Past deadline and over budget, nuclear
energy is struggling.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Charlestown is 20 miles downwind from the troubled Millstone Nuclear Power
plant just outside New London, CT. For over a year, there has been intensive maneuvering
to determine whether the state will increase corporate welfare to keep the
plant running, whether that will be enough to satisfy Millstone’s
Virginia-based owners and what will happen to the millions of pounds of
radioactive waste stored on site. As this article explains, this is part of a
nationwide pattern. – Will Collette
Georgia Power is in the midst of a financial and political
maelstrom over its expansion of Plant Vogtle, a 70s-era two reactor complex
near Augusta.
Two new reactors are years behind schedule and billions over
budget. Just this week, Moody's lowered its credit rating for
Georgia Power on the news that an extra billion in costs would be added to
Vogtle's completion tab. Fear not, Georgia Power, its ratepayers—myself
included—will cover the costs.
Vogtle is the only active nuclear power plant project in the U. S.
Georgia Power has run numerous yellow lights trying to complete
the project. Its original operator, Westinghouse, fell into bankruptcy building
the plant.
Georgia Power isn't alone in its struggles. And, despite a
nuke-friendly Administration, the troubles portend an industry that may soon
find itself facing extinction.
Even some industry heavyweights agree. Shortly after his 2012
retirement as CEO of nuke-heavy Exelon, John Rowe said "new (nukes) don't make sense
right now."
Rowe's successor, Chris Crane, has pushed for state or federal bailouts for several of its dozen-plus reactors with little success.
Rowe's successor, Chris Crane, has pushed for state or federal bailouts for several of its dozen-plus reactors with little success.
One state over from Vogtle, a nearly identical nuke expansion in
South Carolina was abandoned last year after similar cost overruns spooked
investors.
Florida Power & Light is pulling out all the stops to ready
two new reactors at its Turkey Point complex south of Miami amid a mix of state
government support and some fierce opposition from some local governments and
residents.
Other concerns include cheap competition for nuclear-generated juice, expanding Turkey Point's web of cooling canals farther into the Everglades, and whether the sea-level complex will be below sea level in the coming decades.
Other concerns include cheap competition for nuclear-generated juice, expanding Turkey Point's web of cooling canals farther into the Everglades, and whether the sea-level complex will be below sea level in the coming decades.
FP&L is on record as saying it'll wait to see how Vogtle pans
out before starting construction.
Support for nuke power is unsurprisingly strong in the Trump
Administration. In June, an amorphous plan to rescue coal and nuclear plants facing
retirement made the White House rounds.
The plan would force power providers to buy coal and nuke power, even if it were more expensive, on "national security" grounds to prevent shortages on the grid.
The plan would force power providers to buy coal and nuke power, even if it were more expensive, on "national security" grounds to prevent shortages on the grid.
However, little has been said about the plan since its debut 11
weeks ago.
There have been rumblings about reviving the nation's high-level
nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, since its fiercest opponent,
Senator Harry Reid, retired. But nothing substantial has emerged, nor has any
other state stepped forward and volunteered to host the dump.
Strange bedfellows
Many who otherwise identify with mainline environmental policy have
veered into eco-heresy by endorsing nukes as a "carbon-free" antidote
to fossil fuels. Notables include retired NASA climate scientist Jim Hansen and
writers George Monbiot and
Mark Lynas.
The nuclear industry's leading trade association has invested in a
decades-long PR trench war.
Most recently and notably in 2015, the Nuclear
Energy Institute snagged Matt Wald, the longtime
energy reporter for the New York Times, to serve as NEI's
Vice President for Policy.
But when all is said and done, nukes face an uphill battle. Public
opposition remains strong after Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima,
but clearly a bigger factor is cost: Nuke plants simply can't compete with
natural gas as an electricity maker.
And the meteoric rise of wind and solar may reshape electricity
markets entirely, leaving nuclear energy – unlike its waste – in our past.