f President Obama is serious about his energy objectives then how can he forget nuclear energy? He says that he wants to reduce CO2 emissions, create jobs and get America off foreign oil.
But his solution is to double renewable energy.
The problem is that despite years of state and federal preferences, non-hydro renewable energy only provides about 2.5 percent of the nation’s electricity. Even doubled, this would hardly make a difference.
On the other hand, the United States has 104 operating nuclear reactors that provide 20 percent of its electricity (about 70 percent of its CO2-free electricity). And this is despite not having ordered a new plant in nearly three decades.
He wants jobs. While jobs are leaving the economy in droves, the nuclear sector has created some 15,000 jobs in the past couple of years. And that is before a new plant has even started construction.
And the versatility of nuclear technology can help the U.S. bring about the sort of energy transformation that the President says he wants. It will be this that can break America’s dependence on foreign oil.
So how can the President reduce CO2, create jobs, and expand domestic energy sources? Well it is easy and it goes something like this:
- Fast-track the permitting process of new nuclear plants. It takes four years to get a permit to construct a plant. That is too long.
- Commit to supporting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s review of the Department of Energy’s application to construct the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste respository.
- Develop a market based solution for managing spent nuclear fuel.
