Entries in Nuclear Power (10)
Clarifying Al Gore's Position on Nuclear Power
Saturday, July 26, 2008 at 11:02AM 
Several readers have asked me to clarify Gore's position on nuclear power in his new 10-year carbon-free electricity plan. (I really wish you folks would post comments instead of sending me emails!)
Gore announced his plan July 17th at Constitution Hall, and like other politicians, Gore selects his words carefully. In fact, his 3200-word speech doesn't include the word "nuclear" at all. Katie Couric at CBS interviewed Gore after his speech, but let him off easy on his answer about nuclear power. Gore said, “We have a lot of nuclear plants in the U.S., and … I'm not anti-nuclear. I'm a little skeptical that's it's gonna play a much bigger role than it does now. I think it'll continue to play a role.” Hmmm. Way to go, Katie.
The group “We Can Solve It”, founded by Gore, reports that his plan includes a mix of energy sources, including “existing nuclear”. That’s vague but also misleading, appearing to mean existing “power plants” rather than the existing “percentage of the electricity mix”, which is around 20 percent.
Fortunately some reporters from Associated Press questioned him in more detail. World Nuclear News reported, “He later admitted, however, to the Associated Press that his plan relies on nuclear power for the 20% of US electricity it currently produces.” Even that statement could be misinterpreted, but the Arizona Star reported it solidly: “Gore told the AP his plan counts on nuclear power plants still providing about a fifth of the nation's electricity…”.
So I maintain that in order for nuclear to still be contributing one fifth of the nation’s electricity ten years from now, we will need to build a lot of new nuclear power plants. According to the EIA, we need to add about 120 gigawatts of new generation over the next ten years to meet projected growth and to replace retiring power plants. (The nuclear fleet alone is 26-years old, on average.) So if nuclear is still going to make up one fifth of the mix, an estimated 24 gigawatts of that new generation will need to be nuclear.
If all this is too much of a bummer, check out Harvey Wasserman’s great post today at CommonDreams telling how unlikely the nuclear revival is.
Al Gore’s Energy Plan Includes Building Nuclear Power
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at 11:53AM 
Former Vice-President Al Gore is calling for all electricity in the U.S. to be produced from carbon-free sources within 10 years. News reports are hailing his plan as a “green gauntlet”, and many news outlets are incorrectly reporting that his plan calls for all electricity to come from renewable energy.
Gore’s plan instead calls for 20 percent of electricity to continue coming from nuclear energy.
That would mean adding at least 22 gigawatts of new nuclear power – or about 22 new reactors, just to meet the projected growth in electricity demand. Dozens more reactors would also be needed to replace older nuclear facilities that are due for retirement within ten years.
The 103 nuclear power plants operating in the U.S. are now 26-years old, on average.
The video newscast containing this story is here.
Santa Fe to Increase Use of Coal and Nuclear Power
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at 11:52AM 
The
City of Santa Fe is negotiating a deal that will increase the
consumption of coal and nuclear power for city operations by more than
70 percent over the next several years.
City officials have been
negotiating with PNM, the state’s largest investor-owned utility, to
provide power for a new drinking water system it is building. The new
water system will require 27-million kilowatt-hours per year.
Proposals
to get that energy from on-site generation were said to be unfeasible
by PNM in 2006, and creating a public power entity to provide energy
for the system was deemed “risky” by the engineer hired by the city to
study alternatives. The cost of the electricity needed to run the
city’s new water system cannot be determined, because PNM was recently
given the right to raise electricity rates as needed to cover its fuel
costs.
The video newscast containing this story is here.
Record High Prices for Crude, Gasoline, and Natural Gas
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 05:09PM 
News of crude oil supply shortfalls is putting even more upward pressure on crude oil prices, which soared to yet another record yesterday, settling at nearly $141 dollars per barrel. That’s roughly twice what it cost this time last year, when a barrel of oil was just $71 dollars.
Motor gasoline prices also broke new ground this week in the U.S., with a gallon of gasoline now averaging $4.09. To be sure, many Europeans are paying double that amount, but the cost of gas is now 39 percent higher than it was a year ago.
And, get ready for sharply higher heating costs this winter: natural gas prices are more than double what they were this time last year. One million BTU’s of the gas now sells for $13.63 – an unprecedented price for this time of year. Storage levels for natural gas are also 16 percent below what they were this time last year.
The video newscast containing this story is posted here.
