Part 3 of 5 Parts (Please read Parts 1 and 2 first)
     A group of former nuclear regulators in the U.S., Germany and France argued last month that nuclear fission power generation is not safe, clean or smart. This group includes a former secretary to U.K. radiation protection committee. Nuclear power is more expensive than renewables in terms of producing energy and mitigating carbon dioxide emissions. This is true even accounting for costs such as pairing renewable energy with storage. The former regulators said that nuclear fission power generation is unlikely “to make a relevant contribution to necessary climate change mitigation” that is needed by the 2030s.
     The nuclear industry counters such critic by saying that nuclear power reactors have long lives, low operating costs and a relatively nonvolatile fuel price. The rise in the price of oil and natural gas should give nuclear power a boost, according to the clear energy think tank ClearPath. Rich Power is the CEO of ClearPath. He said, “There’s a global reawakening that nuclear has got to be part of the solution. … There’s nothing like an energy crisis to make nuclear look really good.”
     A key factor for where nuclear power generation may go in coming years lies with climate policies. About half of the nation’s reactors will be up for license renewal in the next two decades, according to the NEI. In Michigan, the Palisades reactor is scheduled to be permanently shut down this year. In California, the Diablo Canyon plant will be shut down by 2025. These reactors total more than three thousand megawatts, according to the NEI. The NEI website says, “Premature plant shutdowns would constitute a major blow to state economics and emission-reduction programs.”
     A report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration was published in November 2021. In the report, it was found that a federal carbon tax would lead to less nuclear capacity being removed from the grid in the form of retired units. In fact, they say, more capacity could be added.
     Marilyn Brown is a professor of sustainable systems at Georgia Technical University. She said that her department uses the same model as the EIA report but extends it to include higher CO2 tax levels. The result leads to more nuclear power on the grid but not until 2045.
     Many electric companies deem reactors as critical to meeting their carbon-neutral goals. Many of these companies target 2050 to achieve zero carbon. Utilities often say that they can get eighty percent of the way to zero carbon by taking conventional steps such as shutting down any remaining coal plants and added a large amount of renewable energy. Technologies like next-generation nuclear, hydrogen and storage are needed to bridge the twenty percent gap. Timing is also critical. The more quickly electric companies need to put more emissions-free generation on the grid, the more costly it is going to be. Nichol said “Economics is a driving factor when building these new nuclear technologies with much simpler designs to manufacture and construct. It’s proven that costs go down with sustained programs of new nuclear projects, which is where we see great opportunities for progress in the U.S.”
Please read Part 4 next