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| Photo Columbia Nuclear Power Station via Tri-City Herald |
Here we go again. First McCullough gets an op-ed in the SeattleTimes. Next, he posted essentially the same thing in an op-ed in the Oregonian,
which was rebutted by the operator of the nuclear power station, and now, the
Oregonian gives him yet another op-ed, where, for the most part, he repeats the
same rebutted arguments for a third time.
We should all cross our fingers that McCullough does not get hired
by an anti-airliner organization (in addition to the antinuclear organization
that already commissioned him) to tell airlines how to run their business.
Think about it. A jet airliner uses turbines to move passengers in a similar
way that solar thermal, natural gas, geothermal, and nuclear power stations use
turbines to make electricity.
The operating costs certainly are not the same for an aging 747
and a brand new 737. But there are very good reasons why a given airline will
keep its aging fleet of 747s. Based on the simple cost of operation and
maintenance, McCullough might tell an airline operator to retire its older 747s.
But do you really think he would know better than the airline operator (or grid
operator)? Not a chance. He's a hardcore antinuclear economist using smoke and
mirrors to attack one of the biggest sources of low carbon energy in the state.
"As I write this response, the on-peak prices for electricity in fiscal year 2021 is $31.30/megawatt-hour (MWh) and the off-peak price is $25.05/MWh [note that wind receives a $23.00/MWh subsidy]. The Columbia Generating Station's cost forecast for December 2021 is $49.60/MWh."
I'm a big fan of solar, but as I write, the world's cheapest
unsubsidized solar photovoltaic power price in very sunny Texas is purportedly
$57.10/MWh,(1) 15% higher than the Columbia Generating station. In general.
PG&E paid $200.00/MWh for electricity from the Ivanpah solar thermal power
station last summer.(2) Why isn't McCullough calling for their closure?
