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40 years on, have we learned the lessons of Three Mile Island?

By on March 28, 2019 in Childrens' Health, City of Red Wing, climate change, Energy, Nuclear Power, Xcel Energy
Monticello nuke plant with tall stack for venting radioactives.


[Note: A version of this distributed by email had the wrong title. Apologies!]

40 years ago, on March 28, 1979, Three Mile Island (TMI) Unit 2 nuclear power plant melted down and experienced a hydrogen explosion.  (Unit 1 has continued to run all these years but likely will be shut down soon as it loses a lot of money for the owners.) 

Days afterwards: “Governor Thornburgh advised pregnant women and pre-school age children to leave the area within a five-mile radius of the Three Mile Island facility until further notice. This led to the panic the governor had hoped to avoid; within days, more than 100,000 people had fled surrounding towns.”

The cause was a combination of equipment failures, design defects, and operator errors.

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“Zero Waste” or more polluting, carbon-belching incineration??

By on August 21, 2015 in air pollution, City of Red Wing, climate change, Garbage Incineration, Goodhue County, Minnesota

HighTechToilet

“Zero Waste” or more polluting, carbon-belching incineration??

Decisions have consequences.  Minneapolis people in the 1980s put up a strong fight against building the HERC garbage burner in Minneapolis.  They lost, and got decades of polluted air, inflated bills, and a recycling rate of 17 percent.  It was an expensive loss.  This is finally turning around, we think, but only because over the last few years people put up a strong fight against expanded burning at the HERC. Continue Reading →

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Commentary: City must be diligent on solar

By on July 29, 2015 in City of Red Wing, Community Solar Gardens, Solar

http://www.republican-eagle.com/letters/3804007-commentary-city-must-be-diligent-solar

By Alan Muller from Red Wing at 11:00 a.m.

By Alan Muller

 Red Wing
The Legislature and the Public Utilities Commission have focused attention on the relationships between Xcel Energy and solar garden developers, but given little attention to the relationships between developers and “subscribers.” What would the contracts look like? What would the actual cost be? What protections would subscribers and landowners have if a developer failed? What are the true benefits to subscribers and investors?

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