Do you have a say in your local government? A good representative would listen to their constituents, and given the relationship between Disney and the Districts electorate, they’re going to have a say.
At the state level this is likely true. The NRC does have the authority to reject a permit to build and/or a sale if the new owner is not deemed qualified. For example, just having the money to buy or build the plant isn’t sufficient, you would have to show the financial capability to properly maintain and operate the facility for its life and beyond. There are many costs that continue long after a nuclear plant is retired. That being said, I doubt the NRC would find RCID inadequate as an owner due to the steady cash flows from Tax dollars. To my knowledge the only non-financial limitation is they will not allow a foreign entity or government to be the majority owner and that’s for national security reasons. They cannot pick and choose owners based on whether they “like” the company.
It’s not about needing a plant. It’s about the precedent of establishing the idea that you can exclude entities from engaging in otherwise allowable activities because of their political associations.
Not fighting almost never results in things just stopping. It just becomes an invitation to seek more. Yes, fighting now may result in more fighting later but not fighting now pretty much guarantees more fighting with bigger stakes.
As a hypothetical, what if the District wanted to buy Orlando’s ownership stake in one of the reactors at St. Lucie? Or what if we were talking about Orlando? Assume they didn’t have that stake in St. Lucie, would you really be saying that the City of Orlando should be prohibited from using nuclear while other jurisdictions that provide power can?
Since when do businesses not like stability and minimizing costs? That’s your business reason, to try and avoid doing this every two years whenever someone wants to juice their fundraising and profile.
The city of Orlando cannot be restricted in the same way because it’s not a special district. As a special district RCID has a limited scope and has limited authority and those limits are set by the state. One of the purposes is to provide utility services to WDW and other businesses in the district. Restricting the district’s right to own a nuclear power plant does not stop it from achieving that goal. The district can enter into a long term PPA where they receive all or part of the output of a nuclear power plant without officially owning and operating the plant. They are also free to build and operate any other type of power generation facility that is allowed in the area. So there are options.
Municipalities are not sovereign, they too are subdivisions of the state whose authority and power are defined by the state.
Question: Just who are those other land holders?
It’s hard to say what the real impact was. I’ve seen people here state they wouldn’t go back to WDW after the initial fight and then some of the same people have since posted trip reports. I think there was some damage done but there would have been damage done by saying nothing too. Disney also has customers who expect them to speak up and be inclusive and they are trying to please them too. I know it was dismissed by many as corporate speak, but what Iger said makes sense and is probably the best approach.
That doesn’t change my point. All municipal entities are not the same.
