Nuclear Editorial Choices in Ohio and Virginia

The title of the Akron Beacon-Journal’s editorial is “A Compromising Position for FirstEnergy and Ohio.” Uh-oh – what could this be about? As it turns out, nothing bad at all:

Too many environmentalists have a blind-spot for nuclear power. Yet, if the problem of climate change is dire — and it is — how reckless to cast aside a clean power source capable of generating an ample and steady supply. Those who applaud the Obama White House for preparing to issue limits on carbon emissions also should cheer plans to keep Davis-Besse in operation.

FirstEnergy wants to charge ratepayers a bit extra to keep Davis-Besse and a coal plant afloat while natural gas remains inexpensive. You might expect the local newspaper to find fault with that – it could be made to sound like a greedy utility with its hand out - but it doesn’t.

This is an exceptionally mature viewpoint, a recognition that what’s true now – low natural gas prices – won’t be true forever. What the newspaper does not point out is that, while it’s possible to reopen a shuttered coal plant, once a nuclear plant closes, that’s the end of it. That’s down to the cost of sustaining it in cold storage, not for technical reasons, but gone is gone. And when you’ve got an existential issue breathing down your neck, that’s a rough prospect – for FirstEnergy and Ohio.

An analysis by The Brattle Group, prepared for the organization Nuclear Matters, reported last week that average annual carbon-dioxide emissions would be about 11 million tons greater without the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear plants.

Now, what about the compromise in the title?

What a sound energy strategy requires is a worthy concession from FirstEnergy in return, and that involves restoring the energy efficiency and renewable energy standards that the utility worked so hard to put on hold for two years, their fate still to be decided.

This actually sounds like stuff Ohio needs to do legislatively – and if it could include nuclear energy into a clean energy standard while it’s at it, great. Frankly, FirstEnergy needs to do what works best for its customers and shareholders, not environmentalists (or pro-nuclear folks, for that matter.) This editorial shows a lot of counterintuitive intelligence, and its priorities are exactly right.

---

A second editorial, from the Lynchburg News & Advance, takes nuclear energy as it comes – it’s called “Nuclear Must Be Part of Virginia's Energy Mix.”

Like Ohio, Virginia has two facilities and like the Akron paper, the News-Advance is focused on nuclear energy’s capacity as a climate change mitigator.

What’s interesting is that the paper reviews the renewable energy scene with discouragement and says almost nothing about nuclear energy directly. This is about it:

In the final analysis, the cleanest and safest way to generate power at the levels required in a developed economy is nuclear.

True enough. The arguments about renewable energy sound like our recent post about land use. We commented there that this is a rising issue among policy makers, and the News & Advance editorial only emphasizes its continuing relevance.

In the Virginia Highlands, for example, proposed construction of a wind farm several years ago generated heated opposition because foes said it would spoil the natural landscape of the Appalachian Mountains. In Massachusetts, a wind project off the coast of Cape Cod met vociferous opposition for the same reason.

Solar farms, in order to provide a reliable power stream, have one major need that has also proved controversial: scale, acres upon acres of panels to capture the power from the sun’s rays. In the American Southwest, for example, environmentalists have raised alarm about solar farms’ impact on desert flora and fauna.

I’m not sure where the Virginia Highlands are – the Appalachians run down the western side of the state, so they could be anywhere from north to south. But you get the idea – land use and some unfortunate NIMBY. The latter could be true of new nuclear reactors as well, but new reactors tend to be welcomed, especially as additions to existing facilities. The concerns about land use are on-target, but I expect Dominion will find ways to make renewable energy work in Virginia. The idea is not to pin all one’s hopes on a single energy source – nuclear, wind or whatever- but Virginia could do worse than encourage Surry 3 or North Anna 3.

Activists' Claims Distort Facts about Advanced Reactor Design

Below is from our rapid response team . Yesterday, regional anti-nuclear organizations asked federal nuclear energy regulators to launch an investigation into what it claims are “newly identified flaws” in Westinghouse’s advanced reactor design, the AP1000. During a teleconference releasing a report on the subject, participants urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend license reviews of proposed AP1000 reactors. In its news release, even the groups making these allegations provide conflicting information on its findings. In one instance, the groups cite “dozens of corrosion holes” at reactor vessels and in another says that eight holes have been documented. In all cases, there is another containment mechanism that would provide a barrier to radiation release. Below, we examine why these claims are unwarranted and why the AP1000 design certification process should continue as designated by the NRC. Myth: In the AP1000 reactor design, the gap between the shield bu...

What Happens During a Refueling Outage?

You may have noticed over the past few weeks that a number of nuclear plants are shut down for refueling outages or are resuming operations after just returning from one. This type of routine outage usually occurs in the spring or fall when electricity demand is low so that nuclear reactors can replace about one-third of the spent fuel rods with new fuel and conduct other routine maintenance and repairs at the plant. To get a better sense of how refueling works at a nuclear energy facility, I spoke with Marcus Nichol, NEI’s senior project manager for used fuel storage and transportation, and asked him to explain the basics. Why does a nuclear plant need to replace one-third of its fuel? Nichol: The main purpose of a refueling outage is to replace older fuel that is depleted—meaning it can no longer efficiently produce energy from nuclear fission reactions—with new fuel. This “used fuel” has typically been used in the reactor for four-and-a-half to six years before it is pe...

How Much Land Does Nuclear, Wind and Solar Really Need?

Not too long ago, we reviewed a report that looked at nuclear energy (and other energy sources) as biodiversity agents. This had to do, in part, with the amount of land a facility needs to function. Nuclear energy and fossil fuel plants use relatively little, wind farms and solar arrays quite a lot of land . Based on an objective and transparent analysis of our sustainable energy choices, we have come to the evidence-based conclusion that nuclear energy is a good option for biodiversity conservation (and society in general) and that other alternatives to fossil fuels should be subjected to the same cost–benefit analyses (in terms of biodiversity and climate outcomes, as well as sociopolitical imperatives) before accepting or dismissing them. Writer Barry Brook, who collected 75 scientists to endorse his paper, is interested in land use as it impacts flora and fauna. Biodiversity concerns do not get as much play as they might – and, when they do, it annoys many when land is withdraw...

NEI Nuclear Notes

Search This Blog