America is the world’s largest consumer of nuclear power, but no new nuclear plant has begun operating since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979.
Energy demand will increase 53 percent by 2030. Thanks to a watershed energy bill passed in 2005, which encouraged investment in new-generation nuclear plants and reduced the financial risks, that’s about to change.
A streamlined federal application process means that construction of new nuclear plants could begin as early as 2012 if state utility commissions give them the green light. Three decades of accident-free operation since Three Mile Island have done much to blunt public opposition to nuclear power, but state regulators remain a formidable hurdle.
For example, Constellation Energy plans to apply for a license to operate a third nuclear plant at Calvert Cliffs, Md. The $4 billion plant would power 1.6 million homes when it goes online in 2015. Constellation warned Maryland’s Public Service Commission yesterday that if it throws too many roadblocks in the way, including forcing the company to sign long-term power contracts, the new nuclear plant will be built somewhere else.
This would be devastating, as Maryland’s lack of sufficient in-state power plants is partly responsible for residents’ sky-high electric bills. Experts predict power shortages in Maryland by 2011 — just three years from now — if no new facilities are built.
Efforts by Gov. Martin O’Malley and the General Assembly to re-regulate the energy industry could also hasten the onset of shortages.
Since the last nuclear plant went online in the ’70s, domestic power consumption in the U.S. has nearly doubled. New plants must be built to keep up with Americans’ ever-increasing demand for electricity. But wind and solar alternatives can’t do it alone, and coal-fired plants, which now produce half of all electricity currently generated in the U.S., also produce significant greenhouse gas emissions.
In contrast, the nation’s 104 nuclear reactors produce 20 percent of our power with no carbon emissions whatsoever. But they’re very expensive to build. Investors need a reasonable expectation that they can recoup their costs, which is what a predictable regulatory process provides. It’s also the best way to ensure that the lights stay on.
