News Item - Greentech Media

President Obama called for "building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country" in last week's State of the Union speech. Carol Browner, Obama's energy and climate advisor, had floated some comments favorable to nuclear in the past few weeks, so this should not come as a complete surprise.

Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said Obama's mention of nuclear energy in the SOTU was the most important statement that the president has made yet on the issue of nuclear power.

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Nuclear back on the agenda in the US

Unlike power plants fueled by coal and even cleaner natural gas, nuclear reactors emit none of the heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming. Obama strongly favors capping global-warming emissions from fossil fuel plants, which would boost nuclear's prospects. Renewable energy is popular but intermittent.

Today, 104 reactors supply 20% of the United State's electricity. Just to hold that share, all 26 proposed reactors would have to be completed by 2030. And to meet global-warming goals, 42 reactors should be built the next two decades, according to the Electric Power Research Institute.

A new Gallup Poll shows a record 59% of Americans favor nuclear energy.

Here's the overview: Nuclear reactor costs have doubled in the past three years to as much as about $8 billion, Moody's Investors Service says.

They're twice as expensive as coal-fired plants and triple the cost of natural-gas plants. Reactors also are far more complex, taking up to 10 years to license and build vs. a couple of years for gas-fired plants.

Yet, nuclear plants are far less costly to operate, and the fuel, uranium, is cheaper than coal and natural gas. South Carolina Electric & Gas chose nuclear instead of natural gas to meet some of its power needs because it could produce electricity at retail rates of about 8 cents a kilowatt hour vs. about 10 cents with gas. That's after figuring in subsidies such as production tax credits and before adding potential fees on gas plants for emitting CO2.

"Nuclear came out to be a better option,"

says Stephen Byrne, nuclear chief for SCE&G, which plans two reactors near Columbia, S.C.

"The cost of natural gas fluctuates pretty wildly."

The Nuclear industry is recovering from a harrowing past. After the Three Mile Island accident in central Pennsylvania — which led to no deaths or known injuries, but caused a small radiation leak from the plant — the NRC passed sweeping new safety rules. Inspectors forced utilities to rip out pipes and install back-up pumps or generators midconstruction. Since utilities didn't submit designs before building, each reactor was custom built, further burdening the NRC.

Nuclear Energy gaining support amongst Americans

A new Gallup poll is finding growing levels of support among Americans for nuclear energy.
Support for Nuclear has increased from 50-59%
People strongly favouring Nuclear has jumped from 20-27%.

President Barack Obama has pledged to re-examine nuclear energy, although that promise came under scrutiny earlier this month when his proposed budget cut most of the funds for a national nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. His stimulus package also stripped billions for a loan program the nuclear industry wanted.

Steve Chu, Obama’s energy secretary told a Senate budget hearing group two weeks ago

"I believe in nuclear power as a central part of our energy mix. It provides clean, busload electricity,"

according to a story by the Associated Press.

Nuclear proponents say new plants could help solve America’s energy crisis, in part because plants do not emit any heat-trapping gases that contribute to global warming and could help with national energy security. Opponents, however, say nuclear plants are potentially too dangerous, too expensive and there is no safe place to put waste. Nuclear energy now produces about 20 percent of the U.S.’s energy load and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received 17 applications for 26 new reactors.

The Gallup poll also underscores the large gender gaps in American’s view of nuclear power: 71% of men favor the use of nuclear energy, compared with only 47% of women. Still, both groups show their highest level of support for nuclear power to date.

The poll also found, as in past polls, higher-income Americans favor nuclear energy more than lower-income Americans. Still, while 56 percent of Americans believe nuclear power plants are safe, a “substantial minority” of 42 percent believe they are not safe, according to the poll.

Source: Abbreviated from the Boston Globe.

Obama knows the race is hotting up to be the Energy Leader in the 21st Century

To produce the next generation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and the advanced battery components that will make these vehicles run, President Barack Obama Thursday announced $2.4 billion in economic stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"This investment will not only reduce our dependence on foreign oil, it will put Americans back to work,"

President Obama said while touring Southern California Edison's Electric Vehicle Center in Pomona, California.

"It positions American manufacturers on the cutting edge of innovation and solving our energy challenges."

"We have a choice to make,

Obama told an audience of workers and local officials.

"We can remain one of the world's leading importers of foreign oil, or we can make the investments that will allow us to become the world's leading exporter of renewable energy. We can let climate change continue to go unchecked, or we can help stem it. We can let the jobs of tomorrow be created abroad, or we can create those jobs right here in America and lay the foundation for our lasting prosperity."

It will take investment from government, Obama said, promoting his budget proposal to Congress as well as the $798 billion approved in February under the ARRA legislation.

"That's how we sent a man to the moon. That's how we were able to launch a world wide web. And it's how we'll build the clean energy economy that's the key to our competitiveness in the 21st century."