By Elise Harcsar
Just up the Hudson River, 30 miles north of Irvington, sits Indian Point Energy Center. This nuclear power plant powers almost all of Westchester; however, its immense power supply raises environmental and safety concerns.
These past few years, the closure of Indian Point Energy Center has been a long debated issue due to its dangerous risk of radiation and pollution in the Hudson River.
Part of Indian Point has already shut down, and Governor Cuomo announced the official closure of Unit 2 by April 2021.
Many environmental groups, such as Riverkeeper that advocates for eliminating pollution in the Hudson River, have fought for its closure because of its contribution to habitat degradation and pollution.
“The system withdraws 2.42 billion gallons per day from the Hudson and heats it up to a deadly temperature before discharging,” the Riverkeeper web site claims. “The pools at the plant that house spent nuclear fuel have been leaking toxic, radioactive water into the ground.”
However, its closure does not completely eliminate all environmental effects. In fact, many have concluded its closure would require its replacement with gas fire generators, increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Michael Bloomberg addressed this issue in 2013, with his concern for the potential closure of the power plant, claiming it could increase the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent.
Although its official that the power plant is to be closed, there are alternate energy options that are being considered, yet no one has a definitive answer.
