Global warming and nuclear power

May 12, 9:03 AMSF Environmental Policy ExaminerThomas Fuller

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There are two essential facts regarding nuclear power and the amount of energy we will need to generate to meet our needs going forward, needs that include keeping the lights on and reducing pollution and emissions of CO2.

Fact #1: We will need to increase our use of nuclear power.

Fact #2: There is no way that we can rely completely on nuclear power alone to answer our future energy and environmental needs.

We have 124 commercial nuclear power plants right now. To meet all our electricity generating needs over this century, we would need to build 1,000 more.

However, the new reactors are safer and more efficient, and are quicker to build. If we were to move forward with an aggressive plan for nuclear power, we could use it to replace the heavily polluting coal energy plants in a reasonable period of time.

Despite environmental outcries, waste is not as big an issue as you might think. Even if the Obama administration does abandon the Yucca repository, new plants can build 'temporary' storage facilities that will hold waste until a final solution is reached.

Nuclear is not a total solution. However, it is an essential part of the solution. I desperately want solar power to be the main answer to our energy problems. Maybe it someday will be. But it isn't yet. I do not believe that wind power will be a significant contributor to our power needs in the next few decades--but I hope I'm wrong. I think space based solar power can be a major part of the answer--but NASA will need to provide launch assistance in terms of infrastructure, and more utilities will need to follow PG&E's example and guarantee to buy the output of solar satellites. OTEC needs more study, but we have the example of a functional pilot plant off Hawaii from the 90s.

Nuclear fission plants are a reliable bridge to the future. They help us reduce dirty power generation during the period when more elegant solutions are designed and tested. They cannot be ignored.

The principal obstacles to more nuclear are the permit process, which is long and cumbersome, and insurance, which private companies want to cap. Politicians of good will and far sight can solve these, and they should.