Editor’s note: This commentary is by Guy Page, of Berlin, who is the communications director of the Vermont Energy Partnership, of which Vermont Yankee is a member. He is also a member of the coordinating committee of the Consumer Liaison Group of ISO-New England, operators of New England’s electricity grid.
[O]ver the past several weeks, the proposal of the sale of Vermont Yankee to NorthStar has gained momentum through the passage of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and the overwhelming support demonstrated for the project voiced at the April 12 Vermont Public Utility Commission meeting in Brattleboro. While almost every other interested party sees the sale as an environmentally sound, well-funded, community-supported path forward to decommissioning the state’s only nuclear power plant, the Conservation Law Foundation sees only problems (“Vermont Yankee sale deal lacks safeguards”).
It’s a decidedly minority opinion. On March 2, four state agencies, the town of Vernon, the Windham Regional Commission, two Abenaki Native American tribes, and longtime anti-nuclear organization New England Coalition all backed the sale. In addition, plant owner Entergy and buyer NorthStar agreed to higher environmental commitments and tens of millions of additional financing and insurance dollars. The lone holdout among the negotiators was the Conservation Law Foundation, a New England-based advocate of renewable, distributed power generation and transmission.
CLF isn’t just a disgruntled citizens group with a website. As an intervenor in the upcoming Vermont Public Utility Commission judicial hearings of the proposed sale, CLF may introduce and rebut testimony and question witnesses. However, CLF’s knowledge of NorthStar’s plan is limited, due to its choice not to sign a non-disclosure statement protecting certain contract information. If CLF was truly concerned about transparency, it shouldn’t have soaped its side of the window.
CLF’s hand-wringing about a lack of financing and insurance seems overdone, almost ludicrous, given NorthStar’s added financial assurances. In the March 2 agreement, NorthStar added $15 million in financial support, established a $30 million escrow fund, a $25 million subcontractor guarantee, and a $30 million pollution liability insurance policy in addition to what was already considered to be a well-financed plan. Furthermore, seller Entergy took an unprecedented step of good faith by providing what amounts to an insurance policy to take effect in the unlikely event that NorthStar financing is insufficient.
CLF has made it apparent that it will try its lawyerly best to sow doubt about a financially strong, transparent plan. The nine signers of the MOU and its many other supporters in Windham County and statewide, on the other hand, have delivered strong, unequivocal statements in support of the sale before the PUC. Now, we can only hope the PUC makes the right choice for our economic future and judges in NorthStar’s favor.
The alternative would be disastrous. Entergy and NorthStar leaders have both stated that additional financial burdens could force a withdrawal from the settlement and jeopardize project viability. If that happens, the town of Vernon would be saddled with an “as-is” defunct nuclear power plant for a half century, rather than a prime industrial centerpiece available for redevelopment in as soon as 10 years.
For the sake of Vernon and Windham County’s economic future, let’s let the sale go through.
