N.C. Utilities Commission Seeks Citizens' Input on Energy Future

The N.C. Utilities Commission will hold a public hearing on Monday, May 1 to take comments prior to approving utilities' plans to build more coal-fired and nuclear power plants to meet the state's future energy needs. The hearing will take place at 7 p.m. on the ground floor of the Dobbs Building at 430 N. Salisbury St. in Raleigh.

The following letter about the meeting is from N.C. Sustainable Energy Association Executive and Policy Director Ivan Urlaub:

Dear NCSEA Members and Friends:

For the first time in over 20 years, North Carolina's electric utilities are planning to build large new power plants. Through the technical and leadership efforts of the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) and a number of other organizations, the North Carolina Utilities Commission has decided that it's prudent to consider a variety of other approaches prior to approving utility plans currently before the Commission.

To start this process, the Utilities Commission wants to hear from you.

They'd like to hear your stories and concerns, in person. How well do you understand the way utilities plan for the future? Have you made energy efficiency improvements to your own home or workplace? Does your business save money or make a profit through energy efficiency? What about renewable energy options, such as solar thermal hot water, photovoltaics, small wind turbines or run-of-the-river hydro facilities to name a few?

Take a moment to ask how well you understand the effect of new electric utility construction on your utility rates, and whether you would like to see utilities take a more proactive role in reducing energy consumption and your overall bill.

Share your perspectives on Monday, May 1st, in Raleigh, North Carolina, in the Dobbs Government Office Building at 7:00 p.m. ... The more individual perspectives the Commission hears, the more powerful your message becomes.

So, take a moment to tell the Commission that you're interested in the utility planning process, and that you're concerned about how inaccessible utility plans are to most ratepayers; tell them about your energy efficiency savings or the effect it's had on your farm or business. Most importantly, tell them that you're interested in building a brighter energy future for North Carolina.

Thanks, in advance, for your time and support.

Sincerely,

Ivan Urlaub
Executive and Policy Director, NCSEA

P.S. If you'd like to share your thoughts with the Commission, but live far enough from Raleigh that you cannot make it to the hearing, please contact Robert P. Gruber, Executive Director, Public Staff -- NC Utilities Commission by U.S. Mail -- Robert P. Gruber, North Carolina Utilities Commission, 4325 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC, 27699-4325, or e-mail your comments to Chairman JoAnne Sanford, NC Utilities Commission -- sanford@ncuc.net. If the Commission hears from enough folks in the western or eastern parts of the state (or the Charlotte area), they will hold additional hearings. Be sure to include your name, address, the Docket Number (E-100, Sub 103) and a brief description of your concerns.

Shearon Harris Design Flaw Brought N.C. Dangerously Close to Nuclear Disaster

A year-long problem with the emergency cooling system at the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant near Raleigh brought North Carolina dangerously close to nuclear disaster in the early 1990s -- and the problem remained hidden from the public until last week. The revelation comes as the world marks tomorrow's 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in the Ukraine.

The Harris flaw caused valve and pipe failures that rendered the emergency cooling system inoperable, and it went unnoticed until a refueling outage in 1991, according to a new report from Greenpeace titled An American Chernobyl: Nuclear Near Misses at U.S. Reactors Since 1986. If the Harris plant's primary cooling system had broken down during the malfunction, the emergency cooling system would have been unable to protect the reactor from overheating and releasing large amounts of radiation. The flaw increased the risk of a reactor meltdown by a thousandfold, according to Nuclear Regulatory Commission calculations cited by Greenpeace.

The Harris malfunction ranked among the most significant near misses at U.S. nuclear power plants, tying for first place with a 2002 problem at Ohio's Davis Besse plant that involved a football-sized hole in the reactor vessel, the report says. There were a total of four near misses at Harris, the third-most at any one plant; the others involved fire hazards and problems with heat removal systems. In all, Greenpeace documented a total of 200 near misses at U.S. nuclear power plants since the Chernobyl disaster.

"If any of these 'near misses' had progressed to a meltdown, the government regulators have little confidence that any of the nuclear reactor containments would survive," the report states.

A flaw by Harris plant designer Westinghouse led to the problem with the emergency cooling system. After Westinghouse alerted several nuclear plants about the defect, Harris owner CP&L, now Progress Energy, attempted to correct the problem but unwittingly made it worse. Progress earlier this year announced that it had selected Westinghouse to possibly build two more reactors at the Harris site.

The Durham-based nuclear watchdog group N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network says Greenpeace's discovery shows Progress needs to be more open with the public about problems and how the utility corrects them.

"This is dramatic evidence that major system failures do occur at nuclear plants," according to a statement from N.C. WARN Executive Director Jim Warren. "It shows that the utilities and NRC do not have everything under control, and that they gamble on the public not finding about these problems -- instead of explaining them."

Warren also questions why the system failure persisted for a year without CP&L rechecking the correction it made after Westinghouse reported the defect.

N.C. WARN this week will publish a report on serious and ongoing safety problems at Harris. The group is also holding a forum commemorating the Chernobyl disaster on Wednesday, April 26, from 7 to 9 p.m. at McDougle Middle School, 900 Old Fayetteville Rd. in Carrboro. Mary Olson, director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service's Asheville office, will speak on what happened at Chernobyl. The forum will also consider the Harris safety problems and the adequacy of the plant's evacuation plan.

'Frankenfoods' Film Showing in Raleigh

Corporations in search of new ways to turn a profit are turning to the fundamental structure of the food we eat. By tinkering with the genetic makeup of plants, they are creating new products to patent and sell on the world market.

But serious concerns haunt genetically modified crops -- or what some critics have dubbed "Frankenfoods" after the monster that ruined its creator. Last summer, for example, Italian researchers published findings that indicate absorption of transgenic soy by mice induces changes in liver cells. Other scientists have observed responses related to allergic reactions in animals fed transgenic foods. (For information on these and other studies, visit the Organic Consumers Association's Web site.)

And then there are the regulatory issues raised by these laboratory creations. In 2000, for example, Kraft Foods was forced to recall taco shells that contained genetically modified corn produced by Aventis CropScience headquartered in Research Triangle Park -- corn that had been approved only for animal feed and not for human consumption.

These and other issues surrounding transgenic food will the topic of discussion next Tuesday, April 18, when the Code Green Coalition shows the film "The Future of Food" at Helios Coffee at 413 Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh. An in-depth investigation by award-winning filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia, widow of Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia and a former UNC-Chapel Hill student, the film interviews farmers from Saskatchewan, Canada to Oaxaca, Mexico about the impact genetic technology has had on their lives. The film also considers alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture.

Following the 7 p.m. showing, there will be a discussion led by Tony Kleese, director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. Kleese will talk about what's happening around transgenics in North Carolina -- and how citizens can take action to create a food system that's good for the consumer, the farmer and the environment.

Fossil Fuel Flak Spins N.C. Climate Change Commission

A prominent climate change contrarian this week warned the North Carolina group studying the impact of global warming on the state to beware of "pervasive bias" in the debate, Carolina Journal reports.

Speaking yesterday before the N.C. Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change, Patrick Michaels said he analyzed the content of "reports that are presented in public" on climate change. He found the idea that "it's worse than we thought" dominated "it's not as bad as we thought" by about 15 to 1.

One might think that indicates a consensus that things are indeed worse than we thought. But that's not the conclusion Michaels draws. Instead, he said his findings indicate a "pervasive bias" in the public discussion on global warming.

"So what we are dealing with is an information flow in which we’ve thrown a coin 16 times and gotten only one head," CJ reported Michaels saying.

Ah, yes. Science as coin toss.

Speaking of bias, it was interesting to see how CJ reporter Mitch Kokai identified Michaels. Besides noting Michaels' job as Virginia's state climatologist, Kokai also reported that he's a research professor at the University of Virginia and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute -- all true.

But Kokai failed to follow the money and report on the well-documented funding of Michaels' work by fossil fuel interests. According to the watchdogs at Exxonsecrets.org, Michaels publishes the "World Climate Review," a newsletter on global warming that's funded by the Western Fuels Association, a consortium of coal interests.

Michaels' known also funding includes $49,000 from German Coal Mining Association; $15,000 from Edison Electric Institute; and $40,000 from Cyprus Minerals Company, according to Exxonsecrets.org. In addition, he received $63,000 for research on global climate change from Western Fuels Association in addition to the undisclosed amount the group pays him for the climate newsletter.

In a December 1995 article in Harper’s magazine, journalist Ross Gelbspan reported that Michaels received more that $115,000 in the preceding four years from coal and energy interests. And as I reported last year in The Independent Weekly, Michaels is also a consultant for the Center for Energy and Economic Development (CEED), a Texas-based group that says it is "dedicated to protecting the viability of coal-based electricity."

Does Michaels' acceptance of money from groups avowing to protect coal-based electricity necessarily mean his science is bad? No. But it does raise red flags about Michaels' own potential biases -- especially since Michaels typically does not disclose his financial ties to fossil fuel interests when speaking in public, as I also reported last year in The Independent.

And what about the potential bias of the John Locke Foundation? As I pointed out in the same Independent story, the organization in recent years has accepted at least $81,000 from fossil fuel interests, including CEED.

Raleigh Citizens Take on Developer Power

Raleigh City Council will hold a public hearing at 6:30 tonight to take comments on a plan to adjust the city's development impact fees. The city assesses the fees on new residential construction to help pay for roads and other necessary infrastructure.

Mayor Charles Meeker and council members Thomas Crowder and Russ Stephenson have called the current proposal (TC-7-06) unacceptable because it fails to require new growth to pay its fair share. They point out that the proposal would continue to shift more than $27 million each year from Raleigh's established neighborhoods to subsidize construction on the city's edges.

Meanwhile, a poll of Raleigh's frequent voters found that the overwhelming majority -- a whopping 85 percent -- favor higher impact fees.

"Now is the time for all of us to step up to the plate and let our leaders know: we must not give in to special interests," Stephenson wrote in a recent e-mail to concerned citizens. "Instead we must: (1) put in place an equitable long term funding plan that recognizes the rising economic burden on taxpayers as well as homebuilders, and (2) enact updated development rules incentivizing better quality growth that costs taxpayers less."

For more details on the issue, visit Stephenson's Web site.