Nuclear Weapons Plant Going "Green"

The picture above (from the website nukewatch.org) is of Pantex -- the plant where all United States nuclear weapons are assembled (and out-dated nukes are dismantled). The plant is in the Texas Panhandle, just a few miles from Amarillo.

For years now, this huge nuclear weapons plant has sucked up a significant portion of the electrical energy produced in this area. It looks like that is going to change soon. Acting on instructions from the White House for government agencies to develop homegrown energy and cut carbon pollution, the Pantex plant will break ground for a huge new wind farm in just a few days.

The wind farm will save the plant (and the federal government) about $2.8 million dollars each year in energy costs -- and that money will be used to pay for the construction (which means it won't add to the budget deficit or the national debt). It will cover about 1500 acres, and will produce  about 47 million kilowatt hours of energy each year (enough energy to supply the needs of about 3,500 homes). It will also reduce the amount of CO2 emissions by more than 35,000 metric tons each year (the equivalent of removing 7,200 cars from service).

I'm still not thrilled to have a nuclear weapons assembly plant near the city where I live, but if it has to be there, I'm at least glad they are making an effort to be a good neighbor -- by producing their own energy from a renewable and clean resource, and by lowering the pollution their energy use is responsible for. Pantex is going green -- and that's a good thing.