Nuclear power an important part of state’s clean-energy portfolio
By PATRICK MOORE
July 23, 2010
As the U.S. gears up to develop sustainable methods to meet rising energy demand cleanly, few states are as well-positioned as Washington. Hydropower is a big contributor to the state’s carbon-free electricity supply, thanks to the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Washington ranks fifth out of all states for wind-power production. And the state has vast potential for geothermal energy.
Not as well known is the role that nuclear energy plays in protecting Washington’s atmosphere. Last year, nuclear energy generated in the state prevented 5.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of removing nearly 400,000 passenger cars. And nuclear reactors produce more than 70 percent of the country’s emissions-free electricity every year.
I am back in the Pacific Northwest this week as co-chair of the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition (CASEnergy), meeting with community, business and policy leaders in Seattle and Tacoma to make sure they are fully informed about the important role nuclear plays as part of the nation’s clean energy mix.
CASEnergy is a national grass-roots coalition comprising people from all across the country in business, labor, industry, academia, politics and the environmental community, united in their support of nuclear power as part of the country’s green energy portfolio.
The latest Gallup poll shows 62 percent of Americans – an all-time high – favor the use of nuclear energy. Earlier this month, Washington state Sens. Jerome Devlin and Larry Haler joined the newly formed bipartisan National Nuclear Caucus to demonstrate their support for the expansion of nuclear energy in Washington and around the country.
U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco, has also endorsed the caucus and believes it will enable Congress to be better positioned to support new nuclear plants.
The industry’s support extends to the White House, as President Barack Obama has made nuclear energy a key component of his strategy to build a clean energy economy and put Americans back to work.
Earlier this year, he extended the first loan guarantee to the industry to help attract private financing for two new reactors in Georgia in what will be the state’s largest construction project, employing up to 3,500 workers. Over the last three years, in a period of dramatic economic constriction, the nuclear industry has created more than 15,000 jobs nationally.
Federal support has been critical to winning over investors who still remember the cost overruns in the 1980s. Fortunately, many of the conditions that led to past cost increases and construction delays no longer exist.
Nuclear reactor designs have become more standardized, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has developed a new approach that enables it to approve designs and sites up-front under a single license. The process has been restructured to ensure that design, safety, siting and public concerns are settled before a company starts building a new plant.
Nuclear plants may be more expensive to build than coal or gas, but they more than make up for their construction costs by providing consumers with one of the lowest-cost options for emissions-free electricity. At 2 cents per kilowatt-hour, nuclear-sourced energy is about 30 percent cheaper to produce than carbon-heavy coal, and about 60 percent cheaper than natural gas.
Washington is also primed to address the issue of spent fuel storage. Members of the president’s Blue Ribbon Commission were in Washington last week meeting with Gov. Chris Gregoire. One promising area they are exploring: recycling spent fuel in advanced reactors, as is done in France, Japan and Britain, which will greatly reduce the volume and radioactivity of the byproducts requiring disposal by reusing up to 95 percent of spent uranium.
Until a long-term solution is found, used fuel will continue to be safely and securely stored at each of the nation’s 104 reactor sites, as it has been for the past 30 years without incident.
Washington’s energy mix is a snapshot into the nation’s clean energy future – and with the state actively involved in supporting the nuclear industry’s growth, that picture is getting brighter every day.
Patrick Moore, Ph.D, is the co-chair of the nuclear industry-funded Clean and Safe Energy Coalition and co-founder of Greenpeace. Moore spoke Thursday to Tacoma Rotary #8 at the Landmark Temple Theatre.
Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/07/23/1274042/nuclear-power-an-important-part.html#ixzz0uoQSUFQV
