As our nation continues to grow and prosper, many complex issues must be faced and difficult decisions made which will not only affect us but also our children and grandchildren.  Transportation is certainly a concern as our roads are overcrowded with automobiles and the fuels they consume are becoming scarce and more expensive each year. Health care and Social Security benefits are always a topic of debate as to how these programs can continue to be funded.

In our business, a primary concern is how to continue to provide affordable electricity and protect our environment.  It’s a fact that as the nation grows economically, there is a need for more electricity.  Most everyone agrees that more coal plants dumping CO2 (carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere is not an acceptable answer.   Renewable resources, such as wind and solar, offer perhaps the best, most palatable solution, but the higher capital costs make it economically impractical.  Also, the need to produce electricity in mass quantity presents another set of hurdles for renewable resources. 

Gas-fired generators have exploded in popularity over the past decade. They are cheap to build but expensive to run.  As they grow in acceptance, so will the cost of electricity due to the volatile natural gas market. 

This leaves nuclear generation.  There is no doubt nuclear power lost most of its credibility when the massive Chernobyl disaster poured radiation into the atmosphere 21 years ago along with the 1979 meltdown of the Three Mile Island reactor.  Since then, little has been done to promote any new nuclear plants in the United States. 

On the positive side, nuclear power makes sense with most of the world’s oil and gas in the hands of shaky or hostile governments while most of the uranium supply is in more accessible areas such as Australia and Canada. The past decade has seen simpler, cheaper and considerably safer designs for nuclear power plants, along with lower maintenance and repair costs. Unnecessary shutdowns seem to be a thing of the past with average availability moving from 50% in the 1950's to over 90% today.  Although these types of power plants are expensive to construct, they will produce large amounts of electricity for years and years to come, driving their power production expense down to very cost effective levels.

Of course, the negative side of any nuclear reactor is the disposal of the waste which is produced.  How can it be safely stored forever without the threat of causing havoc somewhere down the road?

There are difficult decisions to be made ahead.  However, with the advent of climate change issues, dramatically improved engineering and design, and poor locations of oil and gas, we have little choice but to consider nuclear power as a viable option to meet our future energy needs.

Thank You,
Jeff Loven
Email: jeff.loven@frenchbroademc.com


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