IRRATIONAL NUCLEAR DIFFICULTIES

By Eric Smith, Intermim Director Tulane Energy Institute

ENERGYCENTRAL - Here is a link to an article about the study: https://www.energycentral.com/news/study-analyzes-impact-switch-nuclear-power-coal-suggests-directions-policy

While the CMU logic is impeccable, it says nothing about the sometimes irrational political difficulties associated with supporting nuclear power capacity, much less additions. Some of these concerns are the result of environmental resistance, but others result from economics and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's charge to various regional independent system operators to favor economic dispatch, usually gas or wind, at the expense of both coal and nuclear.

Another administrative failure is the inability of the Federal government to deliver on funded, contracted commitments for long term storage or reprocessing of depleted fuel rods. In fact, a facility was designed and partially funded at Yucca mountain in Nevada, but never completed while a US reprocessing plant was built, at Barnwell, S.C., but has never operated. Both of these failures are also due to environmental concerns

Numerous reports, including an upcoming hearing in Congress, make much of the zero air emissions associated with nuclear power generation. Also, the EU and the UK are both promoting the use of clean nuclear power as a source of energy to support electrolytic green hydrogen production. However, these are also rational conclusions in the face of an irrational fear of proximity to possible radiation releases.

I would be interested in hearing if any readers have ideas about how to counter the fear factor, thereby allowing the use of nuclear power as a clean source of energy. 

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