Nuclear energy has always been closely connected to national and international politics. The promise of nuclear power was sold in the United States and the Soviet Union because their governments wanted to spend more money on nuclear weapons development than their people were willing to support. Promising cheap energy from nuclear reactors was one way of pouring ever more money into nuclear research and development. With the end of the Cold War and the nuclear disarmament treaties, a lot of that impetus was lost. Regional and global international organizations were created to police the use of nuclear reactors to generate electricity. The world is currently focused on preventing Iran from creating nuclear weapons and restraining North Korea from further development and testing of nuclear weapons.
In the early 2000s, there was talk of a “nuclear renaissance.” Nuclear power was put forward as a solution to the global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Many old reactor reaching the end of their original licensed lifespans of forty years were relicensed for another twenty years. Rosy predictions were made about how inexpensive and reliable the new generation of reactors would be.
Then reality set in with the Fukushima disaster in Japan. The world recoiled in shock and horror as melting nuclear reactor cores threatened the whole world with fallout. Even two years later, radioactive water continues to flow into the Pacific Ocean threaten the food chain. All of Japans nuclear reactors were shut down and all but a few are still offline. Germany decided to end the use of nuclear power. Other countries took a hard look at nuclear power and found that new construction was often far over budget and behind schedule. Old reactors that failed to compete with cheap natural gas were shut down. Other old reactors were simply too expensive to repair and upgrade and they were shut down.
But the nuclear industry is not going to go away quietly. The new Japanese Prime Minister Abe is touring the world to sell Japan’s nuclear technology. Russia is very active in selling its nuclear technology to other countries. They have even developed a nuclear reactor barge that can be towed anywhere. In the United States, lobbying groups are pressuring the President to strongly advocate for domestic nuclear power. France’s national nuclear company is also seeking contracts in other countries. Although Germany has vetoed nuclear subsidies in the European Union, the Dutch and other members are finding ways around the prohibition to funnel money to the nuclear industry. I recently received an invitation to a U.S. nuclear contractor conference where they were going to discuss ways to restore confidence in the industry by bringing projects in on time and in budget.
Unfortunately for the nuclear industry, they are not as powerful as the fossil fuel or bank lobby. Also, Fukushima was a disaster for their reputation. And, finally, there is no longer the close link between the domestic nuclear industry and the defense industry that existed during the Cold War. I am afraid that their nuclear renaissance is going to more of a nuclear bust.
