President Obama announced a loan guarantee of $8 billion for one new nuclear plant in the United States. On the surface this is a great way to kick off a power renaissance in the power industry. What this country needs is a reliable base load energy system and nuclear energy fits that bill! However, one plant does not set a trend or make a policy that will foster these plants.
Now all we need is a reliable energy policy that is free of politics and interferences for the “renaissance” to continue. This means the politicians and administrators involved in the process need to encourage and not hamper the development of these plants. Once it is free of politics I believe we will see a surge of private money willing to back the building of more nuclear power plants.
Yes, ratepayers will foot the bills, but they are today for coal, oil and natural gas fired plants. These same ratepayers, with federal and other subsidies, are paying a premium today for alternative sources such as solar and wind. The costs to build the plants will come down as more are developed.
If the federal government is to encourage the development of nuclear power they must get off their anti-nuclear bias and develop a long term, sustainable plan that will not be revoked due to political changes. These plans need to consider long term storage of wastes, processing of fuels and even the phasing out of the fossil fuels for power generation as the nuclear plants come on line. Constructing more plants will benefit the construction industry and virtually all other sectors of the economy.
Oh By the Way… Think of how the cost s of home heating will go down if natural gas is phased out for power plants. What about chemical feed stocks price declines with lower oil and natural gas consumption? We will lose fewer raptors and desert tortoises without wind and solar farms. It sounds like a winning program for the United States!
