Is Nuclear Power Ready to Step Out and Become a Major Player in the Energy Sector?

Whenever I think of Nuclear Power, three things come to mind. First, the Saturday Night Live skit "The Pepsi Syndrome" where Bill Murry's character spilled a coke to go on the computer which caused the problems. Second, I think of the Chernobyl accident that was the worst nuclear disaster in history. Third, I think of the movie "The China Syndrome" staring Michael Douglas, Jack Lemmon and Jane Fonda. These three incidents are ingrained in my head, and probably anyone else who is over 30 years old. Unfortunately, besides the hilariousness of the SNL skit, our attitudes towards nuclear power have been formed by a movie that shows the dangers of a nuclear plant meltdown and the dangers of an actual nuclear meltdown. This has caused Nuclear Power to be pushed back constantly as a possible source for energy consumption. However, recent events are an indication that things may be changing for the Nuclear industry.

NRG Energy, an idependent power producer based out of New Jersey was the first company in almost 30 years to apply for an application to build a new Nuclear Power Plant. Two days later, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) applied for an application as well. In fact, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees and regulates the Nuclear industry, has stated that they expect to receive 21 applications for 32 reactors over the next two years. Why is there such an increase? For 30 years, not one company would apply for an application, but now that one has, the NRC expects 21 more for a total of 32 reactors. This doesn't make much sense at first, however, when we break down some reasons why, we can see that now is the perfect time for Nuclear Power to come out of purgatory.

There were numerous reasons as to why NRG Energy became the first company in 30 years to apply for an application. They include; 1) the old process of being approved for a license has been streamlined; 2) There has been a massive increase in the concern over Global Warming and the affect that Coal-Fired plants are having on our environment; 3) no alternative source has been developed to address the high demand for energy; and 4) concerns over the safety of Nuclear Plants has decreased over the past 30 years.

Examining the first area, we can see why businesses didn't want to try and develop any new Nuclear Power plants. The old process included two steps: you had to apply for license to build the plant and then you had to get a license to operate the plant once it was completed. This means that you could get a license to build the plant only to be denied a license to actually operate the plant. From a business perspective, it is hard to get investors in your business if they think they are going to lose money, which was the case with the old process.

Secondly, the increased concerns over global warming have increased dramatically over the past few years, even turning Al Gore into a celebrity who won an Oscar award for his documentary film on Global Warming. While Global Warming is too big of a topic to be discussed in this article, it has been the focus of environmentalists. This focus has taken some heat off of the Nuclear industry and some environmentalists are actually beginning to accept that Nuclear power could help alleviate the problems of pollution that coal plants produce. In an article by Patrick Moore, a former member of Greenpeace, even stated that "nuclear energy is the only large-scale, cost-effective energy source that can reduce these (greenhouse gas) emissions while continuing to satisfy a growing demand for power." That quote pretty much sums up some of the thoughts of environmentalists regarding Global Warming and nuclear power.

Third, while Wind, Solar and Ethanol have all grown in recent years, none of them have yet to become a major replacement to coal plants or even natural gas. While Natural gas has become a cleaner source of energy, it has become expensive because of the demand for housing fuel, causing it to become a problem as well.

Finally, the issue of safety has begun to relax. In the United States, the nuclear power industry has been virtually accident-free since the accident at three mile island in 1979. This stretch of essentially zero accidents has eased some of the tension that comes with nuclear power plants and the threat of a disaster. While there are some legitimate concerns regarding the nuclear waste, there are ways to fix this concern. France, for example, has about 70 percent of their energy provided by nuclear power and they have developed ways into recycle the spent fuel.

The major concern regarding nuclear power is two fold. First, is the concern over accidents. As stated before, while there have been virtually zero incidents regarding nuclear power since 1979, the threat still remains. When an accident occurs at a coal plant or natural gas plant, it will usually only affect those people located at the plant. However, as Chernobyl showed us, when something disastrous happens at a nuclear plant, it can affect thousands upon thousands of people. This is a major concern that needs to be addressed by those companies who are looking at building a nuclear plant. Second, is the concern over the nuclear waste that is produced because of the production of nuclear energy. There have been various battles in Congress regarding the placement of spent fuel and the transport of that fuel across state lines. People are concerned about the fuel leaking or an accident happening during the transportation of the spent fuel causing a major problem. However, if companies can address this issue as well and ease consumers, it shouldn't become too big of a problem.

So, in retrospect, the three main ideas that come to mind for myself, and probably a lot of other people, are so long ago, that the Nuclear industry is starting to gain ground in the U.S. Worldwide, Resource Capital Research has found that there has been a global demand increase of 99% for new nuclear power plants since May 2006 (304 New reactors). This is something that is going to be growing in popularity and usage. Do the benefits trump the risks? That is something that all of us have to decide individually.

The following Articles were used for research and citation:

Editor, "U.S. Nuclear industry is poised to explode"; Everything Alabama, al.com

Vaughan Scully, "A U.S. Nuclear Power Renaissance", BusinessWeek.com

Resource Capital Research, "Threat of Global Warming Continues to Drive Support for Nuclear Power"; Marketwire.com