To the Editor:
Despite the protests of anti-nuclear activists (“N.Y. Public Service Commission OKs multi-billion dollar nuclear industry bailout,” August 12), true environmentalists who value New York’s 
carbon reduction goals recognize that maintaining our nuclear fleet is critical to achieving the 40 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 projected in the Clean Energy Standard (CES).
Nuclear energy is New York’s largest source of clean, emission-free energy. New York’s nuclear plants annually prevent over 21.4 million metric tons in carbon emissions annually, the equivalent of keeping 4.8 million gasoline-powered cars off the road.
Nuclear opponents herald wind and solar as the primary energy sources of the future, but these can only produce power when the wind blows and the sun shines. Nuclear power plants produce safe, clean, zero carbon energy 24/7, 365 days a year. If we lose our statewide nuclear facilities, that void in our electric grid would be largely filled by natural gas – which emits carbon.
Environmentalists across the country, including Environmental Progress president Michael Shellenberger, have applauded the passage of the CES and its support of nuclear power. To achieve the goals defined by the CES, we must keep all of our clean energy sources as a bridge to a renewable energy future.
Arthur “Jerry” Kremer
chairman, New York AREA
The author is a former member of the N.Y. State Assembly where he served as chairman of its ways and means committee. He is chairman of the New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance, a lobby group that supports nuclear power plants as an important energy source in New York.
