A Nuclear Renaissance
Posted February 1, 2010 at 4:47 am 
Filed in: Later today, we expect to learn that the President’s FY 2011 budget will include $54 billion in loan guarantees for the construction of new nuclear power plants. This is a critical step forward to the revitalization of the nuclear industry, and directly mirrors a recommendation in SAFE’s National Strategy fof Energy Security which called for an increase in the level of loan guarantees for construction of nuclear power plants and an extension of the deadline for obtaining the guarantees.
Such a step is a critical part of our energy future. Because of the uncertainty regarding the construction of new nuclear power plants, building the first few new plants ordered in over 30 years will be nearly impossible without government loan guarantees. Yet, it will be impossible to meet our energy needs in the future without nuclear power.
While wind, solar and other renewables may be emission free, none of them are proven at scale and they are generally intermittent. Nuclear power is the only proven, scalable, baseload power that is free of carbon emissions. There is, therefore, no question that it will play a critical role in a clean energy future.
The President also has directed the Secretary of Energy to convene a panel of experts to study the issue of nuclear waste. This too is a critical step forward to the revitalization of the industry. With his decision to halt to program at Yucca Mountain, we need to address the issue of nuclear waste. This expert panel is well situated to make recommendations to the nation.
While the President has directed it to find a long-term solution to managing the nation’s used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste, even an interim solution for the handling of nuclear waste is sufficient. Nuclear waste can safely and economically be stored in dry cask storage, as it is currently stored at nuclear power plants around the nation. Interim storage for several decades allows us to move forward with the development of new nuclear plants while postponing a decision on moving to a closed fuel cycle in which we reprocess nuclear waste into new fuel for nuclear plants, or develop new technologies to permanently store nuclear waste.
Together, these two steps represent an important step forward for the nuclear industry. We encourage Congress to ensure that the loan guarantees are included in the Department of Energy’s final budget. We also are confident that the renewed interest in this program will ensure that the Secretary straightens up the program, which has been criticized for poor operations in the past.
Previous Post
March 9, 2010
March 4, 2010
