As Pennsylvania has become a prime oil and natural gas producing state thanks to the hydraulic fracturing process in recent years, it can be easy to forget that it’s also home to several nuclear power plants generating massive amounts of electricity each year.
Within the next few years, though, three of those plants are set to close, potentially making the power grid in the state and the Northeast more susceptible to interruptions as other sources of power that are more prone to disruption cover the difference.
Pennsylvania’s bicameral Nuclear Energy Caucus, which is made up of a group of representatives and senators from the districts that host nuclear plants, have explored the economic ramifications of the potential closures at length, considering how the communities would be affected by the loss of a major employer and how energy markets would be reshaped. But this week, the caucus hosted a series of national security experts who explained that the potential impact of the closures could echo far beyond the boundaries of the state.
Dave Lemery – Watchdog.org – September 27, 2018.
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