‘Nuclear is needed’ to attain Climate Act goals

To the Editor:

I am writing regarding Karl Grossman’s opinion “With New York’s climate action goals in question, governor’s comments on future role of nuclear power worry environmental advocates” (Aug. 11). His reliance on Professor Jacobson’s belief that existing technologies—led by solar and wind—can solve the climate crisis by reducing GHG emissions is misguided.

The Scoping Plan for the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act, a New York Department of Public Service (DPS) Technical Conference, and the New York Independent System Operator all agree that New York’s future electric grid, which depends upon wind, solar, and energy storage resources, requires a new category of generating resources called Dispatchable Emissions-Free Resources (DEFR).

These three organizations are responsible for electric system reliability and all say that DEFR is needed. During periods of extended low wind and solar resource availability, new generation technologies can fill in to provide energy and reliability services not provided by existing wind, solar, and storage technologies.

The only existing DEFR technology that can be expanded to provide the necessary support is nuclear power. That is why nuclear is needed if the state is to ever attain the Climate Act goals. Analyses by agencies responsible for New York electric system reliability completed since 2022 conclusively prove that new resources are necessary and that reliance on Jacobson’s work is misplaced.

Details available at: https://pragmaticenvironmentalistofnewyork.blog/2024/07/29/compendium-of-defr-analyses/

Roger Caiazza

Liverpool, New York