Remembering Indian Point

Australia

“The closure of Indian Point is a sad day in our collective efforts to reduce emissions and provide a better, cleaner world”

“The team at Bright New World would like to pass on our thoughts and support to the people there at Indian Point and the surrounding communities. The closure of Indian Point is a sad day in our collective efforts to reduce emissions and provide a better, cleaner world. This closure is equivalent to the majority of Australia's annual wind or solar production, and the prospect of shutting that down would have been met with vast opposition from all climate and environmental groups. The silence from these groups in the United States is an indictment of their efforts to decarbonize our world. We hope that common sense will prevail before Indian Point enters too deep of a decommissioning process, as we need every watt of clean energy.”

• Bright New World

Belgium

Canada

“We know that the majority of the energy to replace Indian Point’s massive output will be sourced from natural gas”

“As neighbors who share air quality and climate concerns we are saddened by the politically motivated closure of Indian Point. This clean energy powerhouse provided zero air pollution, emissions-free energy as well as quality employment and community benefits throughout the region. In Ontario, we know that it is nuclear energy that definitively kicks fossil fuels off the grid. We achieved the greatest greenhouse gas reduction in North America with our coal phaseout which was 90% powered by nuclear. Getting off fossil fuels should be a one-way street. We know that the majority of the energy to replace Indian Point’s massive output will be sourced from natural gas. This is a climate and air pollution crime committed by those who claim to champion the environment and the fight against global warming. History will look back harshly upon this dark day and remember those hypocrites who vandalized and destroyed a keystone climate solution in the midst of a climate emergency.” 

• Chris Keefer MD, President Canadians for Nuclear Energy, Director of Doctors for Nuclear Energy

“Your air is my air; air knows no political boundaries. Closing a nuclear plant anywhere increases carbon dioxide everywhere”

“As a nuclear worker and mother in Ontario, I understand and appreciate the role our nuclear power plants play in keeping our electrical grid one of the cleanest in the world and supplying the world with life-saving medical isotopes.  To see a nuclear plant being closed due to political pressures is extremely saddening and concerning. Your air is my air; air knows no political boundaries. Closing a nuclear plant anywhere increases carbon dioxide everywhere. We are in the middle of a climate emergency, and should be utilizing every single tool in our toolbox to hit our climate goals; not shuttering nuclear plants due to anti-nuclear rhetoric that is not based on any sound science. Letting fear and misinformation control our political decisions is not only bad politics and bad leadership; it’s a crime against humanity.”

• Sheila Whytock, Nuclear Operator, Chair of Mothers for Nuclear Canada

California, USA

“Indian point plant is far from a small thing- closing it will represent a concrete step in the wrong direction for all of us”

“The facts are real and fairly readily obvious: we are actively shutting down huge clean power plants and largely replacing them with fossil fuels.

But what many of us feel is in our hearts.  It should break all of our hearts to know that one person in the world dies every 7 seconds a premature death due to fossil fuel pollution, and we in the US contribute more than our fair share of carbon and pollution. We in the US are the beneficiary of a wealthy society largely enabled by energy use, and we also are a society that has utilized nuclear power as a majority of our clean power for many decades.

We can say from one side of our mouth that we care about climate and the environment while at the same time outsourcing emissions to other countries, or even taking steps to actively close needed large clean power plants like that at Indian Point, or we can summon the will to change that course.

We need nothing less than everything to stave off the worst effects of pollution on humanity and our world.  And the Indian point plant is far from a small thing- closing it will represent a concrete step in the wrong direction for all of us.”

• Caroline Cochran, Co-founder of OKLO

“This is a mistake we have made too many times already”

“The impending closure of Indian Point is another reminder of the ways in which the environmental movement is maladapted to confronting the challenge of climate change. Like dozens of other nuclear power plants across the country, Indian Point has generated reliable, affordable, carbon-free, and near-zero-pollution electricity for decades. For the sake of the climate, the local environment, and the electricity bills of New York's ratepayers, environmentalists and policymakers should be working to extend the life of the nation's nuclear power plants, not shutting them down only to be replaced by natural gas. This is a mistake we have made too many times already.”

• Alex Trembath, Deputy Director, The Breakthrough Institute

“It is a sad step backward in time and will lead to increased air pollution and carbon emissions”

“The closure of Indian Point Energy Center is fueled by fear and mistrust. It is a sad step backward in time and will lead to increased air pollution and carbon emissions. We have seen that the closure of nuclear plants results in lower birth weights due to higher usage of polluting power sources. Additionally, closing the plant increases energy fragility in the area and leans into fossil fuels for baseload support. My best wishes to those who will lose their jobs and those affected by this sad event.”

• Allison Kubo Hutchinson, Geophysics PhD student

“History will look positively on actions that accomplish actual progress on reducing emissions”

“A similar situation is playing out in California regarding the future of Diablo Canyon. These decisions are motivated by politics and perceived populism and are not in the best interest of the environment or human health. Let’s look beyond the surface and make the right choice, even if it might seem to be unpopular at first. History will look positively on actions that accomplish actual progress on reducing emissions, even if it is simply to avoid digging a bigger hole.”

• Heather Hoff, Co-founder of Mothers for Nuclear

“Another victim of this politics of lies. May it be the last. Remember Indian Point”

“In the spring of 2006, I was seventeen. My history class took a break to screen a movie that had just come out: Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. It scared me. But Gore’s solutions—wind and solar, carbon taxes, etc.—comforted me. I’m now in my thirties and it has taken me over a decade to learn that everything I’ve been told is a solution to climate change is not.  Often these so-called solutions amount to little more than an assault on the American grid and American workers—an assault on the American way of life itself. Indian Point goes dark a few days after my writing this. Another victim of this politics of lies. May it be the last. Remember Indian Point.”

• Emmet Penney, writer and co-host of ex.haust

“Nuclear power plants like Diablo Canyon and Indian Point support local economies, provide good union jobs”

“I grew up in San Luis Obispo, California, and it’s in large part because of the taxes collected from Diablo Canyon Power Plant that I enjoyed such an excellent public education. But with this power plant’s impending closure, the fate of these school budgets is uncertain. Nuclear power plants like Diablo Canyon and Indian Point support local economies, provide good union jobs and are essential to any green energy plan. The Indian Point closure will be a tragedy for workers and for communities like the one I grew up in.”

• Michael Stenovec, member of UAW Local 2865

“This was the wrong choice”

“Indian Point has provided clean electricity for my home growing up in New York. It is shameful that a campaign to close this plant down will succeed. The only result of this closure is further pushing future generations into climate misery. This was the wrong choice, as it was for nuclear plant closures in Germany, and as it could be for the Diablo Canyon generating site in my new home state, California. I can only hope that Indian Point’s demise will act as a wake-up call to stop closing our most reliable source of clean energy.”

• Xander Wikstrom, a concerned citizen in Los Angeles, CA

Denmark

“The closure of Indian Point is a step back”

“Foreningen Atomkraft Ja Tak joins forces with several other organizations to show our disappointment to the U.S. government by shutting down Indian Point. Nuclear is the cleanest source of electricity by far, why the closure of Indian Point is a step back on the road to a carbon-free future.” 

• Foreningen Atomkraft Ja Tak

Finland

“We should all be doing our best to ensure that every clean energy asset is used to its maximum potential for as long as safely possible”

“At the time when climate urgency requires deep emissions cuts, we feel it takes a special kind of madness and irresponsibility towards both nature and humanity to voluntarily shut down low-carbon, reliable energy production. We should all be doing our best to ensure that every clean energy asset, Indian Point nuclear power station included, is used to its maximum potential for as long as safely possible.”

• Esko Pettay, Chair of The Ecomodernist Society of Finland

“Stop closing perfectly good reactors such as the Indian Point”

“Nuclear is our most misunderstood energy source. It is also our most underused clean energy source. For our failing climate effort, this is great news. We still have a tool, a “Dark Horse”, with enormous potential that we can throw at the problem. But we need to stop discriminating against it and stop closing perfectly good reactors such as the Indian Point. Instead, we need to keep them running, and build much more.”

•  Rauli Partanen, Author of “The Dark Horse – Nuclear Power and Climate Change”

Florida, USA

“Indian Point is not just one nuclear reactor, it represents all nuclear reactors”

“Logically, with global commitments to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, how does shutting down an energy source that has provided carbon-free electricity to NY for more than 40 years contribute to that goal? More puzzling is the fact that the Indian Point reactor is being shut down, only to be replaced with carbon-generating fossil fuel plants. 

This isn’t just about New York, it’s about the survival of the planet. To shut down Indian Point is to impede net-zero goals. The severe impact of carbon-intensive energy sources is real. Climate change is not a figment of imagination, changes are already happening all around the world.

The solution is clear, nuclear energy is a necessity to secure our carbon-free future. Renewables alone are insufficient to replace fossil fuel baseload energy. Indian Point is not just one nuclear reactor, it represents all nuclear reactors. The decision to shut down Indian Point will influence future decisions to shut down other nuclear reactors.

One decision can steer our fate as a human race, I urge you to make the right one, do not shut down the Indian Point. If not for the strangers writing these letters, then for your families.”

• Charlyne Smith, Director, Students for Nuclear

France

“We stand in solidarity with the workers of Indian Point who have kept the plant running safely, providing reliable, essential power to the people of New York during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis”

“We, the Voices of Nuclear, wanted to express our deep sympathy for the people of New York and for the United States as they are on the brink of losing yet another source of low-carbon electricity generation. France went through the same wrenching process last year when the two-unit Fessenheim nuclear power plant in Alsace was shut by a political edict, although it was one of the best-running and safest plants in EDF’s nuclear fleet.

There is little doubt that the clean energy generation of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant will be replaced by high-carbon generation, as is the case with the closure of Fessenheim, or that of Philippsburg in Germany, or that of all the 26 reactors that will have been prematurely shut down in the world between 2019 and 2022 alone, including Indian Point 2 one year ago.

This is not the time to be closing nuclear plants that have years of safe operation still in them. It is time to build more low-carbon sources, including nuclear reactors, in response to the need to fight climate change with all the resources at our disposal. We feel dismayed, challenged and in fact, simply outraged at this act of climate vandalism. Like Fessenheim, Indian Point Unit 3 is a “climate hero” in addition to being a source of stability for the power grid and a bulwark against air pollution.

We stand in solidarity with the workers of Indian Point who have kept the plant running safely, providing reliable, essential power to the people of New York during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. 

At a time when the US, with President Biden, has rejoined the international community in committing to preserve the climate and seeks a leadership role in the matter, the US and New York should lead by example in keeping Indian Point plugged in.”

• Voix du Nucleaire

Germany

“There should be political and judicial consequences for such a flawed decision”

“It is with great sadness that we see Indian Point going. Speaking from Germany, a land that is going to decommission all of its nuclear power stations within 20 months, this sounds silly. Nuclear Power in Germany is the cheapest source of power, and it produces more electricity than all PV modules together.  Switching our remaining six nuclear power stations should be considered an environmental and economic crime.  I don’t know about US law, but there should be political and judicial consequences for such a flawed decision.”

• Björn Peters, Deutscher Arbeitgeberverband e.V.

Illinois, USA

“I hope this climate failure is our last”

“The February 2021 National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, "Accelerating Decarbonization of the U.S. Energy System," determined unequivocally that US decarbonization will require keeping existing nuclear plants open. A few days ago, when celebrating Earth Day, global attention was fixed on setting aggressive emissions-reduction goals to sustain our climate with clean energy. Our leaders in government, recognizing the importance of the climate challenge and the scientific consensus, made clear on Earth Day that nuclear energy must be part of our clean energy future and our retreat from fossil fuels. Despite all this, we are asked to stand aside while the Indian Point nuclear reactor is shut down, to be replaced by natural gas capacity. I hope this climate failure is our last.”

- Kathryn Huff, Assistant Professor, Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

“Workers of Indian Point, we salute you. Know that there are few among us that have contributed as much as you have to keep our air clean, our planet cool, and our lights on”

“In 2015 I got involved in an effort to stop the premature closure of two of my state’s six nuclear power plants. This effort was ultimately successful, but this year we are fighting the same battle, to prevent the same thing for two different nuclear plants.  This is a battle that should never have to be fought, and I think of all the resources that are being spent just to prevent a decision that so many of us know to be wrong.

In IL, we stand a good chance of winning this new battle, but in New York, my colleagues fighting to save multiple gigawatts of the cleanest, most reliable power we have, have lost theirs.  In a few days, the single, small power station that once provided a full 25% of NYC’s electricity, Indian Point, will go silent.  Instead of its steady, clean energy stream, there will be an equally large stream of energy, paired with a horribly large increase in CO2 emissions and particulate pollution that will kill hundreds, sicken 10’s of thousands and warm the planet, even more, all to serve the errant anti-nuclear ideology that infects today’s environmental movement.

This is preventable, and we must prevent recurrences.  The women and men who have worked tirelessly to run Indian Point for the past few decades, the climate heroes that they are,  deserve nothing less than our collective commitment to never, ever let this happen again.

Workers of Indian Point, we salute you. Know that there are few among us that have contributed as much as you have to keep our air clean, our planet cool, and our lights on.”

• Alan Medsker, “Legislative Outreach Coordinator, Campaign for a GND

“There is no economic, technical, or environmental reason to close Indian Point”

“The closure of a nuclear power plant is always a great loss — to the local community, to the country, and to a world working to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. What makes the loss of a plant especially difficult is when it is shuttered senselessly, which is what the world is witnessing as New York prematurely closes Indian Point and deepens its reliance on natural gas. But what makes the closure of Indian Point a unique tragedy is that it’s being closed by a state that claims to understand the importance of tackling climate change.   

Governor Cuomo and others who orchestrated the closure of Indian Point cited concerns for environmental health and public safety as the reason it needed to go. This is absurd on its face and an insult to those who contributed to the plant’s outstanding safety and performance record. There is no economic, technical, or environmental reason to close Indian Point. It is already being replaced by fossil fuel plants in low-income communities. Shutting down Indian Point was always the true attack on environmental health and public safety. 

Beyond its dark implications for New York’s air pollution and climate goals, the closure of Indian Point will take a significant toll on the local stewards of the plant. The community that has provided New York City with nearly five decades of carbon-free power will lose one thousand permanent, high-paying jobs and millions in annual revenue that fund its schools and public services. 

It’s important to call the closure of Indian Point what it is — an abuse of trust the people of New York have placed in its government to protect communities and the natural environment. Americans deserve to know that their public servants are squandering our country’s wealth at the expense of cheap, reliable, clean energy for future generations.”

• Madison Czerwinski, Executive Director of Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal

Italy

“Farewell to Indian Point, from Comitato Nucleare e Ragione, Italy”

“Any nuclear power plant that is prematurely shut down is a defeat for humanity and the environment, as we know through experience. Italy was the first to make this mistake. Let's hope New York State will be the last one. Farewell to Indian Point, from Comitato Nucleare e Ragione, Italy.”

• Pierluigi Totaro, President of Comitato Nucleare e Ragione and member of AIN-Italian Nuclear Young Generation

Maryland, USA

“It is hard to imagine the thought process behind why the closure of the Indian Point nuclear power plant is a good idea”

“There is a great sense of urgency in addressing climate change from all corners, and yet here we are looking at the shortsighted decision to close a major source of CO2-free energy production. It is hard to imagine the thought process behind why the closure of the Indian Point nuclear power plant is a good idea. The absurdity of New York’s decision to raise the levels of gas-fired power generation, which has already occurred with the closure of the first of the two reactors, cannot be emphasized enough for its foolishness.”

•  Kent Conservation and Preservation Alliance

Montana, USA

“Adding renewables to the grid is not enough if we negate the impact by shutting down clean nuclear energy sources such as Indian Point”

“We are living at a time where we must use all tools we have at our disposal to reduce the human contribution to climate change while ensuring electricity is accessible for all.  The United States, as one of the main contributors to the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, needs to lead by example. Adding renewables to the grid is not enough if we negate the impact by shutting down clean nuclear energy sources such as Indian Point. The celebration of the closure of Indian Point by people who believe climate change needs to be addressed confuses me to my core.  As an environmentalist and an engineer, I see nuclear as one of the most important tools in creating a clean energy future that allows people to live the lives they want to live while preserving the majesty of our natural world for future generations. ”

• Emma Redfoot, Director of Outreach, Mothers for Nuclear

The Netherlands

“The news of the political assassination of the Indian Point power plant - though not unexpected - was like a punch in the gut”

“As a European who is a big fan of the United States and who considers New York City one of the most amazing urban centers on the planet, the news of the political assassination of the Indian Point power plant - though not unexpected - was like a punch in the gut. As a scientist, engineer and environmentalist I am saddened by what in my perception is an act of barbaric vandalism: destroying a nuclear power plant for no good reason. I hope that this day will live in infamy and that the USA will someday lead again in the fields of reason, curiosity, morality, and enterprise - which once brought forth civilian nuclear energy technology and which will undoubtedly sustain it in the drive to address the monstrous global energy & climate challenge, despite awful legacy “green” antinuclear mythology and manipulation.``

• Joris van Dorp, board member Stichting Ecomodernisme Nederland

New Jersey, USA

“The closure of a healthy nuclear plant hurts most near the wound, but the pain spreads easily”

“I am sorry that your community is where the blade met the skin of a self-mutilating government. The closure of a healthy nuclear plant hurts most near the wound, but the pain spreads easily. Against this backdrop, it is hard to rejoice in New Jersey’s recent decision to keep its nuclear subsidies. We are neighbors. It’s as though we have kept our left hand but lost our right.”

• Dylan Moon, Student, Stevens Institute of Technology

New York, USA

“Nuclear energy has done more than power our homes, it’s helped create great jobs and powered our MTA, schools, libraries, and other beloved public institutions”

“I grew up near Indian Point and have spent most of my life reaping the benefits of its emissions-free energy. But nuclear energy has done more than power our homes, it’s helped create great jobs and powered our MTA, schools, libraries, and other beloved public institutions. The closure of Indian Point is a tragedy for both New York State and humanity’s fight against climate change. It’s up to us to make sure that nothing like it happens again and that investment is once again made into clean, dependable, and scalable energy.”

Bhaskar Sunkara, editor & publisher of Jacobin, columnist Guardian US

“In time there will have to be reckoning over why, they fought to shut down an emissions-free source of energy that for decades provided a quarter of NY City’s electricity”

“The closure of Indian Point is a terrible injustice to working families in New York City and Westchester whose electricity costs have already — and will continue to — increase as a direct result, whose neighborhoods will emit more fossil fuel pollution to make up for Indian Point’s generation, and whose access to electricity will be less reliable. For the environmentalist community, whose interests perhaps differ, in time there will have to be reckoning over why, in the face of our climate crisis, they fought to shut down an emissions-free source of energy that for decades provided a quarter of New York City’s electricity.”

• Duncan Bryer, lifelong New Yorker and former policy director for New York State Senator Julia Salazar

“You can either advocate closing existing nuclear plants or take climate science seriously”

“Through studying the energy system and its intersection with the climate crisis, I’ve come to a conclusion: you can either advocate closing existing nuclear plants or take climate science seriously. There is no middle ground. Any sane path to 100% decarbonization of electricity by 2035 will have to work from the base of the nuclear zero-carbon power already online (representing 20% of the existing power mix). There is substantial evidence that taking nuclear plants offline means they will be replaced with fossil fuels (primarily natural gas in the US). These fossil plants are long-term fixed capital investments that create blocs of capital and political constituencies seeking returns for decades to come. The closure of Indian Point will only make the challenges ahead of us — both political and energetic — more difficult.”

• Matt Huber, Associate Professor, Department of Geography and the Environment, Syracuse University

“IPEC will be missed by more than just the employees, but the community (including schools and local businesses), and the environment, as two new natural gas plants which contribute to significant amounts of air pollution, are now being used to supply power to NY”

“Indian Point is the home of more than 700 employees who work together every day to keep the plant running safely and to protect the health and safety of the public, as you have seen by IP3’s World Record run.  This record run shows the dedication and hard work of the employees to do the right job day in and day out and what nuclear power means to them.  Yes, it is a job but this is a second family for most of us. Nuclear power’s capacity factor is unmatched in the utility industry and is a necessity to reach the state and country’s goals for clean energy.  While the rest of the world is turning to Nuclear, the US is phasing it out. IPEC was hitting a great stride toward the end of its life with no chance to keep shining. When there is no real plan to replace IPEC with a greater source of clean energy, what is an alternative, fossil fuels? Why not keep a reliable source of clean energy until you can find a better solution? IPEC will be missed by more than just the employees, but the community (including schools and local businesses), and the environment, as two new natural gas plants which contribute to significant amounts of air pollution, are now being used to supply power to NY.“

• Richard & Theresa Motko, Instrument Maintenance Supervisors, IPEC

“There is no logic to this decision, and that is by design. This is the cost of doing business at the expense of the people and the environment”

“The State of New York has been plagued by an unrelenting housing crisis, spurred by gentrification and bad policy called "Opportunity Zones"; bipartisan legislature that was supposed to help everyone by "stimulating economic development," but instead only enriched the real estate industry, further concentrating wealth amongst the few. Again, the State of New York is being sold a bill of goods. The powers that be say they want to combat the climate crisis, so why are we closing a massive, clean, job-creating source of energy? There is no logic to this decision, and that is by design. This is the cost of doing business at the expense of the people and the environment.”

• Fox Green, concerned NY citizen

Norway

“The U.S. has long been viewed by Norwegians as a leader in politics and technological ventures. However, both New York and mankind alike are now making a giant leap in the wrong direction”

“The Norwegian pro-nuclear society extends its sincerest condolences to the citizens of New York in connection with the closure of the Indian Point nuclear power plant. While there is broad scientific consensus regarding the seriousness of the climate crisis the global community is now facing, New York will now be replacing CO2-free energy production with methane gas-fired generation. Annually adding 12-15 million tons of CO2-equivalent emissions to their power generation system. The closure of Indian Point, one nuclear power plant, leads to an increase of emissions roughly equivalent to that of 1.2-1.5 million Norwegians or around a quarter of our population. This clearly demonstrates the formidable contributions nuclear energy can provide a clean and sustainable society, and should be an eye-opener for businesses, leaders, and communities worldwide. 

The U.S. has long been viewed by Norwegians as a leader in politics and technological ventures. However, both New York and mankind alike are now making a giant leap in the wrong direction. Particularly regrettable is that the decision of closing Indian Point has been aided by environmental groups, misguided by notions of the past. Fortunately, other well-informed environmental groups, ever-growing in size and influence, are persisting to keep nuclear power as a significant part of the U.S. energy portfolio. 

Although this particular battle seems lost, the war against the climate crisis is not. We Norwegians are delighted to see the US government and private sector help other countries, such as Poland, acquire nuclear power. We hope to one day receive the same expert assistance and guidance from the US, as a means to limit our own fossil fuel dependency in a safe, climate-friendly, and sustainable manner. 

Lastly, we would like to express our utmost gratitude to the workers of Indian Point for contributing to reducing CO2-equivalent emissions for many decades. Thank you.”

Norweigan Pro-Nuclear Society, Klimavenner for Kjernekraft

Philippines

“As a nuclear power advocate in the Philippines, I feel disheartened and am in disbelief at the mindlessness which is poised to happen”

“A nuclear plant anywhere is cleaner air and less pollution everywhere else.

Closing Indian Point is NOT just a New York issue, it’s a world issue.

The closure of Indian Point goes against New York Politician, AOC’s Green New Deal, in plain CO2 tonnage terms. A simple 35 years, tens of millions of CO2 tons per year every year, set back.

New York’s prominent leaders, Governor Andrew Cuomo and AOC, have a great opportunity to show sincerity. To be consistent in purpose and policy, I encourage both to follow the lead of their President, one who has articulated how important and urgent saving nuclear plants is to cut carbon emissions.

As a nuclear power advocate in the Philippines, I feel disheartened and am in disbelief at the mindlessness which is poised to happen.”

• Mark Cojuangco, Former Representative, 5th District of Pangasinan (2001 to 2010) House of Representatives, Philippines

Seattle, USA

“NY permanently retiring 7,703.5 Gigawatt hours of annual clean electricity output is a climate crime”

“New York permanently retiring 7,703.5 Gigawatt hours of annual clean electricity output is a climate crime. The Cuomo administration has increased the emissions of the US by over 3 million metric tons of CO2 per year.”

• Karl Alex Pauls, Treasurer of the Ecomodernist Society NA. Volunteer at the Seattle Friends of Fission

South Africa

“The closing of Indian Point’s last reactor IP3 will not only lead to an increase in carbon emissions but will also lead to a severe loss of high quality and much-needed jobs”

“The NEHAWU Professionals Technical Committee, a South African Trade Union, is disheartened by developments surrounding the NY’s only downstate nuclear power plant, Indian Point. The closing of Indian Point’s last reactor IP3 will not only lead to an increase in carbon emissions that is currently being avoided but will also lead to a severe loss of high quality and much-needed jobs at a time when the global economies are experiencing a downturn due to Covid19 pandemic. The NPTC holds the view that there is a different path that can be taken which is to keep the I.P.E.C. open and its lifespan be extended with further 20 years with appropriate assessments done from a regulatory perspective. The NPTC stands with professional workers at I.P.E.C. and supports the continued operation of Indian Point.”

• NEHAWU Professionals Technical Committee, South Africa

Sweden

“We will remember these climate crimes and we will fight together for a better future”

“The Swedish association of ecomodernists is sincerely saddened by the closing of Indian Point. With great regret we see the jobs of thousands of climate heroes disappear. This center of clean energy will be replaced by carbon-emitting gas plants and delay our much-needed climate action. We will remember these climate crimes and we will fight together for a better future.” 

• Take Aanstoot, Chair of the Swedish Eco Modernists

“The politically motivated and entirely avoidable shutdown of Indian Point is a huge loss for the climate as well as for the local communities affected by the closure”

“The politically motivated and entirely avoidable shutdown of Indian Point is a huge loss for the climate as well as for the local communities affected by the closure. More so it is also a loss for the communities that will be affected by increased emissions from the fossil fuels that will be used in its place. The Swedish Nuclear Society regrets the closure of Indian Point Energy Center, which produces 100% fossil-free energy equal to one-quarter of the electricity consumption of New York. The decision to close IPEC has been brought forward by misinformation and misguided incentives that are not in line with the scientific consensus on climate change and the climate ambitions of the current administration. It is our sincere hope that New York and the U.S. will reconsider and align their actions in accordance with their ambitions to help the world mitigate the effects of climate change.”

• Ulrika Wretås, Chair of the board, Swedish Nuclear Society

• Simon Wakter, Board member, Swedish Nuclear Society

Taiwan

“You are such valuable contributors to the energy industry and also to the earth”

“On behalf of the Mothers for Nuclear Taiwan, we would like to thank you for providing always-on, clean, and carbon-free electricity to the state for so many years. I want to let you know millions of moms in Taiwan are actually with you, you are definitely not alone. You all are such valuable contributors to the energy industry and also to the earth. Do not lose faith, I believe the cruel facts on climate emergency will bring back politicians to reality and re-embrace nuclear power in a serious manner and in the near future.” 

• Jessica Lu, Founder of Mothers for Nuclear Taiwan

United Kingdom

“New York is going to be poorer for your loss, as well as of course the premature loss of a valuable clean energy asset”

“I thank all you Indian Point workers for your hard work and commitment to excellence. You have done an outstanding job and fully deserved to be recognized for it. New York is going to be poorer for your loss, as well as of course the premature loss of a valuable clean energy asset. I wish you all the best in what follows. May whatever path you take bring you career satisfaction and introduce you to many wonderful new friends, colleagues, and supportive community.”

• David Hess, Policy Analyst at World Nuclear Association

“If this is an economic justification, change the economic rules, not the plant”

“Closure of any nuclear plant is hard to believe possible in a world where it is imperative to reduce emissions in the teeth of a climate emergency driven by atmospheric discharging of CO2 and increasingly Methane. Replacing Indian Point with gas-fired generation replaces 12gCO2/kWh nuclear with 450gCO2/kWh gas plus fugitive CH4 emissions that are 80x worse than CO2. With lifetime extensions now feasible to 80 years of operation, this plant is closing way too soon. If this is an economic justification, change the economic rules, not the plant. In addition, several hundred highly-skilled staff and contractors will be laid-off with personal and community impacts way beyond those directly affected.” 

• Mark Norris, Retired Nuclear Engineer

“We must follow the facts, for our futures!”

“As a young engineer fighting for a clean, sustainable and abundant future, it's a huge blow to hear of the premature closure of a nuclear power plant. IPCC pathways with the best chance of limiting temperature increases identify a shedload of new nuclear generation. The shutdown of existing plants makes a difficult situation close to impossible. We must follow the facts, for our futures!”

• Arun Khuttan, Nuclear Institute Young Generation Network (YGN)

“History will judge those who’ve acted to prematurely close Indian Point 2 and 3 right in the middle of a climate emergency.”

“History will judge those who’ve acted to prematurely close Indian Point 2 and 3 right in the middle of a climate emergency. On behalf of Generation Atomic volunteers around the world, we salute you, workers of Indian Point. Your hard work these last almost 50 years has provided clean and reliable electricity to the state of New York. Through avoided air pollution, you have no doubt saved thousands of lives. By reducing carbon emissions, you’ve given future generations a better chance at beating climate change. Whatever you go on to do with your lives, be proud of what you have achieved here. You are Nuclear Climate Heroes!”

• David Watson, Generation Atomic

“It is disappointing to see politicians show such underappreciation to an invaluably clean and robust resource”

"Indian Point is the heart to NYC's Big Apple providing the city's juice for over half a century. It is disappointing to see politicians show such underappreciation to an invaluably clean and robust resource. Wishing those that worked at the nuclear power plant and lived in the surrounding area thanks for their years of support and all the best in wherever life takes them next."

• Richard Ollington, Friends of Nuclear Energy

USA

“The shutting down of Indian Point Unit 3 marks an end of an era for dispatchable clean energy in downstate New York”

"For nearly 60 years, Indian Point has kept downstate New York's lights on with reliable, carbon-free baseload power. The shutting down of Indian Point Unit 3 marks an end of an era for dispatchable clean energy in downstate New York. The loss of Indian Point means more air pollution, higher carbon emissions, and a weakened, less reliable power grid for the lower Hudson Valley and New York City. Without Indian Point, downstate New York will face the harder task of cutting emissions 70% by 2030 from a power supply mix now almost entirely generated by fossil fuels. Our thoughts are with the men and women whose lives will be negatively impacted by Indian Point’s premature closure, especially the plant workers, their families, and the local communities who rely on Indian Point's tax revenue and economic activity."

• Craig Piercy, Executive Director and CEO of the American Nuclear Society

“The closure of the plant is a huge loss not only for the residents of NYC but also for the residents of the world”

"The Indian Point nuclear plant provides a quarter of New York City’s energy needs. What's more: all of that energy is 100% carbon-free. The closure of the plant is a huge loss not only for the residents of NYC but also for the residents of the world, as carbon emissions and pollution will inevitably arise. We need to prioritize smart policy that will not unfairly disadvantage nuclear plants if we want to be serious about tackling climate change."

• Chris Barnard, Policy Director of American Conservation Coalition

Vermont, USA

“Closing a nuclear plant hollows out a community”

“Indian Point keeps the NYC air cleaner than it will be if gas plants are fired up to replace it. 

Closing a major employer like Indian Point will have a huge negative effect on the communities nearby. People are laid off, and the younger employees usually leave for jobs in other areas of the country.  Meanwhile, the schools take a heavy cut in their funding, and therefore in their ability to fund sports teams and advanced placement classes.  Which is another signal for younger families to leave.  Closing a nuclear plant hollows out a community.”

• Meredith Angwin, Author of Shorting the Grid: The Hidden Fragility of Our Electric Grid