[NukeNet] Reaction to reactor plan positive, officials say

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Reaction to reactor plan positive, officials say
BY JIM DINO
STAFF WRITER
12/24/2007


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BERWICK — Whether PPL will build a third nuclear reactor at its  
power plant in Salem Township is the multibillion-dollar question.


If the company does move forward, it looks poised to have community  
support this time, not like the opposition when it built the first  
two reactors in the early 1980s.

And that lack of opposition is due to the positive effects the plant  
has had on the local economy and community, one local leader says.

Valerie Anderson, president of the Berwick Chamber of Commerce, said  
PPL and the plant have proven themselves to the community there. And  
not just that. The project would make Berwick a boomtown, she believes.

“It would be a big boon to the whole area,” she said. “I see  
nothing negative about it. New jobs, improving the quality of life.  
Everything would be enhanced.”

Ms. Anderson said the safety of the plant is without question.

“Safety is not a concern. They do a great job,” she said. “I was  
born and raised here. If I didn’t think it was safe, I wouldn’t be  
here.”

Lou Ramos, a PPL spokesman, said PPL is considering the project,  
because of increased power demands — it can use the power in its 29- 
county coverage area, or sell it out of town — and the fact that few  
new facilities are coming online.

“The project will create thousands of construction jobs — and it  
will take about five years to build the reactor — and then 400 to  
600 permanent jobs after the reactor is built,” he said.

Models the company is looking at in Finland and France cost $5 to 6  
billion, he said.

Herb Woodeshick, who was special assistant to the PPL president for  
the plant, said the job numbers when the plant was built in the 1970s  
are similar to what is being predicted for this project.

“At the peak of construction, there were 5,500 construction jobs,”  
Mr. Woodeshick said. “And there were 1,100 or 1,200 permanent jobs  
afterward. And there are six outages a year (for maintenance) when  
another 1,000 workers come in.

“Those people live in the area, and pay wage and real estate  
taxes,” Mr. Woodeshick added. “And with deregulation, the plant  
itself now pays taxes.”

Contact the writer: jimdino at standardspeaker.com

©The Times-Tribune 2007
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