A Dispassionate View of Nuclear Energy

         Nuclear energy isn’t an abstract issue.  It’s a fact of life, but the facts are often lost in emotional and partisan debates.  It’s time to take a dispassionate view.

The 400 nuclear plants throughout the world account for 20% of the world’s electricity.  France garners 75% of all its electricity from nuclear power. There are one hundred nuclear plants throughout the USA. Since 1962, six nuclear plants, beginning with the Oswego facility in 1962, have been built in New York.  They account for about 13% of the state’s electric generating capacity, 26% of its power supply, and 11% of total consumption. 

They were developed largely due to the fact that they produce power far more economically than other sources.  Overall production costs are approximately 1.76 cents per kilowatt-hour.  Coal is the next cheapest, at 2.21 cents, and natural gas costs about 7.61 cents. Unlike oil and coal, there is little in the way of supply problems. Supplying plants utilizing those two sources require constant and large scale delivery efforts. By contrast, in nuclear plants, a single uranium pellet can deliver the equivalent of 1,780 lbs. of coals, or 149 gallons of oil. Because of this, nuclear plants are not subject to significant supply problems.  The source is home grown, freeing Americans from the whims of unfriendly foreign governments. The various factors that interrupt deliveries to other types of plants don’t affect nuclear facilities. 

          Operationally, nuclear plants are environmentally friendly.  James Hansen, who introduced the concept of global warming in 1988, advocated the use of nuclear power as a means to combat the issue. Unlike hydroelectric plants, there is no need to dam rivers or disrupt the surrounding environment.

         Radioactivity is one of the most frequently cited concerns in discussions on the use of nuclear power plants. Oddly enough, old fashioned coal-fired plants actually emit more radiation into the air than nuclear facilities. No American has ever been killed or seriously injured because of a reactor accident or radiation exposure from a U.S. nuclear power plant. (Even the well known Three Mile River incident failed to produce any significant radiation problems.) Internationally, the Chernobyl incident resulted from an inherently faulty design; another example of the blatant disregard for worker and environmental safety that characterizes Communist nations. The harm done to Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant—Japan depends on nuclear plants for about 30% of its power-- resulted from a level of poor planning not characteristic of the American experience, questionable plant siting, an unprecedented combination of extreme natural disasters, and the failure of conventional power to allow safety mechanisms to work.

New York’s need for abundant, home-grown, affordable, nonpolluting energy renders nuclear power a viable option, providing that safety and security remains a top priority for plant operators.