Ankle Biting Pundits on Nuclear Energy

Bull Dog Pundit, one of the contributors to the popular Ankle Biting Pundits, has some specific problems with Senator John McCain's position on energy policy in general, and a few concerning nuclear energy in particular:

Like McCain, I’m all for more nuclear power. However, here’s the problem I see with that. There hasn’t been a nuclear power plant built in the United States for decades. The reason? Well, for one they cost a great deal of money, but in terms of the long-terms cost savings it’s well worth the price.

The other big problem with building nuke plants is that the government has so regulated the industry, that it makes it nearly impossible to get one built. Further, lawsuits by environmental groups can delay the start of construction for years. Even a site that gets the initial permit from the NRC can take decades to be built, even assuming no opposition.

So what that means is that while the stated goal of greater reliance on nuclear energy is great in theory, the reality of the situation is that reliance on it is a risky proposition, and in the short term, impossible.

First of all, while there were certainly problems with new plant licensing in the past, the public needs to know that a new plant licensing process was established by NRC in 10 CFR Part 52, and that Congress reaffirmed that process in the Energy Policy Act of 1992.

A number of companies are engaged in testing the new plant licensing process, and most recently, NRC approved an early site permit to build a new reactor at Exelon's Clinton site in Illinois. Just last week, we did an interview with NRC Commissioner Jeffrey S. Merrifield where we asked him a number of questions about the new plant licensing process and how it could be reformed to speed approval of new plants while still protecting public safety. Click here for that interview.

Granted, there are a number of other challenges ahead for the industry. Certain elements of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 still need to be implemented properly. However, to imply that nothing has changed is simply inaccurate.

There's a lesson in this post. While many of the facts on the ground about nuclear energy have changed, and those of us inside the industry might be well aware of the changes that are taking place, there's still a lot of work to be done in educating others about how our industry operates and what the realities are.