Neary 100 local residents and concerned citizens packed the Norwich Congregational Church Monday night to hear from experts and discuss the implications of re-licensing Vermont Yankee, the state’s nuclear power plant.
Currently, the plant is scheduled to close down in 2012, but its corporate owners are pushing for another 20 year lease on life for the old plant, and Vermont is the only state in the country where that decision rests on the state Legislature. The overwhelming majority of the crowd clearly supported clean, renewable energy over the continued operation of Vermont Yankee.
“If we are willing to send legislators the message ‘Close Vermont Yankee on time,’ the resources are there. It’s a matter of political will,” said James Moore, Clean Energy Advocate with VPIRG, one of the panelists. The remark brough cheers and applause from the audience.
The forum was a great opportunity for the attendees to learn more about energy issues and to express their opinions to key decision makers, including Representative Margaret Cheney, the moderator of the forum.
Representative Cheney and her seatmate, Representative Jim Masland of Thetford, have not committed to voting to shut down Yankee on time in 2012. If you are a resident of Norwich, Strafford, Thetford or Sharon, click here for their contact information.
