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Turnout was modest, but nearly all speakers said nuclear is not the answer to Pueblo’s future

 

Pueblo County commissioners sponsored a town hall on Sept. 25. An expert in nuclear energy had flown from Boston to give a 10-minute overview about the state of nuclear power.

Then the floor was devoted to whoever had something to say, subject to three-minute time limits. Unlike legislative hearings and seemingly much else, the speakers almost entirely honored the time limit.

And what they said, with just a few exceptions, is that Pueblo doesn’t want nuclear. The rejection was largely focused on the spent nuclear waste that would likely be stored in concrete casks at the site.

“You can recycle solar (panels) and you can recycle wind turbines, but you cannot recycle radioactive waste,” said one speaker, who identified herself as a retired teacher.

Another woman, who said she has a degree in pharmacy, said she had four family members who had worked at nuclear power plants in varying capacities —and at least one with sickness that she believes was a result of his work.

Several speakers spoke to the issue of environmental justice. “We get the pollution and Denver gets the power,” said Roger Gomez. “I am tired of my community being treated like this, as a sacrifice zone.”

Questions were asked of the featured speaker, David Schlissel, from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, who has engineering degrees from both MIT and Stanford and a law degree, too – plus some course work in nuclear engineering.

He said that work in nuclear power plants doesn’t necessarily pay all that well – which contradicts the information in a report issued earlier this year by a committee formed in 2023 by Xcel Energy.

As for water use of nuclear power plants as compared to coal, he said he was unsure but promised to investigate.

The idea of a natural gas plant coupled with carbon capture was also dismissed by speakers.

A couple of speakers did suggest that nuclear was an option. One individual, in arguing for a nuclear power plant, pointed to the growing electrical demand caused by his electrical car and many other purposes. A representative of the electricians’ union said his union supports an all-of-the-above approach.

Viewing from a Facebook livestream, the meeting of the county commissioners appeared to have between 75 and 100 in attendance. In contrast, a meeting held in late February attended by this correspondent drew upward of 500 people.

The power from any new generation by Xcel would not be for Pueblo, which is supplied by Black Hills Energy. The exception is the Evraz steel mill, which is supplied by Xcel Energy. Xcel is scheduled to close its final coal-burning unit, Comanche 3, before 2031 starts.

Xcel has agreed to pay property taxes in lieu of what it would otherwise have paid through 2040.

Allen Best
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