The cost of nuclear power is climbing. As the U.S. nuclear reactor fleet ages, it becomes more and more expensive to keep the old plants in operation. Some have already been shut down because of this problem. Even for the plants that are working well, the fall in electricity demand, cheap oil and natural gas, and declining prices for renewable alternative energy sources are out competing nuclear power generation. Some U.S. nuclear power plants have been shut down lately because they simply cannot compete in the marketplace. Reactors in Massachusetts and New York are under threat of closure due to rising costs for operation and maintenance. Three major rating agencies agree that over ten percent of the U.S. nuclear power reactor fleet is at risk for early retirement. The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) is working on a new project to reverse this trend.
The NEI is dedicated developing policy on key legislative and regulatory issues affecting the nuclear power industry. The NEI has just announced a new initiative to reduce the cost of nuclear energy generation by thirty percent by 2018 so it can better compete in the energy marketplace. The goal of the initiative is to analyze cost drivers ” “common to all nuclear power plants and recommend programs and processes to improve their efficiency and effectiveness.” NEI’s Chief Operating Officer says, “We want to encourage bold ideas, not just tweak current processes. We are operating in markets with a glut of natural gas at historically low prices, concurrent with low growth in electricity demand nationally. We are seeking to redesign fundamental plant processes to significantly improve operational efficiencies and effectiveness, and in the process make nuclear energy facilities more economically viable. “
There are thirty states in the U.S. with nuclear power plants. The NEI claims that these power reactors produce sixty-three percent of U.S. electricity that comes from zero-carbon sources. (Nuclear power generation as a process may be zero-carbon, but a great deal of carbon dioxide is generated in the mining, refining and transportation of uranium, the construction of nuclear power plants and the sequestering of spent nuclear fuel in temporary dry storage casks.)
The NEI initiative will work on efficiency measures at nuclear power stations to low operating costs. It will also tackle the more difficult task of securing possible changes to regional energy markets to insure that they properly value the “carbon-free” power generation offered by nuclear power reactors. (This means that they will be asking for special consideration in the form of quotas, price support and other types of government support to lower the ultimate price charged for nuclear-generated electricity.)
My concern is that the pressure to reduce costs for nuclear power generation may result in companies that own and operate nuclear power reactors in the U.S. cutting investment in safety, training and maintenance to the point where it poses a threat to public safety. Unfortunately, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is not sufficiently diligent in ensuring that nuclear plant operators are carefully following all required regulations. And, in addition, heavy investment in nuclear power may reduce investment in safer and cheaper renewable alternative energy sources. This new NEI initiation may not be such a good idea.
