Features
Is this the time for Nuclear Power?
Posted on: July 30, 2007
By Robert Guymon
July 30, 2007
The demand and cost of energy is rising to the stratosphere. The climate is warming up. Weather patterns are a changing. Nuclear energy may be the answer to our energy and environmental worries.
Nuclear energy makes up for approximately 20 % of power produced in the United States. The nuclear power industry suffered a public perception setback after the Three Mile Island Unit 2 accident on March 28, 1979. The reactor lost coolant that caused the core to melt. There were no deaths or injuries from the mishap. It has been about 30 years since a new commercial nuclear reactor has come on line. An additional blow to the nuclear power industry was the April 28, 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station Unit 4 accident in the Ukraine (in the former USSR). The power station experienced an increase of power that released a large amount of radiation into the atmosphere. There was a large fire and the reactor was destroyed. There were 31 people that died in the accident itself and those fighting the fire afterwards. 135,000 people were evacuated. There were great many deaths and illness from the after affects of radiation exposure.
Since these events the nuclear industry has gained a vast knowledge on reactor safety and emergency preparedness which can prevent major catastrophes like Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) built the Loss of Fluid Test (LOFT) reactor to study what happens when a reactor looses its coolant. The core of the Three Mile Island reactor was studied at the INL as well.
The nuclear industry is stringently regulated. There are many procedures that need to be followed and approvals have to be given before any work can be done. This ensures that all safety precautions are addressed. Every possible hazard must be identified and mitigated. If any thing out of the ordinary occurs a full investigation of the incident and review of procedures be performed. This is to determine what caused the situation and prevent it from happening again. This policy extends to clerical errors also.
Contrary to popular belief or political correctness nuclear power can be environmentally friendly. A nuclear power plant does not create greenhouse gases like coal fire and natural gas plants, burning of oil, and the combustion engine. Greenhouse gases contain Carbon Dioxide (CO2); Methane (CH4) – also comes naturally from cows; Nitrous Oxide (NO2); and Fluorinated Gasses.
Nuclear energy is a “carbon free technology” according to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI); therefore electric power from nuclear reactors cuts down on carbon emissions. Reactors unlike coal fire plants do not emit CO2 gases that contribute to global warming. Today 440 operating reactors in 31 countries (The United States has 103); produce 17% of all electricity comes from nuclear power.
Today’s reactors are Generation III that includes Advanced Boiling Water Pressurized Reactors. More advanced Generation III+ advanced light water reactors that will have more safety features are scheduled to be operational in 2010. Reactor designs have to be certified by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 provides incentives to construct new commercial nuclear reactors. The policy includes tax credits for research and production of new advanced reactor designs. There is compensation for delays in construction, operation or litigation by the NRC. New nuclear power plants are eligible for 1.8 cents per kilowatt hour production tax credit for the first eight years after the reactor goes on line. This Act also provides funding for research and development along with building new advanced Generation IV reactors. Operation of these new reactors will start about 2030. The INL has been designated as the premier lab for new reactor development. Nuclear waste is a major concern so the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada will need to be open before new reactors go on line.
There are six types of Generation IV reactors that the INL are developing:
• Supercritical-Water-Cooled Reactor (SCWR) is a high-pressure water-cooled reactor.
• Gas- Cooled Fast Reactor (GER) is a fast-neutron-spectrum, helium-cooled reactor with a closed fuel cycle.
• Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor (LER) is a fast spectrum lead or lead/bismuth eutectic liquid metal cooled reactor with a closed fuel cycle for efficient conversion of fertile uranium and management of actinides.
• Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) is a fast-spectrum, sodium-cooled reactor with a closed fuel cycle for efficient management of actinides and conversion of fertile uranium.
• Molten Salt Release Reactor (MSR) produces fusion power in a circulating molten salt fuel a mixture with an epithermal-spectrum reactor with a full actinide recycle fuel cycle.
• Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) is a graphite-moderated helium-cooled reactor with once-through uranium fuel cycle.
The starts up costs for a nuclear power plant are enormous and include licensing, permits, design, and construction. Even with high start up costs electricity from nuclear power is very competitive with coal and gas power plants. The Nuclear Energy Institute reported the cost of producing electricity in the United States from 1995 to 2005 per kilowatt hour are:
• Nuclear 1.72
• Coal 2.21
• Gas 7.51
• Oil 8.09
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projects electricity generating costs in the United States for 2010 to be:
• Nuclear 4.65
• Coal 3.65
• Gas 4.90
Companies that are involved in the new generation of nuclear power plants are Westinghouse Electric, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Areva. These companies are in the process of having designs approved by the NRC. Bechtel and Babcock & Wilcox also may be gearing up for new nuclear power plants as well.
Americans are growing weary with the high cost of energy and being dependant on rouge countries for oil. It is time for America to take the lead again in nuclear power. This country first split the atom and was the trailblazer for nuclear energy. It is time for America to take control of its energy needs and to lead the world again in science and technology. If America takes the lead in developing new reactors we can be energy independent and slow down the impact of global warming. This will have a positive impact on America and the world for many generations.
Share This
Your Comments
Commenting is closed for this article.
Click here to go to Features Archives
Great article – except one mistake. INEL solved the nuclear waste problem about 14 years ago. NOVA even did a show on it. Basically, recycle all the useful materials out of the spent fuel rods – that reduces the volume of waste to about 1% or 2% of original, leaving just the “hot, nasty, 10,000 year half-life” waste. Turn that waste into pellets in a new “special” fuel rod and put it back in the reactor for a year. At the end of the year, the additional nuclear bombardment has “burned up” that waste. Take that special fuel rod and again recycle all the useful stuff, and what waste remains has only low level radiation, with a 300-year half life – and again it is only a few percent of the original volume of the “hot, nasty” stuff. In essence, this approach could take all the nuclear waste generated in this country and reduce it down to the size of a few shoeboxes – and the radiation level is so low that shielding isn’t a problem. So why is this not available? It is not “politically correct” with all the anti-nukes and their cronies in government – and won’t be until they are the last ones with electricity (which most of them have enough money to afford long after you and I are back to tallow candles and iceboxes).
— Keith Jensen · Sep 7, 09:20 PM · #
Thanks for the information.
I think you are right about the political correctness when you look at how long and how much electricity is produced by nuclear power both in the US and in Europe.
— Idaho Examiner · Sep 8, 11:40 AM · #