By Cole Lauterbach/Illinois Radio Network
CHICAGO – Nuclear power advocates said thousands of jobs hang in the balance if power plants in the Quad Cities and Clinton shut down.
Detractors remain unconvinced.
State lawmakers and advocates joined union leaders in Chicago recently to speak out about the consequences of allowing the Quad Cities Nuclear Generating Station and the Clinton Nuclear Generating Station to close.
State Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Moline, told the forum that a known cost of the legislation he’s co-sponsoring is better than the unknown effect of the closures.
“The cost to the consumer (of the legislation) is going to be about 25 cents monthly,” Anderson said. “The cost of what the bill will be if we close these plants will not only be more, but how much more is yet to be seen.”
United Association President Bill Hite said the effect that the two shutdowns would have on these two small communities would be devastating.
“The communities where these two plants are rely on these two nuclear plants more than anywhere in the country,” he said. “If the politicians in this state can’t see it, they’re blind.”
But BEST Coalition Director Dave Lundy said the bill is a misplaced use of state resources.
“You’re asking ratepayers to functionally pay $1.8 million per job for the next 10 years to sustain 1,450 plant jobs in Clinton and the Quad Cities,” Lundy said. “It’s hard to understand why ratepayers should be expected to pay more money for nuclear power plants we don’t need,” referencing how Illinois currently produces 40 percent more electricity than it uses. That surplus could be negated when federal environmental rules force closures of coal-powered plants in coming years.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan also opposes the legislation to keep the plants open, saying it will result in significant rate increases.
Exelon said this summer that the plants would begin closing procedures soon because the state failed to pass legislation that critics said would subsidize portions of the plants’ modernization. The Clinton Power Station will close on June 1, 2017, and the Quad Cities Generating Station in Cordova will close on June 1, 2018. The power company cites a state report finding that closing the plants would drive wholesale energy costs up for the region by $439 million to $645 million each year.
