Studies of Indian Point by Opposing Sides Reach Opposing Conclusions

The people who want the Indian Point nuclear power plants to be shut down and the people who want them to stay open both released reports that "prove" their case. So who are you going to believe?

My guess is that if you are inclined to believe the plant should be shut down, you'll believe the study that says it should be shut down. And if not, then not.

Here's the Times story about the two studies.

The firm that did the study for the Indian Point opponents (Riverkeeper and NRDC) is Synapse Energy, a consultant based in Cambridge, Mass. About six years ago, when Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound was a leading opponent of the Broadwater natural gas plant proposed for Long Island Sound, CFE hired Synapse to study the need for that facility. Synapse concluded that the demand for natural gas in the region wouldn't justify construction of the plant. A couple of years later New York State rejected the proposed plant for more reasons than I have time to enumerate, although you can find them here if you're interested.