The face of energy on Cape Cod
All electricity generation comes with costs. A brief tour of power sources on and around Cape Cod highlights some of the financial, environmental, and public health concerns.
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The nuclear option
I was turned around at the gate, so this is the only shot I got of Entergy's Plymouth Pilgrim nuclear power plant. The station is currently in the fifth year of license renewal hearings.
Warning sirens
Sirens and loudspeakers along the roads surrounding Pilgrim Nuclear would warn neighbors in case of an emergency. They don't broadcast news about elevated levels of the radioactive element tritium in groundwater surrounding the plant. Levels are within safe drinking water standards but are the focus of much opposition to the plant's license renewal.
Back-up plan
Mirant Canal electrical plant currently operates 24/7 as a back-up for electricity brought onto Cape Cod by two major transmission lines. Plans to run a third line across the canal will force Mirant to find new buyers for its electricity.
Cooking with gas
Located on the shores of the Cape Cod Canal next to the Sandwich Marina, Mirant Canal is a gas-powered electrical station. Fuel for the plant is brought in by barge. One such barge spilled almost 100,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil into Buzzards Bay in 2003.
Blowin' in the wind
Three wind turbines - one town-operated (foreground), one owned by a private developer (background), and one on the Massachusetts Military Reserve (not in photo) - are visible from Falmouth's Wastewater Treatment Plant. A second town-owned turbine is under construction.
The future?
Residents living near the Falmouth turbines have complained that turbine noise is causing health problems. Several proposals for wind turbines on the outer Cape have been shot down by residents concerned about noise and visual impacts.