In an open letter to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has taken a position that the Big Apple is simply stuck with the risky Indian Point nuclear power plant, Hudson Riverkeeper has called on him to join New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in pushing for the twin reactors' shut down at the expiration of their 40 year licenses. Riverkeeper writes:
"...Contrary to Mayor Bloomberg’s warnings, we can transition to a sustainable energy future, without Indian Point and without dooming ourselves to rely on dirty sources of replacement power. Instead, we can increase energy efficiency, establish renewables and improve the state’s transmission grid.
Over 5,000 Megawatts (MW) are due to come online by 2015 from renewable energy sources alone. In addition, the potential for renewable power generation within New York City is virtually untapped. Researchers at CUNY predict that putting solar collection panels on two thirds of NYC’s rooftops could generate enough power to replace two Indian Points. Thankfully, we only need to replace one.
Combine these safe, sane renewable energy projects with new transmission capacity, such as the 660 MW cross-Hudson transmission line, and then add in easily-attainable energy efficiency savings of 2% per year [New York City's peak power use actually declined last summer – one of the hottest on record -- due to proactive energy conservation policies], and Indian Point’s 2,000 MW won’t be missed..."
Riverkeeper's letter comes in response to a July 7th New York Times article reporting Mayor Bloomberg's position.