It’s been awhile since we last visited the white-knuckle world of nuclear energy roulette; but rest assured, it hasn’t gone away…at least not yet.
In the news, however, is a ray of hope.
The owner of a small nuclear reactor in Wisconsin said Monday that it would close the Kewaunee Power Station early next year because it was unable to find a buyer and the plant was no longer economically viable.
Yes, that old “cheap” argument for nuclear is finally being put to the lie.
The low-cost of natural gas has been driving down energy prices per-kilowatt-hour so that much of the US’s aging nuclear generation “fleet” is operating at costs dangerously close to non-profit. Add to that the inevitable repair and replacement costs associated with operating those reactors well past their planned life expectancy, and the likelihood that safety issues raised by the Fukushima accident will ultimately force costly modifications to operating reactors everywhere.
Taken altogether, these factors mean that nuclear will be hard pressed to sell the argument that it is an “inexpensive” alternative.
When more reactors begin to withdraw from the fleet due to these cost constraints, it will be difficult even for nuclear’s most passionate proponents to argue that federal support for new builds represents a wise investment for American taxpayers.
Every day brings new reports of deteriorating nuclear infrastructure, and the challenge that safe storage of nuclear waste continues to pose. The leitmotif behind all of this bad news remains the constant reminder that worst-case scenarios, like Fukushima, can and will happen unless significant new investments and stringent new regulation are imposed on the industry.
Meanwhile, Vermont’s own Fairewinds Associates continues its leadership role in nuclear energy education with a new Energy Education podcast feature, and offers this informative demonstration of how concerned citizens can get an accurate reading of radiation from samples they submit to a lab for analysis.
We may never have had Vermont Yankee had it not been for George Aiken’s intervention in Gov. Phil Hoff’s attempt to create a non-profit, public power authority to buy and sell Canadian hydro power in 1966. Keep in mind, it is highly unusual for a Vermont congressional member to intervene in a legislative debate in Montpelier. But, Aiken did in a letter to VT Rep. Ted Riehle. The House was debating the bill that passed the Vermont Senate by an overwhelming margin when Riehle read a letter from Aiken opposing Hoff’s proposal during the debate on the House floor. (See page 93, Philip Hoff, How Red Turned Blue in the Green Mountain State.) The idea later died, and Bert Cree, the longtime boss of CVPS, was able to get his VY baby hatched.
Had the Hoff proposal become law, there would have been no need for Vermont Yankee. For several years afterward, Vermonters would ask: Who lost Canadian hydro? Thank you, George Aiken.
By today’s political standard, George Aiken is a hard-left radical, far to the left of Gov Shum.