I read with interest and general agreement the comments by elected officials to the effect that Vermont must act boldly to develop and energy from non-fossil-fuel resources.
I work at Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, and I can assure you that there is no carbon-emitting smokestack here. In fact, Vermont Yankee is the largest low-carbon power generator to operate in the state.
Closing Vermont Yankee would blunt our region's greenhouse-gas-reduction efforts, as most of the “replacement power” on the New England grid comes from natural gas generators.
As we all know, natural gas, despite being cleaner than coal and oil, is still an emissions-generating fossil fuel and therefore far dirtier than hydro, wind, solar, and nuclear.
Vermonters who truly care about carbon reduction should open their eyes and recognize my place of work for what it is: a plentiful source of existing, low-carbon power.
Claiming otherwise is factually incorrect and, perhaps worse, goes against the grain of doing whatever it takes to reduce carbon emissions.