Nuclear On The Rise

Two recent headlines:

• Duggan Flanakin, "Italy returns to nuclear sanity. Shouldn't we?", nuclearenergy.org, May 15, 2023

• Kristen Walker, "The US must take note: Sweden backpedals on renewable energy. Sweden is going nuclear," realclearenergy.org, July 6, 2023

The Italian Parliament formally backed the plan to reintroduce nuclear power plants into Italy's energy mix, reversing the nation's 1987 moratorium on nuclear power. ⁽¹⁾

Sweden shocked the world by putting the brakes on renewable energy goals. Abandoning the 100% renewable goal is a bold move coming from a nation often touted as a 'green leader.' Sweden is going nuclear. ⁽²⁾

Renewables were leaving Swedes cold and in the dark

This past winter Swedes were asked to turn down their thermostats, take shorter showers, unplug appliances, and refrain from using certain electricity intensive items during peak hours. Renewables were leaving them cold and in the dark. This is not a very comforting thought for a country that can reach below zero temperatures and doesn't see the sun for up to 20 hours of the day.

The US has closed 11 nuclear reactors since 2013, with another eight of the 94 remaining reactors scheduled for decommissioning by 2025. Although Presidents Trump and Biden have favored bolstering the US nuclear energy portfolio, America's bureaucrat heavy regulatory jungle remains designed to drag out facility permitting and construction for decades. (1)

Yet, perhaps after seventy years of nuclear submarines, America will finally believe that carbon free nuclear power is the nation's best hope for meeting growing US demand for electricity and global needs for basic economic growth. With worldwide energy consumption expected to grow by 50 percent by 2050, reliance on wind and solar alone to meet that demand is a pipe dream.

A recent item: TerraPower, founded by Bill Gates is opening a new nuclear power plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The plant will be the first of its kind with the company hoping to revolutionize the nuclear energy industry in the US.

This new reactor, which is set to open in 2030, will use liquid sodium instead of water to cool it

This new reactor, which is set to open in 2030, will use liquid sodium instead of water to cool it. Sodium's boiling point is eight times higher than water, and, unlike water sodium does not need to be continually pumped back into the system. Gates said, "We've solved all the areas where there have been safety challenges. And we have dramatically less waste." ⁽³⁾

Some of the world's largest most influential nations have formed an alliance to create new supply chains for nuclear energy, the same weekend that another country announced it had completely weaned itself off the energy source. ⁽⁴⁾

Leaders of nuclear trade associations from the US, UK, Canada, Japan, and France announced they will work together to create supply chains for nuclear fuels that do not rely on Russia. But this new agreement doesn't mean that everyone in Europe is committed to ramping up nuclear production. Germany said that it had officially weaned off of nuclear energy, shuttering its last three power plants.

China is spending as much as $440 billion on new nuclear plants, planning at least 150 new reactors in the next 15 years, more than the rest of the world built in the past 35.

India also has been receptive to nuclear technology, with 23 reactors in operation and 12 more new reactors expected to begin operation on the subcontinent by 2024. Installed nuclear capacity grew by more than 40 percent in the last seven years. ⁽⁵⁾

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Nuclear power is carbon free. It is reliable, producing power 24/7 regardless of the weather

Worldwide, as a result of nuclear generation's ability to provide continuous, uninterruptable, zero emission electricity and its track record of safety, today there are about 440 nuclear reactors operating in 32 countries around the world, with 50 more new ones under construction. Further capacity is being created by plant upgrading of existing reactors.

The case for investing in nuclear power at a time when there is an urgent need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to fend off disastrous climate changes has been clear for decades. Nuclear power is carbon free. It is reliable, producing power 24/7 regardless of the weather, a standard that intermittent renewing sources like wind, solar and even hydro can never achieve. The wind doesn't always blow, the sun doesn't always shine, the water doesn't always flow forcefully enough. ⁽⁶⁾

References

1. Duggan Flanakin,, "Italy returns to nuclear sanity. Shouldn't we?", nuclearenergy.org, May 15, 2023

2. Kristen Walker, "The US must take note: Sweden backpedals on renewable energy," realclearenergy.org, July 6, 2023

3. Exclusive: Bill Gates on the future of nuclear energy, AI," abcnews.go.com, May 8, 2023

4. Molly Taft, "World leaders agree to boost nuclear power while Germany shuts its plants," gizmodo.com, April 17, 2023

5. Kevin Stone, "Biden appointees rescind license extension for Florida nuclear plant," Environment & Climate News, May 2022

6. The Dilenschneider Group, "Special report: New hope for nuclear power," January 2023

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