Posted on Jun 30, 2022
Nuclear power is gaining support after years of decline. But old hurdles remain
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https://www.npr.org/2022/06/30/ [login to see] /nuclear-power-gains-support-years-decline-hurdles
At the Nuclear Energy Assembly in Washington, D.C., this June, speaker Maria Korsnick urged the audience of hundreds to picture a world in which nuclear energy is triumphant.
"In this clean energy future, hundreds of reactors — from the existing models that we have today to advanced reactors both large and small — dot the landscape," said Korsnick, who's president and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade association.
Such a future would have been harder to even imagine a few years ago.
Over the past decade, nuclear power plants across the country have been shutting down early in favor of cheaper natural gas power.
Now, an influx of investment from the government and the private sector is changing the trajectory of the aging U.S. nuclear fleet and spurring development of new nuclear technology.
But many of the same old hurdles to scaling up nuclear power remain.
At the Nuclear Energy Assembly in Washington, D.C., this June, speaker Maria Korsnick urged the audience of hundreds to picture a world in which nuclear energy is triumphant.
"In this clean energy future, hundreds of reactors — from the existing models that we have today to advanced reactors both large and small — dot the landscape," said Korsnick, who's president and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade association.
Such a future would have been harder to even imagine a few years ago.
Over the past decade, nuclear power plants across the country have been shutting down early in favor of cheaper natural gas power.
Now, an influx of investment from the government and the private sector is changing the trajectory of the aging U.S. nuclear fleet and spurring development of new nuclear technology.
But many of the same old hurdles to scaling up nuclear power remain.
Nuclear power is gaining support after years of decline. But old hurdles remain
Posted from npr.org
Nuclear
Energy
Washington
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said nuclear's "unique liabilities and risks, both with regards to safety and security" also must be a part of any discussion over its usefulness. He points to the 2011 meltdown at a plant in Fukushima, Japan, and Russia's shelling of Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, earlier this year as examples of what can go wrong. There is also still no model for disposing of nuclear waste long-term, although Finland has created the first permanent repository for its spent fuel.
In the race to figure out a way to transition off carbon, energy experts differ on how much nuclear power should play a part. Many models for lowering greenhouse gas emissions rely on keeping steady the amount of nuclear power that exists now, if not growing it. But alternative ones, such as a recent Stanford University study, show a path to zero carbon emissions without any nuclear power.
Jason Bordoff, director of the Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, said skepticism is warranted regarding any new energy technology, "whether it's green hydrogen, long-duration storage, or advanced nuclear."
But with time running out to avert the worst effects of climate change, he said it's good to have options.
"We are so far away from coming anywhere close to meeting our climate goals that we're going to need all the tools in the toolbox," Bordoff said."
..."Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said nuclear's "unique liabilities and risks, both with regards to safety and security" also must be a part of any discussion over its usefulness. He points to the 2011 meltdown at a plant in Fukushima, Japan, and Russia's shelling of Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, earlier this year as examples of what can go wrong. There is also still no model for disposing of nuclear waste long-term, although Finland has created the first permanent repository for its spent fuel.
In the race to figure out a way to transition off carbon, energy experts differ on how much nuclear power should play a part. Many models for lowering greenhouse gas emissions rely on keeping steady the amount of nuclear power that exists now, if not growing it. But alternative ones, such as a recent Stanford University study, show a path to zero carbon emissions without any nuclear power.
Jason Bordoff, director of the Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, said skepticism is warranted regarding any new energy technology, "whether it's green hydrogen, long-duration storage, or advanced nuclear."
But with time running out to avert the worst effects of climate change, he said it's good to have options.
"We are so far away from coming anywhere close to meeting our climate goals that we're going to need all the tools in the toolbox," Bordoff said."
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California is considering decommissioning the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in 2025. If that happens with the state going all green, that state will have rolling blackouts like they do in Baghdad. We are now finding out from last year how cutting back on fossil fuel or nuclear energy can cause nine kinds of Hell during Peak summer electricity usage in both Europe and California especially if the wind stops blowing. Fossil fuels are not going away by 2,035. Also, if everybody is hooked up to the grid to charge their electric cars, what's going to happen when the system comes crashing down? I really like the Ford Fusion Hybrid car. It's too bad they got rid of it because I didn't sell well. That car could get 40 to 50 miles per gallon doing 80 mph because it would use the electric motors when posting
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