewable and zero emissions nuclear power, which will serve the state’s needs for decades.

2.  Closing Salem 1 and 2 will force PSEG to buy power generated from out of state producers – resulting in consumers and businesses being hit with much higher utility bills –  and exacerbating New Jersey’s already considerably high cost of living.

3. Failing to invest in nuclear energy will mean that New Jersey will become more dependent on energy that is generated by fossil fuels – particularly coal -that will increase greenhouse emissions, which ironically is the opposite of what environmentalists want.

4.  Renewable energy, such as wind and solar are ambitious long- term desires of the environmental movement and not currently practical to New Jersey’s immediate and mid-term needs.

5. Closing the Salem reactors will have a devastating economic impact on residents in Salem County and on the skilled labor force that services the reactors.

Let’s expand on these issues briefly

Costs

New Jersey already suffers from the worst business reputation in the nation thanks to the state’s exceedingly high taxes and overregulation. New Jersey’s  economy lags behind the nation’s and  the state would be compounding its economic problems by imposing higher utility costs on business and creating uncertainty in both the cost and reliability of energy delivery.

If PSEG is forced to take Salem 1 and 2 offline the lost energy output will become troublesome. PSEG will be forced to buy energy from natural gas and coal fired producers in other states at costs considerably greater than the energy produced by their own nuclear plants.

Opponents of the $300 million nuclear subsidy – mostly the petroleum lobby, which is doing a direct mail campaign against the nuclear subsidy – knows that the more energy generated from oil and natural gas the better it is for their bottom line.

In Germany, the rapid expansion of wind turbines and solar panels has forced German consumers to pay the highest energy prices in Europe because of a combination of heavy public subsidies and changes to power transmission grids to deal with more volatile green power production. New Jersey should learn from that experience.

Energy needs

The Salem nuclear facilities generate 42 percent of the energy for our state.  They and other nuclear plants have been a reliable source of significant energy output for decades.

Renewable energy on the other hand, contributes just 2 percent of the state’s energy needs. The 2 percent was achievable only with aggressive public subsidies for solar energy totaling $600 million.

To expect solar to make a giant leap to 50 percent or more of the state’s energy needs – and to do so at an affordable cost  – is currently unrealistic. Wind power of any magnitude is even more fanciful.  Logic dictates that a $300 million investment in Salem 1 and 2 producing 42 percent of our energy needs for decades to come, is far better investment than a $600 million investment that provides just 2 percent of the state’s energy needs.

Environmental Concerns

Environmentalist opposition to the nuclear investment is perplexing. Taking down Salem 1 and 2 will mean PSEG will be forced to buy energy from coal and gas fired energy plants, thus increasing greenhouse gases. Nuclear produces no carbon or greenhouse gases and has the scale to serve the state’s needs now and for decades to come.

Economic Consequences.

The economic impact of failing to invest in the Salem retrofitting would be devastating to one of the poorest areas of New Jersey. The Salem plant directly employs 1,800 citizens who provide support and maintenance for the two plants. Another 6,000 people are indirectly tied to the nuclear economy in the region. The failure to invest in retooling the plants will leave an economic wasteland that will not only harm families, but force the state’s tax payers to subsidize the additional jobless.

Safety

When pressed for reasons to oppose nuclear power  – the detractors often cite the Chernobyl and Three Mile Island nuclear mishaps.  Those are scare tactics and, especially in the case of Chernobyl –  not valid in the present day. Salem 1 and 2 are among the safest nuclear plants in the nation, if not the world.

The legislators need to deal with immediate problems at hand in a logical manner and not use the legislative process to pander to a progressive agenda. Denying the nuclear subsidy would be a giant step backwards for New Jersey. Holding the nuclear subsidy hostage by bundling it with a truckload of renewable mandates that will be expensive and largely unachievable is irresponsible.

The NJOEG is a PAC dedicated to promoting policies and candidates for public office promoting economic growth. For more information go to www.facebook.com/StrengthThroughIndustry or   www.NJOEG.com