Readers respond: Keep nuclear in Northwest energy mix

I used to work at the Bonneville Power Administration when op-ed writer Angus Duncan was at the Northwest Conservation and Power Planning Council. (“Opinion: A future of reliable, clean energy depends on building out Oregon’s power grid,” June 23). His article stresses wind and solar development and new transmission lines as the methods that can meet load demand and minimize carbon dioxide emissions. He’s wrong not to add that nuclear resources will be desperately needed in that mix - resources like small modular reactors - if we are to have any hope of going green.

He’s also wrong to not even mention the biggest risk to long transmission lines and to the remote switch yards that house difficult-to-replace high voltage transformers: the risk of terrorist attack. This risk comes when porous borders permit attack by terrorist countries that hate America and by drug cartels more than willing to supply violent weapons. This kind of attack could physically sever energy production and energy demand.