On September 21st 2012, the Pentagon will close the 7000 acre naval air station on Whidbey Island, in existence since September 21st 1942. The US Department of Energy will buy the land over.
According to a representative at the Pentagon: “Whidbey has the valuable but aging EA-6B Prowler radar jamming jets and P-3 Orion surveillance planes designed four decades ago to hunt Soviet submarines. It also is home to Fleet Reconnaissance Squadron 1, which provides intelligence gathering in the Pacific Rim. Whidbey has precious maritime and mainland air-training space grandfathered from World War II, and proximity to exercises with Canadian Defence Forces. But as our station is aging, we have to choose between investing millions of dollars to upgrade the entire naval air station or to move it to another location.
He added that ‘The naval air station will be located in Victoria Island in cooperation with the Canadian Defence forces. This cooperation will decrease our expenditures by 30%. The Whidbey Island naval air station site will be used to bring the United States a step closer to independence from foreign oil, a question of national security.’
Born again Nuclear Power Plants.
In August 2005, President Bush signed the energy bill, which includes several provisions for nuclear energy production and research and development.
As President Bush stated in his speech on August 8, 2005 at Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, NM, "Nuclear power is another of America's most important sources of electricity. Of all our nation's energy sources, only nuclear power plants can generate massive amounts of electricity without emitting an ounce of air pollution or greenhouse gases. And thanks to the advances in science and technology, nuclear plants are far safer than ever before. Yet America has not ordered a nuclear plant since the 1970s. To coordinate the ordering of new plants, the bill I sign today continues the Nuclear Power 2010 Partnership between government and industry. It also offers a new form of federal risk insurance for the first six builders of new nuclear power plants. With the practical steps in this bill, America is moving closer to a vital national goal. We will start building nuclear power plants again by the end of this decade."
In October 2007, NRG Energy Inc. said it will build two new nuclear power units in Texas. NRG expects to finish the first nuclear plant by 2014 and the second in 2015.
Crescent Harbor Generation Station
In 1982-1983, Washington State halted the construction of 4 nuclear reactors following an accident at the Three Mile Island facility in Pennsylvania in 1979. The Columbia Generating Station is the only commercial nuclear power reactor in the Pacific Northwest. Not for much longer.
It is on Whidbey Island that UniStar Nuclear will build the first U.S EPR. The Energy Northwest No 1 pressurized water reactor also known as the Crescent Harbor Generation Station is a reactor of third generation, a 1600 Megawatt electrical EPR.
In September 2005, Constellation Energy and French AREVA, Inc. launched UniStar Nuclear, LLC – a joint enterprise formed to introduce the Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) to the U.S. market. The U.S. EPR is based on AREVA’s EPR, now being built in Finland and France.
In late 2006, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued an early site permit (ESP) for approval of the Crescent Harbor site for one or more nuclear power facilities. In October 2007, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a COL (combined license) which authorizes construction and conditional operation of the Whidbey Island nuclear power facility.
Energy Northwest and UniStar Nuclear are moving forward with plans to construct the EPR at Crescent Harbor in northwestern Washington State as soon as the naval air station will have moved. It is scheduled to be online by 2017.
The NRC considers public involvement in, and information about, their activities to be a cornerstone of strong, fair regulation of the nuclear industry. it recognizes the public's interest in the proper regulation of nuclear activities and provide opportunities for citizens to be heard.
However, in 2005 “the staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) asked an adjudicatory board to conduct a licensing hearing for a proposed Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) under a "protective order" which was approved and effectively made the entire proceeding secret and closed to the public”, said Public Citizen and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service.
On October 25, 2004 the NRC unilaterally blocked public access to virtually all of the electronic documents posted on its Web site pending a security review "to ensure that documents which might provide assistance to terrorists will be inaccessible." Most of these documents remain unavailable to the public.
Why was Whidbey Island chosen to be the home of a nuclear power plant?
Whidbey, an ideal site.
First, Whidbey offered 7000 acres of land with pre-existing infrastructures.
Then, the island is located in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. That means while it rains 200 inches a year on the coast of the Olympic Peninsula, it only rains 22 inches per year in Oak Harbor. Too much rain, by softening the ground, would necessitate extra expenses to reinforce the structure and higher maintenance costs.
Third, Ocean water is pumped into the nuclear plant. To safely cool down the reactor, the water must not be too warm.
Inside the power plant, the water flows around the reactor to cool it down. Once the water is too hot, it is pumped out back in the Ocean. The temperature difference cannot be too high in order to preserve wildlife. That’s why temperatures on Whidbey Island are ideal for a nuclear reactor. Not too hot in summer as the average daytime temperature is mid 70's, and not too cold with 40-45 degrees in the winter.
Finally, the proximity of the Olympic Moutains was a decisive asset. The Nuclear wastes will be stored in an old military facility under the Moutains, in a safe and undisclosed location, until they are convoyed to Nevada's Yucca Mountain.
Reducing green house gases
According to scorecard.org (highlighted by Bill Moyer's PBS series Now as a great resource for investigating issues related to Kids and Chemicals."), the naval air station is the top polluter in Island county, with 30 tons of carbon monoxide per year, 42 tons of nitrogen oxides and 12 tons of sulphur dioxide.
Breath…
The Oak Arbor nuclear power plant will bring a breath of fresh air to Island county.
The objective is to reduce green house gases produced by the USA, isn’t it? Mission accomplished.
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