One of the pair of active nuclear reactors within blast radius of Manhattan made a federal safety watch-list back in 1993. That’s when regulators cited Unit 3 at the Indian Point Energy Center for leaky coolant pipes and faltering engineering support. Shortly thereafter a control-room operator tested positive for marijuana and cocaine. But none of that helped activists’ long quest to turn off the nuclear plant.
Up until Friday, when Indian Point’s final reactor will be shut down, dogged opposition from environmentalists and safety advocates failed for decades to shut it down permanently. The two reactors produced about 2.1 gigawatts of power for nearly 45 years—enough to meet a quarter of demand from New York City, without emitting greenhouse gas.
This should be a milestone for activists who spent more than a generation trying to remove the nuclear shadow over the biggest U.S. metropolis. It has instead brought into focus a different anxiety: global warming. In the intervening years concern over greenhouse gas has become paramount, and the deactivation of Indian Point comes with a certain—if temporary—increase in planet-warming pollution.
Recently added natural gas capacity will fill the short-term gap. Most of it comes from the Cricket Valley Energy Center, a 1.1 gigawatt combined cycle gas plant situated in a forest near the Connecticut border that’s capable of powering one million homes. Another 680 megawatts comes from the CPV Valley Energy Center. Upgrades to a third facility, in nearby Bayonne, N.J., put another 132 megawatts within reach.