The Michigan and Ohio Section of the American Nuclear Society has sent a letter to Governor Gretchen Whitmer urging her and state lawmakers to reconsider the closure of the Palisades nuclear power plant in May. The organization representing engineers and scientists who work in the nuclear industry says closing Palisades will cause economic harm and increased pollution. It says the planned closing of the Van Buren County facility “will all but guarantee an increase in the use of natural gas, a carbon-emitting fossil fuel, when Michigan’s goal is to achieve a 28% reduction below 1990 levels in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.” It continues to say although Entergy decided to close Palisades for economic reasons, the idea was the result of “short-sighted state policies and flawed electricity markets that favor fossil fuels and other subsidized energy technologies.” The group urges the governor to apply to the U.S. Department of Energy for “newly available funds dedicated to preventing the premature closures of nuclear power plants.”
