In 1972 President Richard Nixon went to China. The event was historic not only in opening relations with what essentially had been a closed society for 30 years but also in the fact that Nixon, who was famous for his anti communist rhetoric in the 1950s, was leading the way.
Now, this posting has nothing to do with China or Nixon. It has to deal with a major announcement this week that the US government is providing a nine billion dollar loan that guarantees the construction of the first nuclear power plants in the US in 30 years. This announcement was made by none other than President Barack Obama.
The US nuclear power industry went into a living rigor mortise after the near-nuclear meltdown at Three Mile island in 1979. In 1983 I worked as junior rookie flunky field engineer on the construction of the 950 mega watt Clinton Nuclear Plant in Illinois. ( See picture above) That project started in 1969 and went into full operation in 1985. Following is a little history on why no new nuclear plants have started construction for the last 30 years.
Following Three Mile island, the US Atomic Energy Commission, whose job was to promote the peaceful use of atomic energy was replaced with the Nuclear Regulatory Agency whose job well ....was to regulate. The NRC became the Men In Black at nuclear construction sites. They became famous for asking what if questions such as "What if giant chipmunks hurl 9000 pound nuts at the reactor? Will the reactor remain intact?" The codes on plants which were being constructed at that time were changed due to the NRC and massive amounts of completed work had to be removed and replaced.
The new world of the NRC also required massive amounts of paper quality control documentation . The plant I worked on had 2000 construction workers and 4000 supervisors and ended up costing 3.3 billion dollars. Why so much money you ask? Do you remember in school when they told you that if they removed all the rat hairs out of a box of cereal then the cereal would become cost prohibitive? Nuclear construction became construction without rat hairs. Utility rate payers rightfully squealed as construction costs skyrocketed.
There is a second reason that power plant construction (not just nuclear) stopped in the mid-1980s and it's not one the GOP or the Democrats will own up to. The truth is the only reason to construct new power plants is rising power demand. The main source of rising power demand after WWII was heavy industry. If you are old enough to remember that steel mills, chemical plants and manufacturing operations were relocated overseas in the 1970s as they were considered " too dirty". It was proclaimed that the US was eventually to become a "service economy" The high paying jobs that heavy industry provided left and the rust belt was created. The rate payers continued screaming as expensive plants were being built whose power was no longer needed.
There is also is a third reason that no new plants have been built. Despite the fact that there have been operating nuclear plants in this country for over 50 years ( my father worked on the first plant in Shippingport, PA in the 1950s), we still do not have a national storage facility for nuclear wastes. The only facility we had ,the Yucca Mountain storage facility in Nevada was recently shut down by the Obama administration. Like many other issues such as Social Security, the government always puts off unpleasant choices to the future. For now, all nuclear waste is stored at nuclear plants whether operational or mothballed.
The fourth and most important reason has been the perceived lack of safety of nuclear power and a growing sense of nimbyism ( not in my backyard )in this country. Homer Simpson has been the face of nuclear energy for the last 20 years.
For those of us seeking energy independence, nuclear power represents a good option to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. For those seeking to stimulate the economy the construction of nuclear plants represents real green jobs. The kind that pay in green paper with dead Presidents on it. The support given by the Obama administration on nuclear plant construction represents a massive change in the energy policy of the United States and is not one that a Republican President could have made. In many ways it is similar to Nixon going to China.
A Voice in the Wilderness
Epilogue: I hope I am correct about my opinions above but over the last year I have developed an acute case of cynicism . For the past 30 years I have been able to judge a persons personal political inclinations simply by understanding their support or opposition to nuclear power.
In the 1980s many nuclear plants were partially constructed but never operated. I would hate to see billions of dollars spent on construction of new plants which may never operate with the taxpayers left picking up the bill. Last week Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller quoted that Obama was " Not believable" in matters concerning coal energy policy. Will he prove "believable" on nuclear energy?
Now, this posting has nothing to do with China or Nixon. It has to deal with a major announcement this week that the US government is providing a nine billion dollar loan that guarantees the construction of the first nuclear power plants in the US in 30 years. This announcement was made by none other than President Barack Obama.
The US nuclear power industry went into a living rigor mortise after the near-nuclear meltdown at Three Mile island in 1979. In 1983 I worked as junior rookie flunky field engineer on the construction of the 950 mega watt Clinton Nuclear Plant in Illinois. ( See picture above) That project started in 1969 and went into full operation in 1985. Following is a little history on why no new nuclear plants have started construction for the last 30 years.
Following Three Mile island, the US Atomic Energy Commission, whose job was to promote the peaceful use of atomic energy was replaced with the Nuclear Regulatory Agency whose job well ....was to regulate. The NRC became the Men In Black at nuclear construction sites. They became famous for asking what if questions such as "What if giant chipmunks hurl 9000 pound nuts at the reactor? Will the reactor remain intact?" The codes on plants which were being constructed at that time were changed due to the NRC and massive amounts of completed work had to be removed and replaced.
The new world of the NRC also required massive amounts of paper quality control documentation . The plant I worked on had 2000 construction workers and 4000 supervisors and ended up costing 3.3 billion dollars. Why so much money you ask? Do you remember in school when they told you that if they removed all the rat hairs out of a box of cereal then the cereal would become cost prohibitive? Nuclear construction became construction without rat hairs. Utility rate payers rightfully squealed as construction costs skyrocketed.
There is a second reason that power plant construction (not just nuclear) stopped in the mid-1980s and it's not one the GOP or the Democrats will own up to. The truth is the only reason to construct new power plants is rising power demand. The main source of rising power demand after WWII was heavy industry. If you are old enough to remember that steel mills, chemical plants and manufacturing operations were relocated overseas in the 1970s as they were considered " too dirty". It was proclaimed that the US was eventually to become a "service economy" The high paying jobs that heavy industry provided left and the rust belt was created. The rate payers continued screaming as expensive plants were being built whose power was no longer needed.
There is also is a third reason that no new plants have been built. Despite the fact that there have been operating nuclear plants in this country for over 50 years ( my father worked on the first plant in Shippingport, PA in the 1950s), we still do not have a national storage facility for nuclear wastes. The only facility we had ,the Yucca Mountain storage facility in Nevada was recently shut down by the Obama administration. Like many other issues such as Social Security, the government always puts off unpleasant choices to the future. For now, all nuclear waste is stored at nuclear plants whether operational or mothballed.
The fourth and most important reason has been the perceived lack of safety of nuclear power and a growing sense of nimbyism ( not in my backyard )in this country. Homer Simpson has been the face of nuclear energy for the last 20 years.
For those of us seeking energy independence, nuclear power represents a good option to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. For those seeking to stimulate the economy the construction of nuclear plants represents real green jobs. The kind that pay in green paper with dead Presidents on it. The support given by the Obama administration on nuclear plant construction represents a massive change in the energy policy of the United States and is not one that a Republican President could have made. In many ways it is similar to Nixon going to China.
A Voice in the Wilderness
Epilogue: I hope I am correct about my opinions above but over the last year I have developed an acute case of cynicism . For the past 30 years I have been able to judge a persons personal political inclinations simply by understanding their support or opposition to nuclear power.
In the 1980s many nuclear plants were partially constructed but never operated. I would hate to see billions of dollars spent on construction of new plants which may never operate with the taxpayers left picking up the bill. Last week Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller quoted that Obama was " Not believable" in matters concerning coal energy policy. Will he prove "believable" on nuclear energy?
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