Advancing The Nuclear Energy Debate Down Under

That group of professors at the University of Melbourne who put together a wiki on nuclear energy that we told you about yesterday are starting to draw some attention to their efforts.

Earlier today, Professor Martin Sevior, one of the authors of the document, was interviewed on the country's national radio network about the effort:

NICK MCKENZIE: Associate Professor Sevior says his research into nuclear waste disposal should help dispel many environmentalists' fears.

MARTIN SEVIOR: One thing that's perhaps not always realised is that the amount of waste that comes out of a typical plant is around 30 tonnes a year. The amount of waste that comes out of a coal-fired power plant is around 1,000 tonnes a day.

So the actual volume of waste that comes out of a nuclear power plant is actually rather small. And there have been very well-developed proposals to bury it deep underground in the Nordic countries. I think it's entirely feasible to bury it very safely.

NICK MCKENZIE: Associate Professor Sevior says his study has exposed serious flaws in an often-quoted European study into the limits of the uranium industry.

But while he says nuclear energy investment would be more beneficial than investment in sustainable energy sources, he also acknowledges that debate about nuclear energy has some way to go.

MARTIN SEVIOR: Part of the reason I'm not … we're not all-out saying yes, we must do this, is that part of that credible case depends on nuclear power industry living up to its promises, and one of the promises it makes is that the next generation of power plants that it has on the boards and are touting around the world, live up to their expectations.

That sounds like a message that the nuclear energy industry ought to be listening to. For more on some of the challenges that the industry has to face in order to be successful, read this speech that our CEO, Skip Bowman, gave earlier this year to the World Association of Nuclear Operators:

The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that global electricity consumption will increase by 57 percent by 2025. Ninety percent of that growth will come in emerging economies, as our industry works to bring electricity to more than 1.5 billion people for the first time.

There are ambitious plans to expand nuclear energy production around the world. And that means we'’re going to lean heavily on the companies that provide and bend the metal, pour the concrete and supply nuclear-quality components.

NEI is taking a close look at the global nuclear infrastructure, evaluating the administrative, personnel, financial and manufacturing resources to enable new-plant construction.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Environment Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics, Australia, Electricity, Wiki