Progress Energy has pre-announced a December 31 announcement of its desire to build a nuclear power plant in Levy County. Cedar Key News has learned that the proposed site for the plant is near Ingles, 28 miles southeast of Cedar Key. Design, permitting, financing and construction of the nuclear power plant are technical aspects of the plant that Progress Energy must address. The impact of the project on Levy County must be considered by the citizens and Board of Commissioners of Levy County. Factors that will be discussed are: safety, job creation, security, environmental impact and tax revenue. There are 441 nuclear power plants worldwide. One hundred and three plants are in the United States. There have not been any plants built in the U.S. since the accident at the Three Mile Island plant near Harrisburg, PA in 1979. The massive disaster at the Ukrainian nuclear plant in 1986 added to concerns about the safety of nuclear power. The recognition of global warming, the unavoidable consequence of burning fossil fuels, has given nuclear power a higher priority in making policy. Increasing dependence on foreign oil sources has also made nuclear power more attractive. In anticipation of an active debate, pro and con, about nuclear power in Levy County, Cedar Key News will publish a series of three articles covering the technical, environmental and financial aspects of nuclear power. | 