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Nuclear gains ground as clean energy source New York Times: Efforts across US to bail out nuclear plants; supporters include Energy Secretary, environmentalists KAY CASHMAN Petroleum News
A recent article in the New York Times reports that some state and federal officials are once again eyeing nuclear power as a plausible source of energy for the United States, despite safety concerns.
No nuclear power plants have been built in the U.S. for decades and the 2001 catastrophe in Fukushima, Japan, lessened the likelihood of public acceptance of the relatively cheap energy source - until recently, that is.
Per an article by New York Times reporter Diane Cardwell, the Paris agreement on climate change is putting pressure on the U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, prompting some government officials and environmentalists to consider nuclear power as part of the solution.
“They are now scrambling to save existing plants that can no longer compete economically in a market flooded with cheap natural gas,” the NYT reports May 31.
“Nothing else comes close,” to drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz is quoted as saying at a symposium the department hosted to look at ways to improve the nuclear industry’s prospects. Moniz is a nuclear physicist.
As a result, the NYT reports, there are “efforts across the country to bail out nuclear plants at risk of closing, with important test cases in Illinois, Ohio and New York, as well as proposed legislation in Congress.”
Safety concerns remain, but ... Concerns remain, the article says, over waste disposal, the industry’s safety record after the disasters at Fukushima and Chernobyl, and the potential for nuclear power plants to be converted into weapons factories in other countries.
Nonetheless, the NYT reports, “policy makers, analysts and executives, along with a growing number of environmentalists, say that at stake is the future of the country’s largest source of clean energy.”
In a May 31 interview, Moniz says, “Maintaining the nuclear fleet is really important for meeting our near-term and midterm goals.”
“Nuclear plants provide nearly 60 percent of carbon-free power, followed by hydroelectric plants at roughly 18 percent,” the article says.
Another factor in favor of nuclear power over other so-called green energy sources is that the plants can produce power steadily and on demand, running at more than 90 percent of their capacity.
Crisis of old age The nuclear industry, however, is “facing a crisis of old age,” with most of the country’s 99 nuclear reactors “more than 30 years old.”
On top of a need for technological and other upgrades, the price of electricity has dropped in recent years with the plentiful supply of cheap natural gas.
Lower potential revenues for owners of nuclear plants is a challenge for them because the plants require “costly upgrades and repairs during their life spans,” the NYT reports.
“We get no recognition for the fact that we emit nothing,” says Marvin S. Fertel, chief executive of the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry trade group.
Supporters of nuclear plant bailouts contend the plants should be eligible for the subsidies awarded solar and wind power, or be included in clean energy mandates.
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