Nuclear

The Future of Nuclear Power

Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Library of Congress
Jefferson Building

In the U.S. today, more than 100 nuclear generating plants provide about one-fifth of the nation's electricity, second only to coal as a source of electric power. Nuclear energy has many benefits: it does not pollute the air or emit greenhouse gases, it is not dependent on foreign suppliers, and it can be quite inexpensive to produce. But, nuclear plants are expensive to build and their radioactive by-products constitute both a security and health risk. Storage of spent fuel from reactors is a continuing source of controversy and conflict.

With this situation in mind, Resources for the Future, GLOBE USA (Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment USA) and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation convene a briefing, bringing together legislators, scholars, and representatives from the corporate and private sectors to discuss moving forward on this critical topic.

Video and commentary on the briefing follows below.

Video of the Briefing
(To view the videos, you need RealPlayer. Get a free RealPlayer at www.real.com.)

Frank E. Loy - Introduction
Incoming Chair, Board of Directors,
Resources for the Future

Frank Loy was Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs, (1998-2001), and president of the German Marshall Fund (1981-1995). He also served as director of the Department of State's Bureau of Refugee Programs. He previously was president of Penn Central Transportation Company; senior vice president for international and regulatory affairs, Pan American World Airways; and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs. He is chair or former chair of Environmental Defense, Foundation for a Civil Society, and the League of Conservation Voters. He received his B.A. from UCLA and his LL.B from Harvard Law School.

Richard Meserve
President,
Carnegie Institution

Dr. Richard A. Meserve was appointed the ninth president of the Carnegie Institution in December 2002. He assumed the presidency in April of 2003, after stepping down as chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a position he had held since 1999. He had been a member of Carnegie's board of trustees since 1992.

Presentation Slides
(Printer-friendly PDF format)

Before joining the NRC, Meserve was a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Covington & Burling, and he now serves as Senior Of Counsel to the firm. With his law degree and Ph.D. in applied physics, he devoted his legal practice to technical issues arising in environmental and toxic tort litigation, counseling scientific societies and high-tech companies, and nuclear licensing.

Meserve has served on numerous legal and scientific committees over the years, including many chartered by the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering. He is a member of the American Philosophical Society and the National Academy of Engineering, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Physical Society. Meserve serves on the Board of Directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.


Question and Answer Session

Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM)
Congressional Host

Pete Domenici has served in the United States Senate since 1972, making him the first senator from New Mexico to be elected for six terms. Senator Domenici serves as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Jurisdiction of the Committee includes oversight and legislative responsibilities for national energy policy, including international energy affairs and emergency preparedness, and nuclear waste policy. The Energy Committee's far-reaching legislative activity covers energy resources and development, including regulation, conservation, strategic petroleum reserves and appliance standards; nuclear energy; public lands and their renewable resources; surface mining, Federal coal, oil, and gas, other mineral leasing; territories and insular possessions; and water resources.

Domenici holds an undergraduate degree in education from the University of New Mexico, and a law degree from the University of Denver. His political career dates back to 1966, when he was elected to the Albuquerque City Commission.

Briefing Summary

A Renaissance for Nuclear Power in the United States?

In an era of dwindling energy reserves and increased demand, can expanded use of nuclear power be a viable alternative for the United States?

In an Energy 2050 briefing on Capitol Hill July 27, Carnegie Institution President Richard Meserve noted that a number of critical factors are coalescing to make new investment in nuclear power development a feasible option in the near future.

Handout:
Facts on Nuclear Power in the United States

"To be sure, building new nuclear plants in the United States will require some financial incentives for utilities, as well as some protection from the risks involved," Meserve said. "But the time has come to give fair consideration to breathing new life into this industry."

Two key realities argue for renewed nuclear plans construction, Meserve said. First, nuclear plants produce only thermal emissions, rather than the nitrogen and sulfur compounds, greenhouse gases, and heavy metals of fossil-fuel burning plants. Second, the United States has large and secure reserves of uranium, which does not contribute to climate degradation.

Meserve, a member of the Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board that recently issued a major report on nuclear power, said any growth in nuclear power must ensure that public health and safety will not be jeopardized and that national security will not be placed at risk.

Although 103 nuclear power plants currently operate in the United States, none have come on line since 1979, when the Three Mile Island reactor was shut down after a major malfunction. Approximately 20 percent of electric power in the United States comes from nuclear plants.

"The fact is, nuclear plants are providing more power than they did in 1979 -- due to increased efficiency -- and they are safer than they ever have been before," Meserve said. He also asserted that U.S. nuclear plants "have been made more secure since 9/11 than any other civilian enterprise."

Meserve acknowledged the continuing opposition to reviving nuclear power in many quarters, but added that the United States cannot afford to ignore the potential of a proven energy resource. He listed a number of barriers that would need to be overcome for nuclear power to enjoy a renaissance, among them:

legal issues regarding issuance of licenses for new plants by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission;
financial incentives for nuclear construction, particularly for the first two or three plants in order to satisfy investors and the general public that the plants will be safe;
extension of the Price-Anderson Act to pay liability claims in the event of a nuclear incident;
resolution of the spent fuel storage issue, currently enmeshed in political and legal wrangling;
training of needed human resources, particularly nuclear engineers, to operate new plants; and
public education regarding the safety of nuclear power, including assurance that a bomb or other device could not be built from spent fuel.

On the question of spent fuel repositories, Meserve asserted that long-term storage of radioactive residues was a manageable problem. "Scientists have studied this issue again and again, and we know that storage in deep geological sites will work," he said. "And in any event, there is no urgency to deposit spent fuel in new locations. We can store these materials in existing facilities for decades."

Meserve's presentation was the fourth in a series of congressional briefings on a number of energy resource options in coming decades. The Energy 2050 series is a joint project of RFF, GLOBE USA, and the Henry Jackson Foundation.