That is the Indian Point nuclear plant.
It's just 30 miles north of New York City, which is one reason people have been fighting over this plant for decades.
"More than 2,000 anti-nuclear protesters gathered at the Indian Point power plant." "We're in the danger zone and we better demonstrate today." "New York's Indian Point nuclear power plant threatened with shut down for lack of an approved evacuation plan." "If we ever had a major problem at Indian Point, that might be a problem that we couldn't solve." In early 2021, after years of protest, Indian Point finally shut down.
"We're celebrating the long-fought closure of the Indian Point nuclear power plant." "Indian Point will close in 4 years, 14 years ahead of schedule." "This is the power of the bully pulpit, the power of organizing." Here's the problem.
Up until then, the vast majority of the electricity used in New York City that didn't come from fossil fuels came from Indian Point.
What happened here is an example of the complicated role nuclear energy is playing in the fight against climate change.
Nuclear plants generate about 10% of the electricity that we use around the world. But 20% in the US.
And 52% of the electricity in the US that's not from fossil fuels.
Experts widely agree that in order to slow climate change, we need to use fewer carbon-emitting fossil fuels but the number of working nuclear reactors in the US has been declining.
Each one that shuts down, it's like a half a gig to a gigawatt of of mostly carbon free energy gone from the grid.
