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Northwest’s Only Commercial Nuke Plant Launches Publicity Campaign

April 20, 2012 | Northwest News Network
CONTRIBUTED BY:
Anna King


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  • A new ad campaign is trying to improve the energy of nuclear power produced by the Columbia Generating Station in Richland, Wash. credit: Flickr/Nuclear Regulatory Commission
A new ad campaign is trying to improve the energy of nuclear power produced by the Columbia Generating Station in Richland, Wash. | credit: Flickr/Nuclear Regulatory Commission | rollover image for more

RICHLAND, Wash. – A Northwest utility is launching a new TV ad campaign to improve the image of nuclear power. But the ads touting nuclear energy as green might be a tough sell.

Energy Northwest operates the only commercial nuclear power plant in the region. It’s called the Columbia Generating Station in Richland.

But nuclear power just isn’t on most Northwest residents’ radar. So says John Horvick. He’s a pollster with DHM Research in Portland. He says based on his firm’s surveys, there’s keen interest in sources like wind, solar, tidal and biomass.

“We’re not really picking up a lot of interest in nuclear or a lot of opposition either,” Horvick says. “It’s not as much a top-of-mind issue as some of those other sources are.”

Energy Northwest spokesman John Dobken says nuclear power is a steady source of electricity that doesn’t pollute the air. The Columbia Generating Station is going through its federal relicensing process.

(This was first reported for the Northwest News Network.)

The Energy Northwest ad:

© 2012 Northwest News Network
Columbia Generating Station nuclear power
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