Dear Editor,
As Vermont strives to meet its ambitious climate goals and transition to a clean energy future, we need to confront a glaring contradiction in our state policy: our moratorium on nuclear energy.
Passed 20 years ago in a different era, this policy is increasingly out of step with modern science and the realities of grid reliability. Relying solely on intermittent wind and solar means Vermont must continuously import power from out of state. Green Mountain Power already imports nuclear-generated electricity via the Seabrook Station in New Hampshire to provide the reliable baseload power that wind and solar cannot guarantee. If our goal is true decarbonization, we cannot afford to take a massive source of 24/7, zero-emission baseload power off the table.
The conversation around nuclear energy has fundamentally shifted. Today’s advanced technology centers on small modular reactors. Unlike the monolithic plants of the 1970s, SMRs are factory-built, have vastly smaller footprints and utilize passive safety systems that shut down automatically without operator intervention or electrical power.
Around the world and across the political spectrum, environmentalists and policymakers are recognizing that advanced nuclear is a vital tool for combating climate change while keeping electricity affordable and reliable.
It is time for Montpelier to lift this ideological restriction. Our lawmakers shouldn’t immediately build a plant tomorrow, but they should commission a feasibility study to explore how next-generation SMR technology could fit into Vermont’s long-term energy portfolio.
Let’s replace fear with physics and allow science, not decades-old dogma, to guide our energy future.
Louis Varricchio
Middlebury, Vt.
