Power Plant Developments in US - Impacts on Society & Environment - Essay Sample

Introduction

The increasing demand for energy in the United States had led to the need for the construction of more power plants. However, the main question is how the construction of these power plants affect societal perception. The development of new policies and strategies with the integration of modern technology in the developments of power plants has shown the need to consider environmental and economic issues. The United States has taken various measures to address social problems that arise in the construction of power plants as well as consideration of public policy. The US aims to achieve viable development of the power plant while upholding the dimension of social factors.

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The construction of power plants has its pros and cons. Power plants include; wind farms, geothermal energy, hydroelectric power, photovoltaics and nuclear power plants ("Environmental and Social Risk Briefing Power Generation", 2015). The impacts of power plants depend on the type of plant to be constructed. For instance, coal or fossil fuel power plants have enormous implications for the environment, while solar based power plants have low impacts on the environment.

Clear, and a well-defined strategy of developing a power plant model can lead promote constructions of an environmentally friendly plant ("Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Report", 2009). Power plants are cost-effective and provide low-cost energy that society can afford. Power plants are very significant in the maintenance of a state's economy by the provision of taxes.

The previous power plants experienced significant issues, including cost and schedule overrun. These issues were mainly experienced in the construction of nuclear power plants leading to poor performance. Power plants impact of societal issues include; many coals fired power plants leads to deposition f high-Sulphur coal; this has led to their closure. The closure of such power plants has led to the loss of jobs and also reduce the money flow in the area. A small business supplying the plant with products are forced to shift for other markets, or they die up.

The public opinion on the use of nuclear power plants is usually a vital issue ("Environmental and Social Risk Briefing Power Generation", 2015). Negative public opinion may lead to loss of reputation and risk of losing credit for an investor. The public may raise concerns on; the possibility of radiative contamination, nuclear waste storage, long term impact on the environment, health pollution risks, and the potential risk caused by electromagnetic fields.

Based on Josimovic and Milijic (2017), a strategic approach can be taken to avoid negative societal impacts on the environment. Some measures that can be taken include; power plants should not be built in sensitive environments, for instance, active marine sites, the location of construction should not be populated, power plants should employ necessary measures for disposing of hazardous waste, the power plants should also manage emissions effectively, and employ effective management of water.

The construction of power plants needs to realize a solid agreement on the positive and negative drivers on social sustainability ("Environmental and Social Risk Briefing Power Generation", 2015). The construction of power plants should consider environmental regulations as well as ecological review reports before the development of power plants (Josimovic and Milijic, 2017). In the construction of power plants, the associated company should provide information on how they are planning to protect biodiversity and the necessary measures it will take to tackle the adverse environmental and social effects of the plant. A comprehensive project development plan should be created to oversee the impacts as well as the outcomes of the project.

References

"Environmental and Social Risk Briefing Power Generation." Barclays, vol. 6.0, Mar. 2015, pp. 1-29.

Josimovic, Bosko, and Sasa Milijic. "Spatial Aspects of Environmental Impact of Power Plants." Recent Improvements of Power Plants Management and Technology, July 2017. www.intechopen.com, doi:10.5772/intechopen.68283.

"Environmental and social impact assessment (esia) report." Environmental consultancy co., Aug. 2009, pp. 1-600.