Will nuclear power make a comeback?
By Nick Edson
It’s one of the cheapest and cleanest ways to produce power.
It’s also one of the most controversial.
Supporters of nuclear power say that in terms of production costs per kilowatt-hour, nuclear power costs 1.72 cents. That compares to 2.37 cents for coal, 6.75 cents for gas and 9.63 cents for petroleum.
Nuclear power plants provide about 17 percent of the world's electricity. Some countries depend more on nuclear power for electricity than others. In France, for instance, about 75 percent of the electricity is generated from nuclear power.
In the United States, nuclear power supplies about 15 percent of the electricity overall, but some states get more power from nuclear plants than others. There are 438 nuclear power plants around the world, with 104 in the United States.
So why has nuclear power in the U.S. been about as popular as Brittany Spears at a Mother of the Year Conference?
One word: Fear.
Since the meltdown at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in March of 1979, the public has taken a guarded look at nuclear power.
But that perception is changing, says Angie Howard, a vice president of the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington, D.C.
She points to a 2007 survey by Bisconti Research, Inc. that shows that 81 percent of the public polled thinks nuclear energy has an important role in our energy future.
“Many things have changed in the last 25 years for nuclear power,” she said. “The biggest is that it is much safer. It’s also a cheap and efficient way to produce energy.”
Even critics of coal-based power plants, like Cherryland Electric customer and Sierra Club member Tom Karas feel nuclear energy is a “viable” option.
“Nuclear energy is viable from the standpoint that it is a demonstrated form of base load power,” said Karas. “As the awareness of the cost of carbon based fuels has increased, so has the research and efforts to deal with the sore points of nuclear power – what to do with the waste.”
Nuclear power is made when atoms within uranium pellets are split, releasing heat.
That heat is used to boil water, build steam and crank turbines, which generate electricity.
While the process is an economical way to produce electricity, it also produces powerful wastes that can be harmful to both people and the environment.
Spent fuel from nuclear power plants is toxic for centuries, and, as yet, there is no safe, permanent storage facility for it.
“But we have developed a used fuel management program,” said Howard. “We have developed technologies to recycle nuclear fuel. We’ve identified sites for interim storage of the used fuel, too. But we’ll still need to use places like the Yucca Mountain (in Nevada) long term for storage.”
Howard said there are environmental advantages to nuclear power.
“Using nuclear power (instead of other forms of power) reduces the carbon dioxide layer around the earth by 28 percent,” she said. “That’s a significant number.”
For the most part, she says, nuclear power is reliable, although two nuclear reactors shut down in Florida in late February, cutting off electricity to thousands of homes and businesses around the state for several hours.
Why is nuclear power making a comeback?
“We don’t have to rely on other countries for it,” said Howard. “Plus, the cost per kilowatt hour is low and it’s a clean way to produce energy.”
The biggest hurdles to building more nuclear power plants, she said, are the costs to build them and political pressure.
“But those can both be overcome,” she said. “The bottom line is that if we are serious about climate change and energy security, then nuclear power cannot be ignored.”
Howard said that to achieve 25 percent share of U.S. generated base load power by the year 2030, 45 nuclear power plants need to be built. Right now, 30 are being proposed, with more on the drawing board.
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