Sadly, due to Three-Mile-Island, Fukushima and Chernobyl, most of the world lives in fear of nuclear energy. However, nuclear is the answer to our “green” issues, especially as new innovations make it safer, easier to implement and a smaller footprint. It is actually safer than anything except solar, in part because we have learned from those disasters and because we understand the power source far better now.
Why Not “Wind and Solar Green Power?”
First, “green” isn’t so green. To build solar and wind plants requires a lot of resources, some of which involve mining operations that are very destructive to the earth and harm those who mine. Both take up huge amounts of space, removing arable and livable land from our use. Wind operations kill a lot of birds, a fact that the eco-types like to ignore. Some of the newer plants being installed in oceans have impacts on the oceanic natural life, and impact fishing.
They are also pretty inefficient. You don’t get as much energy as you would think should come from them, and storage is still an issue. You need power that can spin up rapidly when a demand occurs, whether it is related to a failure in another source or due to a weather-related increase in demand.
Electric cars and AI computing is causing a huge increase in demand for power while we are shutting down legacy systems while failing to build adequate replacements. A single query on ChatGPT takes 10x the energy as doing a Google search. We either shutter the e-car industry and put the brakes on AI computing centers or we have to have another solution.
There’s Hope with SMRs
While nuclear power plants can take years to spin up, small module reactors (SMRs) can be brought online much faster and cheaper. They are a relatively new advancement that offers up to 300MW per unit, one third of the capacity of the traditional reactor. The result is a lot of low-carbon electricity, badly needed now. They are small and easier to manufacture, as they are modular. You make them in a factory and assemble them onsite. Nuclear fission is then used to produce energy.
SMRs can be installed virtually anywhere, quickly because of their small footprint. They can be installed in an existing grid, with no need to add more transmission lines. Microreactors, which offer power up to 10MW can go into sites even less accessible.
SMRs are safer with lower power and operating pressure. Passive systems shut them down if there are issues. They require much less fuel with some able to go 30 years before refueling. The International Energy Agency estimates that the cost of nuclear is 30% cheaper than wind and solar. We have plenty of uranium, enough to last another 230 years, at the least.
Worried about nuclear waste? Nuclear fuel can be reprocessed and we have better storage techniques than in the past.
Legislative Action
We’re starting to see states pass legislation to designate nuclear power as a source of green energy. With Trump in office, we could see the same at the national level. Mike DeWine, OH signed HB308, a strongly bipartisan bill, just before Christmas, designating nuclear power as green energy.
One of the bill’s cosponsors, Sean Brennan, a Democrat from Parma, has said such legislation is necessary to meet growing energy demand. “It doesn’t promise any incentives or anything beyond simply placing nuclear under the category of green energy in the Ohio Revised Code,” Brennan told The Akron Signal. Ohio also passed a bill in 2023 designating natural gas as green energy.
It's popular with the public too. ecoAmerica found that 78% of Americans trust nuclear energy to foster growth, reduce pollution and cut energy costs. But there’s still pushback from a lot of states and Washington. This problem needs to be solved, and if necessary, fixed by voting those opposed out. In fact, even a Dem like Gavin Newsom in CA extended the contract to run the Diablo Canyon Nuclear plant; this extension should be made permanent.
It's time to recognize that we have the power we need; we simply need to put a priority on it. Vote smart!
