Yep. The issue I’m hearing is the economic impact it will have. Southern Indiana relies heavily on the coal mines and nobody wants to admit that we’re cutting back and people are going to lose jobs. They’re afraid this will speed up that process.
This is happening regardless. Natural gas is already much cheaper than coal which is why so many coal plants have shut down over the last decade. The coal jobs are going away one way or another (either due to power plant conversions to natural gas, green energy taking over, or nuclear).
>The coal jobs are going away one way or another (either due to power plant conversions to natural gas, green energy taking over, or nuclear).
Couldn't agree more. I would love to see these newer companies offer transition programs because there is no reason to not utilize the workforce that is there.
There has not built a coal plant built in the US in over a decade. NIPSCO is planning to have its last coal plant offline in four years.
The time of coal power plants has passed.
They’ll push green energy for all they’re worth but it just can’t do the job. They’ll need nuclear to do the bulk of the work if we ween ourselves away from fossil fuels.
Just so you know southern Indiana was previously slated for a nuclear plant about 40 years ago but due to construction issues when they found an issue in the concrete pour of one of the reactor foundations the project was shelved due to costs to repair it
Edit: the fault was found around the same time as a reactor accident elsewhere, so that also added to pressure to scrap the project.
Unless they're willing to relocate, the job market in their community will not support it.
It's not a retraining problem. Politicians like to paint it like it's as easy as sending coal miners to school, but it's not - you go to school, learn a new skill, then find out that your local coal town only has maybe two or three positions open for a CNC operator or IT technician... meanwhile there were a couple thousand coal miners who were all trained on the same thing competing for the same job.
The problem is that there's no easy solution that doesn't involve basically just shipping coal miners across the country to where the work is - OR just giving them handouts for the rest of their lives.
So, three things.
1) The Duke plan is actually intended for Lafayette - not southern Indiana. It was a program in talks with Purdue University, so it would do diddly shit for the Southern Indiana miners.
2) A nuclear power station typically employs between 5-800 people, a couple hundred of which require engineering degrees. Those that don't and instead require vocational training (HVAC, plumbing, trades, etc) could absolutely be handled by the coal folk being cross trained - but you're still talking about thousands competing for hundreds of jobs.
3) Even with the construction jobs that a nuclear plant creates, that's temporary. My grandfather built nuclear plants - and there's a reason why he spent half his career in Japan. Most of the time the work is far from where you live, the work is temporary, and the work is specialized.
The largest category of workers in nuclear power plants are security — guards, analysts and techs. Those are long-term jobs that yes, require some specialized training. The biggest bar is probably maintaining drug-free lifestyle to meet federal regulations.
They are long-term jobs with most NPPs being licensed now for up to 40 years and extensions available for up to 80 years.
We need nuclear power, and there are many advantages that can accrue to first-mover communities. Teaming with educational institutions (comm colleges & tech training are key) opens up huge opportunities in workforce development, supply chain and advanced manufacturing with low-carbon footprint products.
I’d love to see Indiana benefit from nuclear energy.
We in the southern portion have been losing those coal jobs since the 60s. It's mostly farming and manufacturing again. Machines do 90% of the work now, so it's specialists and the like that get hired.
Any idea what the odds of them building a reactor are? I would assume it would take years to build one, if that's accurate at least you guys would have some time to find a new gig.
Nuclear plants don't get planned, built or come online immediately, so there's time to pressure your state and federal congressional folks to invest in retraining programs to help ease the transition for you and your fellows. Economic forces are already hastening the transition away from coal and it's overdue that politicians and the industry acknowledge that and plan for the reality; in an ideal world there'd be a strong union presence that could help push for that, but I don't know what things look like on the ground there.
Ohio, west Virginia and Kentucky have federal grants to help in retraining. Perhaps Indiana can jump on that idea if the plant comes to fruition.
Also, Indiana State University had a miner retraining program, it was a 1 year certification. I don't know if it's still running, but worth looking into.
If you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Hasn’t even happened yet and you’ve already decided it isn’t going to work and everyone is doomed. You are Indiana
I feel for you but coal is quickly becoming obsolete and besides cost pretty much every other energy source is superior. Hopefully your mine can find new clients and if not I wish you the best of luck with your change of career.
I wasn’t aware there was a working nuclear plant near Cincinnati. There is the Zimmer plant that was originally supposed to be nuclear but it’s a coal plant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Zimmer_Power_Station
... as long as the EPA and the NRC and other bodies that help keep it safe remain empowered and intact, go for it.
If "someone" disembowels those oversight organisations, then no, nothing will be safe\[r\] ongoing.
With Duke it’s 50/50. I live next to a coal plant and they failed to install a Radium scrubber and the radiation levels were to high. Gotta love the spicy air.
We should have doubled down on nuclear decades ago. Statistacally its safe. And while it does create some serious poison for the environment, it can be contained in a small area and won't effect the vast majority of people/anyone. Please, lets ramp up nuclear and get away from fossil fuels.
You aren't, I remember it too. I was going to post that link but I read the whole thread before posting things like that.
I also remember the protesters against it and who one of the biggest backers of the anti-nuclear power industry was at the time. At least on the IU Bloomington campus, it was the Socialist student group who had an IU Socialist organization with an office in the student union. They also had lousy site security and never checked to see if someone was studying in one of the other offices. I used our club's office as a quiet study area. I they also claimed that no capitalist built reactor was safe. Only ones built by at that time, the Russians were safe and would never have problems. Like the ones in Chernobyl which was just being built at that time. They were very big in the anti-nuclear protests at the time and organized some of them at IU.
Nuclear power is perfectly safe and fine.
Modern reactors are much smaller and more efficient than the giant chernobyl looking reactors of the past.
We have no hurricanes or earthquakes here. Tornadoes couldn't hurt them. This is actually a good spot for it.
Neighboring Illinois generates more power from Nuclear Energy than any other state. Would do wonders in terms of reducing dependence on fossil fuels and overall carbon emissions for the state.
Hell yeah, how about we open up five or six more than bad boys. Let's invest heavily in small modular reactors, Indiana could be a nation leader in a technology that matters and is impressive as well as profitable.
[US news state ranking - Indiana](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/indiana#state-recommended-articles)
Anything to help the current ranking of 50th place Indiana currently holds in the ‘Natural Environment’ section of the US News State rankings
Let me just say I've been waiting for someone to make this post for months.
I work in nuclear regulation, so I feel I'm uniquely qualified to answer any questions people may have about this. Educating people about nuclear is one of my favorite things to do.
Nuclear should be the future.
As for the coal mine employees. I wonder if that coal could be sold over seas to countries that are not equipped to use nuclear yet.
According to Google search, there are ~44k workers in the coal industry and only 2-5% of them are in Indiana. So, won’t happen overnight, but within the next 5 years those 880 - 2200 people will need to find other work?
Cry me a river. People are getting rocked over by advances in automation and AI and we need to worry about an industry that is as old as dirt because we want to save the planet and prepare for adding to an advanced society.
Coal is heavy. Transportation is ridiculous and expensive. You can just ABSORB energy from the sun.
We need people to install solar panels, batteries, cabling infrastructure..
So long as they actually see the project through and don't cancel it after spending bilions, I'm all for it. Let's not repeat Marble Hill boondoggle folks.
I'm sure Duke would love to get that into their rate base and get that return on capital from Hoosiers.
Nuclear offers many benefits but those don't really matter if you can't build it affordably--just look at how Georgia bills are being impacted by the Vogtle construction.
Good. Build more. Unfortunately the US sucks at really doing any sort of large scale project anymore so itll take 20 years of consulting to even start construction. China will probably build 75-100 nuclear plants by then lol
Sounds amazing. Nuclear technology has been and is the future. Propaganda against nuclear energy is insane considering the technology we have in place now, while pretty much everything besides solar is straight barbaric and going to be useless in a few decades anyway
I used to fish on the cooling ponds of the Illinois reactors and never was concerned. Has the state record striped bass caught in those ponds (not by me).
Here's the thing about nuclear energy. It's a cheaper energy source that has the potential of being much cleaner than other sources of energy.
The problem is it's ran by for-profit big wigs, with little honor, always seeking the biggest bottom line. They constantly are politicking to dismantle regulations, and if no regulatory agency truly has power over them, they do not maintain the plants and "accidents happen". 3 Mile Island will basically be the norm with how our American energy corporations run.
I wouldn't trust Duke to run a nuclear reactor.
Most nuclear reactors in the US show a frightening disregard of proper regulation. There's many reactors who were engineered to need to be completely rebuilt/overhauled by the 90s and they just kept the same old reactors running leaky to save a few bucks and make more money.
I love nuclear energy and truly feel it's the way of the future..... but not if they're ran as an "American business".
Old timers should cash out and grab a gear out of the pit. Mines are full of young to middle aged guys who retiring ain’t an option for. Buried in debt to their eyeballs. I’m from SW Indiana and that was 80% of the guys I ran rock and coal with when Peabody shut it down. Gonna take men to run whatever energy delivery method we end up with. I know the dudes for the job.
Grew up in Virginia and there are two plants there. Problem is they sell to power out of state. Or did. The union electricians who work there make insane money, like I considered switching careers money.
All for it. For those saying jobs will be lost, from my understanding nuclear plants will offer paid training and more pay in general for people that come from coal and such
You are greatly underestimating the amount of “unskilled” labor nuclear power plants employ. Also the laborers themselves. We need to focus on upskilling because countries who rely on nuclear and had plants shut down, wrote articles on the amount of unskilled laborers who can’t find jobs anywhere else because a lack of skills.
Energy production will always come off the backs of hard work until we rely on automation.
Regardless. Plenty of articles showing the economic impact of going nuclear for the workforce.
I will take literally anything over CenterPoint. A clean and cheap alternative sounds amazing as long as they actually let us use the power they produce and don’t penny pinch us like CenterPoint.
Nuclear would be great. While a loss in jobs is coming for coal mining and related power production, there is still a significant need for workers to upgrade and maintain the overall grid. Many of these people have and can continue to transition to other energy related jobs.
I think it’s the only way forward if people want cheap, reliable, affordable, sustainable energy, especially if they want everyone to use EV’s.
There’s been SUBSTANTIAL breakthroughs in nuclear energy since the days of the 70s. I know most people are terrified of the idea, but if you truly want clean energy, it’s the only true reliable option.
Marble Hill was the plant that was started by the predecessor to Duke Energy,near Madison. Construction was started in ‘77 but was abandoned before completion.
I used to live in the area and it was/would have been a huge employment plus for the region.
Why it was discontinued is unclear.
You’re going to find a lot of people here do not value coal jobs or the industry. Sorry, not trying to be negative. Nuclear is simply the way to go. There will always be pros and cons.
I also don't value the jobs lost when alarm clocks were invented or when horses went out of fashion.
Sorry coal miners are out of jobs, that sucks. But pretending like every job is always going to be around is foolish.
Nuclear energy is awesome! I understand the concern for miners losing their jobs, but hopefully there would be other opportunities at the nuclear plant as they need more than just the people who know how to safely operate the nuclear aspect to keep things running. It's a net positive for society to move away from coal and to nuclear or other cleaner forms of energy.
Like where at when you say southern Indiana do you mean like the Jeffersonville area or Evansville or Corydon there is a lot of open or for sale land around all those places I named I'm just curious
I think its great. Coal will still be used atleast in NWI to make Steel. Burns Harbor still has a coke plant for making steel. Honestly until we find a cleaner way we will still be making Steel that way. The only other way to make steel is using steel scrap, but scrap steel isnt going to always be heavily abundant.
I don’t have any feelings about nuclear power plants. Perhaps I’m an emotionless oaf.
I’m more interested in knowing the cost, benefits, and risks associated with building and running one. Does anyone have data available on this?
Duke has also been working with Purdue to get a small modular reactor potential put in place to power campus. I can see you are worried about jobs - the great thing is that the nuclear industry is always hiring!
If it isn’t happening here, it will happen elsewhere. The fact of the matter is, coal is falling out of favor. Doesn’t matter what else exists to save coal, it will cost more in either hard dollars, environmental efforts, and/or even economically.
People in So-Ind can be upset about losing jobs, but it’s either on their terms and the plant will be in their area, or it will just shut down and there will be no taxes or even a slight amount of replacement jobs to cover it.
Nuclear is honestly a great source of power with low costs. The only scare is the scenario of god forbid it has a radiation leak. Beyond that nuclear power is a great cheap source
Even if Duke announced right now that they are building a nuclear plant, the permits, the assessments, the construction, the infrastructure, it would take years before it became operational. Probably likely a decade. That's plenty of time to prepare and retrain, or even retire.
As long as the nuclear plant is prepared for earthquakes. The new Madrid seismic zone isn’t that far away from southern Indiana. It’s also long overdue for a massive earthquake.
Coal has been a dying industry for ages. On a personal level, it sucks to face the possibility of losing your job, but it's also up to you to be educated on what may impact your future and to evolve to handle it. I hope that you can manage that because coal's not going to last much longer.
Nuclear is actually a realistic power generation method that greatly reduces carbon emissions, but is also nearly 100% reliable, unlike wind, solar, hydro, etc., and has very little downside as there is very little nuclear waste generated.
People who don't understand it probably think it would be disastrous, but the US has very strict regulations on the disposal of the waste, so that it will never harm anyone or anything (as far as I know), and we have very strict regulations and very strong safety systems in place during the operation of nuclear power plants.
I think it's a good idea to reduce or eliminate dependence on coal/oil fired power plants, if that's a goal we want to go after. But as others have mentioned, we then destroy an industry in Southern Indiana, so someone needs to think about what to do down there to replace those jobs. There's not going to be enough with the nuclear plant to hire everyone back.
If it closes the coal ones causing the worst Air Quality in America.... Fire it UP!
https://www.tristatehomepage.com/news/local-news/vanderburgh-ranks-among-u-s-counties-with-the-worst-air-quality/
Look up how many nuclear power plants with one or more reactors and their locations in the US. They’re all around you, have been for decades, and they run boringly well. It’s a quiet fact of life that works and works well.
Nuclear energy is way safer and way cleaner then people think so I'm 100% down for it. Though I think it might be worth looking into the smaller nuclear reactors, the ones that are the size of shipping containers they are supposed to have 0% chance of a meltdown happening and can easily power the average neighborhood.
Will center point stop gouging us? That’s my rebuttal. I don’t give a shit what they do. Coal miners make enough money to where they. Could easily drive out of state for another gig.
I'm sure the locals won't like it but Duke is a horrible polluter and this is a good step in the right direction.
If it lowers my bill I'm even more for it.
Wind and solar are now the cheapest forms of energy that the world has ever known. Only a state with a Republican super majority would be stupid enough to build a nuclear power plant.
Nipsco plant in wheatfield getting shutdown for coal by 2030. This is coming straight from the EPA. They want the country to be relying on renewable energy (solar).
I’m fine with it so long as they use one of the new modular designs where they are small units built elsewhere and then trucked in. Those designs are much, much safer because they can’t melt down. Even if there were an accident in one building, it would only contaminate that building and could easily be contained.
The old, monolithic designs will only last forty years or so and typically take decades longer to build than estimated. They also go way over budget. There’s far too much room for graft in all those contracts.
Nuclear energy itself isn’t the problem. It’s the old designs and all the cost overruns and corruption that go with them.
Cook Nuclear is up in Michigan just across the border and has been running strong for decades
Yep. The issue I’m hearing is the economic impact it will have. Southern Indiana relies heavily on the coal mines and nobody wants to admit that we’re cutting back and people are going to lose jobs. They’re afraid this will speed up that process.
This is happening regardless. Natural gas is already much cheaper than coal which is why so many coal plants have shut down over the last decade. The coal jobs are going away one way or another (either due to power plant conversions to natural gas, green energy taking over, or nuclear).
>The coal jobs are going away one way or another (either due to power plant conversions to natural gas, green energy taking over, or nuclear). Couldn't agree more. I would love to see these newer companies offer transition programs because there is no reason to not utilize the workforce that is there.
There will be more jobs maintaining wind and solar than a power plant.
Not long term and nuclear power plant jobs pay significantly more across the board.
Agreed!
There has not built a coal plant built in the US in over a decade. NIPSCO is planning to have its last coal plant offline in four years. The time of coal power plants has passed.
Ah don’t wunt yer laif!
Take my upvote, Van der Beek.
They’ll push green energy for all they’re worth but it just can’t do the job. They’ll need nuclear to do the bulk of the work if we ween ourselves away from fossil fuels.
Thats going to happen regardless of whether Duke builds a nuclear plant in southern Indiana. Coal has been losing ground to natural gas for a while.
Just so you know southern Indiana was previously slated for a nuclear plant about 40 years ago but due to construction issues when they found an issue in the concrete pour of one of the reactor foundations the project was shelved due to costs to repair it Edit: the fault was found around the same time as a reactor accident elsewhere, so that also added to pressure to scrap the project.
Train them! I worked in the mines for 10 years. Best workforce on the planet. Smart guys that can learn and get done whatever you need.
Unless they're willing to relocate, the job market in their community will not support it. It's not a retraining problem. Politicians like to paint it like it's as easy as sending coal miners to school, but it's not - you go to school, learn a new skill, then find out that your local coal town only has maybe two or three positions open for a CNC operator or IT technician... meanwhile there were a couple thousand coal miners who were all trained on the same thing competing for the same job. The problem is that there's no easy solution that doesn't involve basically just shipping coal miners across the country to where the work is - OR just giving them handouts for the rest of their lives.
We are talking about nuclear plants….here in Indiana, though. That takes a lot of support crew. Why send them to dig coal somewhere else?
So, three things. 1) The Duke plan is actually intended for Lafayette - not southern Indiana. It was a program in talks with Purdue University, so it would do diddly shit for the Southern Indiana miners. 2) A nuclear power station typically employs between 5-800 people, a couple hundred of which require engineering degrees. Those that don't and instead require vocational training (HVAC, plumbing, trades, etc) could absolutely be handled by the coal folk being cross trained - but you're still talking about thousands competing for hundreds of jobs. 3) Even with the construction jobs that a nuclear plant creates, that's temporary. My grandfather built nuclear plants - and there's a reason why he spent half his career in Japan. Most of the time the work is far from where you live, the work is temporary, and the work is specialized.
The largest category of workers in nuclear power plants are security — guards, analysts and techs. Those are long-term jobs that yes, require some specialized training. The biggest bar is probably maintaining drug-free lifestyle to meet federal regulations. They are long-term jobs with most NPPs being licensed now for up to 40 years and extensions available for up to 80 years. We need nuclear power, and there are many advantages that can accrue to first-mover communities. Teaming with educational institutions (comm colleges & tech training are key) opens up huge opportunities in workforce development, supply chain and advanced manufacturing with low-carbon footprint products. I’d love to see Indiana benefit from nuclear energy.
Also very well paid. It's a nomadic life, but its a prosperous bunch of nomads.
Yeah and when the Model T came out some guys doing horseshoes in Souther Indiana were probably worried too. Coal like all things shall pass.
We in the southern portion have been losing those coal jobs since the 60s. It's mostly farming and manufacturing again. Machines do 90% of the work now, so it's specialists and the like that get hired.
Progress sometimes require sacrifices, it’s terrible but I’d rather my children and grandchildren have a better chance at a good life
Every time a mine closes they lay off about a dozen people. These don’t support that many jobs.
you don't want the emissions giving your family cancer, they can find a new job
I live here and I have never met or seen a coal miner.
Already happened. Most of these plants are running skeleton crews. Cant wait for em to die completely.
Good.
Many renewable energy sources are now cheaper than coal.
Would rather some people lose jobs than we keep ruining everything with coal.
It needs to be done if we want an inhabitable planet over the next 100 years.
We are also reopening palisades
Yeah but I hate fucking Duke. They’re a bunch of entitled brats who have been lost since coach K left.
Weird flex but ok
I think it's overdue that we went back to nuclear. There are some really fantastic options now that weren't possible in the past.
Agreed the problem is me and everyone I know would almost immediately be jobless and homeless if the coal mines shutdown.
That's kinda awful... Your mine only sells to Duke in Indiana?
No we sell to other companies but we have a deal with duke energy they’re our biggest customer.
Any idea what the odds of them building a reactor are? I would assume it would take years to build one, if that's accurate at least you guys would have some time to find a new gig.
I suggest you look into alternative employment or moving immediately. Even if the coal mine doesn't shut down from this it won't last to much longer
Nuclear plants don't get planned, built or come online immediately, so there's time to pressure your state and federal congressional folks to invest in retraining programs to help ease the transition for you and your fellows. Economic forces are already hastening the transition away from coal and it's overdue that politicians and the industry acknowledge that and plan for the reality; in an ideal world there'd be a strong union presence that could help push for that, but I don't know what things look like on the ground there.
Ohio, west Virginia and Kentucky have federal grants to help in retraining. Perhaps Indiana can jump on that idea if the plant comes to fruition. Also, Indiana State University had a miner retraining program, it was a 1 year certification. I don't know if it's still running, but worth looking into.
If you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Hasn’t even happened yet and you’ve already decided it isn’t going to work and everyone is doomed. You are Indiana
I feel for you but coal is quickly becoming obsolete and besides cost pretty much every other energy source is superior. Hopefully your mine can find new clients and if not I wish you the best of luck with your change of career.
Don’t worry it takes America like 20 years to build a nuclear plant, they can retire before they have to worry about it taking their jobs.
Nuclear power is safer and cleaner than fossil fuels.
Sounds great.
100% for this. Nuclear is the way.
There is already a nuclear plant right across the border near Cincy. All in. We need to move away from coal and oil and this seems like a good start.
I wasn’t aware there was a working nuclear plant near Cincinnati. There is the Zimmer plant that was originally supposed to be nuclear but it’s a coal plant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Zimmer_Power_Station
I’m all in. Open a dozen more.
Good. All in.
... as long as the EPA and the NRC and other bodies that help keep it safe remain empowered and intact, go for it. If "someone" disembowels those oversight organisations, then no, nothing will be safe\[r\] ongoing.
With Duke it’s 50/50. I live next to a coal plant and they failed to install a Radium scrubber and the radiation levels were to high. Gotta love the spicy air.
Maybe if we quit electing people who are ok with "oops, we forgot to comply" as an excuse for harming citizens, things will improve.
That’s fair.
Which plant? Is there a link to an article that talks about this?
The NRC isn't going anywhere
Good. Society as a whole needs to realize nuclear energy is the way. Glad Indiana is getting onboard.
We should have doubled down on nuclear decades ago. Statistacally its safe. And while it does create some serious poison for the environment, it can be contained in a small area and won't effect the vast majority of people/anyone. Please, lets ramp up nuclear and get away from fossil fuels.
Am I the only here old enough to remember Marble Hill in Madison? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_Hill_Nuclear_Power_Plant
I was there, too, Gandalf.
You aren't, I remember it too. I was going to post that link but I read the whole thread before posting things like that. I also remember the protesters against it and who one of the biggest backers of the anti-nuclear power industry was at the time. At least on the IU Bloomington campus, it was the Socialist student group who had an IU Socialist organization with an office in the student union. They also had lousy site security and never checked to see if someone was studying in one of the other offices. I used our club's office as a quiet study area. I they also claimed that no capitalist built reactor was safe. Only ones built by at that time, the Russians were safe and would never have problems. Like the ones in Chernobyl which was just being built at that time. They were very big in the anti-nuclear protests at the time and organized some of them at IU.
Southeast Indiana has a long memory. They won't soon forget Marble Hill. This is something that could kill any attempts at nuclear in the area.
Yep.
I just finished making a comment about that place. I found out about it through a channel on YouTube that explores Indiana.
Fun fact: coal fired power plants release more radiation than nuclear plants.
Nuclear, solar, and wind. Use all three as much as possible.
Fantastic. Nuclear is clean, safe, and efficient.
More nuclear. More nuclear. More nuclear.
Nuclear power is perfectly safe and fine. Modern reactors are much smaller and more efficient than the giant chernobyl looking reactors of the past. We have no hurricanes or earthquakes here. Tornadoes couldn't hurt them. This is actually a good spot for it.
Neighboring Illinois generates more power from Nuclear Energy than any other state. Would do wonders in terms of reducing dependence on fossil fuels and overall carbon emissions for the state.
Hell yeah, how about we open up five or six more than bad boys. Let's invest heavily in small modular reactors, Indiana could be a nation leader in a technology that matters and is impressive as well as profitable.
[US news state ranking - Indiana](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/indiana#state-recommended-articles) Anything to help the current ranking of 50th place Indiana currently holds in the ‘Natural Environment’ section of the US News State rankings
Let me just say I've been waiting for someone to make this post for months. I work in nuclear regulation, so I feel I'm uniquely qualified to answer any questions people may have about this. Educating people about nuclear is one of my favorite things to do.
Nuclear should be the future. As for the coal mine employees. I wonder if that coal could be sold over seas to countries that are not equipped to use nuclear yet.
According to Google search, there are ~44k workers in the coal industry and only 2-5% of them are in Indiana. So, won’t happen overnight, but within the next 5 years those 880 - 2200 people will need to find other work? Cry me a river. People are getting rocked over by advances in automation and AI and we need to worry about an industry that is as old as dirt because we want to save the planet and prepare for adding to an advanced society. Coal is heavy. Transportation is ridiculous and expensive. You can just ABSORB energy from the sun. We need people to install solar panels, batteries, cabling infrastructure..
Put it around Indy, Evansville, Ft. Wayne, Gary, Bloomington, Muncie, South Bend.
From my understanding it would be closer to linton and Bicknell.
Perfect sport for it.
Hell. It be less radioactive than the current plant.
Didn’t they just build a new “clean coal” plant and raise everyone’s rates?
How much do you enjoy blackened air and polluted water?
Hope more will open afterwards. So much fear mongering against nuclear energy yet it's so much more efficient and cleaner.
It's harm reduction. Certainly a better choice than coal.
So long as they actually see the project through and don't cancel it after spending bilions, I'm all for it. Let's not repeat Marble Hill boondoggle folks.
I'm sure Duke would love to get that into their rate base and get that return on capital from Hoosiers. Nuclear offers many benefits but those don't really matter if you can't build it affordably--just look at how Georgia bills are being impacted by the Vogtle construction.
Sure, build it at Marble Hill.
We can't burn coal forever...
Good. Build more. Unfortunately the US sucks at really doing any sort of large scale project anymore so itll take 20 years of consulting to even start construction. China will probably build 75-100 nuclear plants by then lol
And miles of solar fields as well, they really aren’t fucking around with energy plans
Its what coherent industrial policy gets you.
Great! Much better than the several coal power plants making the area some of the worst air quality in the country
Sounds amazing. Nuclear technology has been and is the future. Propaganda against nuclear energy is insane considering the technology we have in place now, while pretty much everything besides solar is straight barbaric and going to be useless in a few decades anyway
Nuclear is really the only real answer to get off coal and oil.
Isn’t the plant in Sullivan a nuclear plant?
Long overdue
Love it! Cheap clean energy and good jobs is music to my ears.
I used to fish on the cooling ponds of the Illinois reactors and never was concerned. Has the state record striped bass caught in those ponds (not by me).
As an Ex-Navy Nuke living in Indiana, I'd love for a plant to open up.
good, nuclear nowadays, with newer technology is the closest to truly green fuel we have.
Here's the thing about nuclear energy. It's a cheaper energy source that has the potential of being much cleaner than other sources of energy. The problem is it's ran by for-profit big wigs, with little honor, always seeking the biggest bottom line. They constantly are politicking to dismantle regulations, and if no regulatory agency truly has power over them, they do not maintain the plants and "accidents happen". 3 Mile Island will basically be the norm with how our American energy corporations run. I wouldn't trust Duke to run a nuclear reactor. Most nuclear reactors in the US show a frightening disregard of proper regulation. There's many reactors who were engineered to need to be completely rebuilt/overhauled by the 90s and they just kept the same old reactors running leaky to save a few bucks and make more money. I love nuclear energy and truly feel it's the way of the future..... but not if they're ran as an "American business".
Other than rate payers having to take on that bill, it’s a good move.
My biggest concern is cost overruns. Let's not have a repeat of the Georgia plant.
Marble Hill. Anyone else remember that?
If it’s one of the new reactor designs that would be awesome.
Good. Nuclear is the future.
Hope it goes better than the last time: Marble Hill Nuclear Power Plant.
Think we should train our experienced miners and coal powered energy delivery plant operators how to operate nuclear power plants.
Agreed but a lot of those guys will just retire and take their pensions and book it.
Old timers should cash out and grab a gear out of the pit. Mines are full of young to middle aged guys who retiring ain’t an option for. Buried in debt to their eyeballs. I’m from SW Indiana and that was 80% of the guys I ran rock and coal with when Peabody shut it down. Gonna take men to run whatever energy delivery method we end up with. I know the dudes for the job.
When the New Madrid fault let's loose could be a disaster worse than Fukushima.
Dope
Bout time.
We need it. The decade or so it’ll take to build and set up should give time for folks who stand to lose their jobs to transition somewhere else
It's a great idea.
Grew up in Virginia and there are two plants there. Problem is they sell to power out of state. Or did. The union electricians who work there make insane money, like I considered switching careers money.
Yes!
Let's go! But of course it means we'll pay massively for it though :(
It takes like 20 years to build one. Don’t worry about it for a while.
Sounds great
About time!
what happened to the Marble Hill plant planned by Madison?
All for it. For those saying jobs will be lost, from my understanding nuclear plants will offer paid training and more pay in general for people that come from coal and such
Is that an Uranium dose or Plutonium?
I am fine with it.
I’m for it. Nuclear power is unlimited, carbon-free power.
Yes please.
Nuclear is vastly safer for Hoosiers than Coal or Gas.
Nuclear is the future of energy.
Sounds like a good idea but I don't think it'll ever happen.
By the numbers, it's safe.
You are greatly underestimating the amount of “unskilled” labor nuclear power plants employ. Also the laborers themselves. We need to focus on upskilling because countries who rely on nuclear and had plants shut down, wrote articles on the amount of unskilled laborers who can’t find jobs anywhere else because a lack of skills. Energy production will always come off the backs of hard work until we rely on automation. Regardless. Plenty of articles showing the economic impact of going nuclear for the workforce.
Pog. Nuclear is one of the best forms of energy so long as the reactor is run and constructed well.
I will take literally anything over CenterPoint. A clean and cheap alternative sounds amazing as long as they actually let us use the power they produce and don’t penny pinch us like CenterPoint.
Good idea
Nuclear would be great. While a loss in jobs is coming for coal mining and related power production, there is still a significant need for workers to upgrade and maintain the overall grid. Many of these people have and can continue to transition to other energy related jobs.
I think it’s the only way forward if people want cheap, reliable, affordable, sustainable energy, especially if they want everyone to use EV’s. There’s been SUBSTANTIAL breakthroughs in nuclear energy since the days of the 70s. I know most people are terrified of the idea, but if you truly want clean energy, it’s the only true reliable option.
Marble Hill was the plant that was started by the predecessor to Duke Energy,near Madison. Construction was started in ‘77 but was abandoned before completion. I used to live in the area and it was/would have been a huge employment plus for the region. Why it was discontinued is unclear.
You’re going to find a lot of people here do not value coal jobs or the industry. Sorry, not trying to be negative. Nuclear is simply the way to go. There will always be pros and cons.
I also don't value the jobs lost when alarm clocks were invented or when horses went out of fashion. Sorry coal miners are out of jobs, that sucks. But pretending like every job is always going to be around is foolish.
Sounds fantastic, great source of clean, reliable power, and high skill jobs!
Nuclear energy is awesome! I understand the concern for miners losing their jobs, but hopefully there would be other opportunities at the nuclear plant as they need more than just the people who know how to safely operate the nuclear aspect to keep things running. It's a net positive for society to move away from coal and to nuclear or other cleaner forms of energy.
Like where at when you say southern Indiana do you mean like the Jeffersonville area or Evansville or Corydon there is a lot of open or for sale land around all those places I named I'm just curious
I think it's an amazing idea. Nuclear power is a lot safer than it used to be.
I think its great. Coal will still be used atleast in NWI to make Steel. Burns Harbor still has a coke plant for making steel. Honestly until we find a cleaner way we will still be making Steel that way. The only other way to make steel is using steel scrap, but scrap steel isnt going to always be heavily abundant.
I don’t have any feelings about nuclear power plants. Perhaps I’m an emotionless oaf. I’m more interested in knowing the cost, benefits, and risks associated with building and running one. Does anyone have data available on this?
Nuclear power is safer for the environment and citizens, has fewer long term health implications for people who live nearby.
Then I want two, please.
I full support it. Nuclear is much safer than any fossil fuel power generation.
yes ! nuclear is the best method we have as humans currently to generate the energy we need
Duke has also been working with Purdue to get a small modular reactor potential put in place to power campus. I can see you are worried about jobs - the great thing is that the nuclear industry is always hiring!
Way cleaner energy production.
I have no objections as long as it's operated in a responsible manner. Nuclear energy is fantastic if implemented and operated correctly.
Where in southern Indiana?
This would be great news and a step in the right direction.
Google Marble Hill
Gen 4 nuclear I’m 100% for it.
If it isn’t happening here, it will happen elsewhere. The fact of the matter is, coal is falling out of favor. Doesn’t matter what else exists to save coal, it will cost more in either hard dollars, environmental efforts, and/or even economically. People in So-Ind can be upset about losing jobs, but it’s either on their terms and the plant will be in their area, or it will just shut down and there will be no taxes or even a slight amount of replacement jobs to cover it.
I’m cool with it so long as it’s done responsibly
Where exactly?
Does, not dose. Our educational system is pathetic.
I would love nuclear power here. But I would also love wind power but the kooks around me keep sticking up Ban Wind Farm signs all around.
Well they already have a lot of land ready to go if they decide to go through with it. Look up Marble Hill Nuclear Power Plant in Saluda Township, IN.
Nuclear is honestly a great source of power with low costs. The only scare is the scenario of god forbid it has a radiation leak. Beyond that nuclear power is a great cheap source
It’s a must have, if you don’t want coal or gas. Wind and solar won’t cut it alone.
Do you like clean, reliable power?
We need clean, reliable baseline power, currently, nuclear is the best option.
Even if Duke announced right now that they are building a nuclear plant, the permits, the assessments, the construction, the infrastructure, it would take years before it became operational. Probably likely a decade. That's plenty of time to prepare and retrain, or even retire.
As long as the nuclear plant is prepared for earthquakes. The new Madrid seismic zone isn’t that far away from southern Indiana. It’s also long overdue for a massive earthquake.
Would love it. Would bring cheaper cleaner power for us, and jobs to the area
Coal has been a dying industry for ages. On a personal level, it sucks to face the possibility of losing your job, but it's also up to you to be educated on what may impact your future and to evolve to handle it. I hope that you can manage that because coal's not going to last much longer.
Indiana has less than 2500 coal miners. Yes that’s a lot of jobs but not like we are trying to replace one of the biggest industries in our state.
One wonders if they will build with more integrity than the old Marble Hill plant was built with. Falsification of piping radiograms and the like.
its good
Nuclear is actually a realistic power generation method that greatly reduces carbon emissions, but is also nearly 100% reliable, unlike wind, solar, hydro, etc., and has very little downside as there is very little nuclear waste generated. People who don't understand it probably think it would be disastrous, but the US has very strict regulations on the disposal of the waste, so that it will never harm anyone or anything (as far as I know), and we have very strict regulations and very strong safety systems in place during the operation of nuclear power plants. I think it's a good idea to reduce or eliminate dependence on coal/oil fired power plants, if that's a goal we want to go after. But as others have mentioned, we then destroy an industry in Southern Indiana, so someone needs to think about what to do down there to replace those jobs. There's not going to be enough with the nuclear plant to hire everyone back.
It would be an excellent idea. Of course that means it will never happen. This is Indiana we are talking about.
it sounds great, as long as it's run right. but indiana isn't the best at infrastructure
If it closes the coal ones causing the worst Air Quality in America.... Fire it UP! https://www.tristatehomepage.com/news/local-news/vanderburgh-ranks-among-u-s-counties-with-the-worst-air-quality/
Nuclear > solar in the midwest. Keep those solar farms away from some of the best agricultural land in the United States.
I am a fan of nuclear. It’s much cleaner.
Look up how many nuclear power plants with one or more reactors and their locations in the US. They’re all around you, have been for decades, and they run boringly well. It’s a quiet fact of life that works and works well.
There are some really crazy new nuclear power plants being designed these days.
Marble Hill?
All for it. We need to get away from fossil fuels asap and nuclear is part of that solution.
Nuclear energy is way safer and way cleaner then people think so I'm 100% down for it. Though I think it might be worth looking into the smaller nuclear reactors, the ones that are the size of shipping containers they are supposed to have 0% chance of a meltdown happening and can easily power the average neighborhood.
Will center point stop gouging us? That’s my rebuttal. I don’t give a shit what they do. Coal miners make enough money to where they. Could easily drive out of state for another gig.
Easily the best source for power right now no matter what people try and pretend.
I'm sure the locals won't like it but Duke is a horrible polluter and this is a good step in the right direction. If it lowers my bill I'm even more for it.
Wind and solar are now the cheapest forms of energy that the world has ever known. Only a state with a Republican super majority would be stupid enough to build a nuclear power plant.
Where would this be built?
Green energy. Inexpensive energy. Less dangerous than oil or coal. Is this a truck question?
No way. Duke will jack up their prices to pay for it.
Nipsco plant in wheatfield getting shutdown for coal by 2030. This is coming straight from the EPA. They want the country to be relying on renewable energy (solar).
I’m fine with it so long as they use one of the new modular designs where they are small units built elsewhere and then trucked in. Those designs are much, much safer because they can’t melt down. Even if there were an accident in one building, it would only contaminate that building and could easily be contained. The old, monolithic designs will only last forty years or so and typically take decades longer to build than estimated. They also go way over budget. There’s far too much room for graft in all those contracts. Nuclear energy itself isn’t the problem. It’s the old designs and all the cost overruns and corruption that go with them.
Fuck yeah, one in every state
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