Vermont Yankee Advertising Campaigns Heat up

With a vote by the state Senate on the future of Vermont Yankee scheduled for this Wednesday, residents of the Green Mountain State have seen a steady increase in advertising campaigns about the plant. This print ad from the IBEW Local 300, and signed by 13 labor unions, has been running in newspapers for the last week.

The copy:

This week the state Senate may vote on whether to prematurely close a clean, reliable energy supplier that provides 1/3 of the state’s electricity without producing any greenhouse gases or air pollution. And despite what some might say, the Vermont Yankee nuclear energy facility is safe. The facility ranks at the best level in each of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s 16 safety and plant performance indicators.

Members of the Senate should thoughtfully consider all of the issues surrounding operations of the plant and the long-term needs of Vermont’s residents– both the 250,000 residents that depend on the affordable electricity produced there and some 1,300 workers who are employed as a result of continued operations.

In addition to supplying reliable electricity, Entergy generates $100 million annually in economic benefits to the state and provides $400,000 to 100 local nonprofit organizations and the United Way. A vote to prematurely shut down Vermont Yankee sacrifices these benefits at a time when we can least afford it. Keep Vermont Yankee Working For Us.

In the online advertising space, Vermont Public Interest Research Group, a group opposed to Vermont Yankee, has been running a Google AdWords campaign. A Google search for "Vermont Yankee" returns VPIRG's ad [Retire VT Yankee On Time] at the top of the sponsored search results. Interestingly, they are not the lone buyers of this keyword: Vermont's Lt. Governor, Brian Dubie, a candidate for Governor, is also advertising. His message? "More Jobs for Vermont".