Both the public and the utility will be better served if some plants are shut down and ComEd concentrates its managerial, engineering and financial resources on running the remaining nuclear plants well. It is clear that ComEd cannot safely and profitably operate all twelve of its nuclear units at once. The Midwest has a disproportionate share of the nation's older nuclear plants, But New England's' Millstone and Maine Yankee nuclear units also have major problems. Various analytical studies show that between 15 and 25 nuclear plants across the nation are uneconomic assets in a competitive market and will therefore cease operating soon. The overbuilding of nuclear plants in the 1970's and 1980's created substantial excess capacity that persuaded many Midwestern utilities to oppose energy efficiency programs, leaving largely untapped conservation market opportunities.
Renewable resources are also abundant.
The rural Midwestern Heartland offers significant biomass opportunities, too. The policy challenge is to formulate market strategies and the infrastructure to turn this potential into reality. Polling data and customer surveys consistently show strong consumer interest in purchasing cleaner and greener power in the Midwest's growing urban and suburban load centers. The demands of these customers can be met by rural constituencies seeking economic gains through wind-power and biomass development. Collectively, these renewable projects in Minnesota and Iowa will produce the equivalent power as a mid-sized nuclear plant.