Supporters of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant are defending its operating record in the face of a call by a consumer and environmental group that it be shut down when its current license expires in 2012.
The Vermont Public Interest Research Group says it has collected more than 12,000 signatures on postcards opposing the 20-year license extension the plant is seeking.
Lawmakers are expected to decide in their 2009 session whether the state’s lone reactor should be authorized to seek the extension.
VPIRG says the plant is aging and unsafe, and that much of its power can be replaced with wind and other renewable resources.
Photo: Allison Morse of Burlington, Vt., is surrounded by Vermont Public Interest Research Group volunteers during a news conference in Montpelier, Vt., Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)