Nuclear power use must be expanded

A strong, robust nuclear industry must continue to play a growing part of our nation’s energy future, both for the sake of national security and environmental progress. Nuclear energy is clean, reliable, cost-effective, and most important, increases our domestic energy supply. Expansion of nuclear energy in the United States requires confidence in our government. The American public must be able to trust that the government will protect public health, provide nuclear waste solutions and provide confidence to potential investors.

Confidence in the NRC

First, the public must be absolutely confident that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is committed to, and capable of, protecting public health, safety and the environment. Utilities must also have confidence in the NRC; confidence that, when given all the necessary documents, the NRC can issue licensing decisions in a timely fashion. The confidence that the public and the utilities have in the NRC is a direct result of consistent and rigorous oversight conducted under my leadership. Ten years ago, the NRC was an inefficient, subjective and unpredictable agency. I pursued regulatory reforms to transform the agency into a safety-focused, objective, and efficient regulator. It is my hope that the upcoming license applications will prove that the NRC is now worthy of that trust.

Confidence in a nuclear waste solution

Critics of nuclear energy often claim we shouldn’t build new plants because we haven’t solved the waste problem.  Those voices are often the same ones attempting to block development of that very solution: Yucca Mountain. The question is not whether we can manage spent nuclear fuel, but how we choose to do it, and when we’ll get it done. Right now, spent fuel is safely stored in spent fuel pools and dry casks at our nation’s nuclear plants, and this can be done safely for several decades. In the end, our country will need a repository that will safely contain the remaining nuclear byproducts and support for Yucca Mountain has always been bipartisan. Our generation has a legal obligation to build Yucca Mountain; we’ve collected the money to pay for it, and we are 20 years overdue in getting it done.

But, once again, this project is faced with election year politics and the pursuit of Nevada’s five electoral votes.  Presidential candidates will loudly proclaim their opposition to Yucca Mountain when in Nevada, but will they repeat that claim in New Hampshire, home to 398 tons of spent fuel destined for Yucca? In South Carolina, home to 6,887 tons? In New York, home to 3,561 tons? Or in Illinois, home to 7,372 tons? When it comes time to ask hard questions about the project, what will presidential candidates say? Should we scrap 25 years of research and our $8 billion investment in favor of looking for a new site? Which state would be home to that new site? We owe it to future generations to meet our responsibility to develop the safest repository we can at Yucca Mountain. The public should be confident that their support for new nuclear energy won’t create additional spent fuel that will be held hostage indefinitely due to politics.

Confidence in the economics
 
In order for utilities to develop new nuclear plants, they must have access to adequate financing at a reasonable cost. Before Wall Street will provide that financing, there must be confidence that the project will be successful, that the business risks are manageable and new plants can meet schedule commitments to begin delivering power. The NRC and the utilities must work together to minimize licensing and construction delays, but implementation of the loan guarantees provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is necessary to manage the business uncertainties associated with the first several plants. Once a handful of plants have been successfully built, Wall Street will have the confidence necessary to be more forthcoming with financing.

The good news is that we are already well on our way to ensuring nuclear energy has a beneficial and growing role to play in meeting our nation’s energy needs.  I’m confident that the industry, as a whole, is more disciplined and operates more safely than ever before. I believe that the NRC has the tools it needs to meet its workload challenges.  I am confident that we can build a safe repository at Yucca Mountain. I am confident that this industry, once it has revitalized, will financially sustain itself. And, finally, I am confident our country is committed to working to provide future generations with a legacy of clean, safe, reliable, and cost-effective energy.

Inhofe is the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Special section: Going green

Republicans should embrace environmentalism
Promoting open space and land conservation
Lights out on old bulb technology
The House has taken the wrong approach on energy
Biofuels are helpful but no panacea for relieving America’s dependence on oil
Nuclear power use must be expanded