Nuclear powerA “cauldron of events” has brought the nuclear industry to a halt
Until two years ago, people talked of a nuclear energy renaissance. Now the talk is about nuclear malaise. The Fukushima scare, the emergence of alternative energy sources as a result of fracking, and the lack of action on climate change – which means that limits on fossil fuels are not coming any time soon – have, in the words of one experts, brought the nuclear industry to a halt.
The United States is the world’s largest producer of nuclear power, according to the World Nuclear Association (WNA), but recent years saw the industry go through a rough time.
The WNA says that only three plants are currently under construction, and in the next decade the industry could see only four to six new projects.
CNBCreports that plans to build new nuclear plants have been postponed or scrapped completely. Recently, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NCR) rejected a proposed partnership with Toshiba because of a law restricting control of a U.S. power plant by a foreign company.
Duke Energy cancelled its plan to construct two nuclear reactors in North Carolina, and officials in California have said they will shut down two damaged reactors for good unless the NRC takes action to improve safety in them.
This is a gloomy reality for supporters of nuclear energy.
“Starting about four years ago, the industry felt it was in the middle of a renaissance” with applications for many new plants pending with the NRC, Peter Bradford, a law professor and a former member of the commission, told CNBC. “They’ve gone from that high-water mark to a point at which … we’re actually seeing the closing of a few operating plants, which was unthinkable even a few years ago.”
New forms of energy also contribute to the nuclear industry malaise, as shale and natural gas from fracking are becoming more available by the day. Also, the Fukushima disaster has scared many, reminding people of the possibility of a nuclear meltdown.
According to Bradford, a “cauldron of events” has brought the nuclear industry to a halt.
“Nuclear is kind of the ocean liner of energy: Once it heads in a particular direction it’s hard to turn it,” Bradford told CNBC. Some officials predicted that “many things could go wrong,” Bradford added, “but I don’t think there were many of us that forecast they would all go wrong at once.”
Sherry Quirk, an attorney with Schiff Hardin, believes that local and federal officials have changed their minds on nuclear energy, and that the a lack of action on climate change has slowed the industry down significantly
“Given concerns about climate change and the thought there might be … new laws that would effectively make coal fire a thing of the past, they launched a number of plans,” Quirk said. Now, “on the basis of price and risk analysis, the constructions of a number of nuclear facilities have been called into question.”
