How long can nuclear power survive?

How long can nuclear power survive? About a year ago, the world's attention was focused on Japan: The huge tsunami swept the land and destroyed all the "obstacles" encountered, including nuclear power stations. The whole world was shocked and stunned. Many Japanese residents witnessed the destruction of their lives.

If you think that earthquakes and tsunami will make nuclear energy extinct, you are wrong. A few days ago, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has officially approved the United States Southern Power Company to build two more nuclear reactors. Before that, there were already two nuclear reactors built.

US Secretary of Energy Zhu Xiwen said that he has decided to add 2 million kilowatts of nuclear power installed capacity, which marks the beginning of the “US nuclear energy recovery”, which is also the first time since 1978. He said: "We hope to see more nuclear reactors rise up, but this ultimately depends on the choice of various regions of the United States, the choice of investors and power companies, and the choice of regulatory agencies."

In the United States today, 104 nuclear reactors supply 20% of the nation's electricity. The utilization rate of these nuclear reactors is the highest in the world and has exceeded 90%. In addition, coupled with the seemingly inexhaustible supply of nuclear reactor fuel*, a large number of advocates claim that nuclear power is cheaper and more reliable than the now popular fossil fuel-based natural gas combined cycle power generation.

If nothing else, the two new nuclear reactors of the Southern Power Company will start generating electricity in 2016 or 2017. Of course, there are quite a few doubters, including environmental protection organizations. Some people have even filed a lawsuit with the Court of Appeal of Washington to terminate the Southern Power Corporation’s nuclear program.

They put forward many reasons, including the construction of nuclear power plants overtime and overspending. Southern Power's two existing nuclear reactors in Vogttel took about 15 years to complete and exceeded US$8 billion. The two new nuclear reactors have received 8.3 billion U.S. dollars in guarantees, which is worrying those who have witnessed previous cost overruns.

Of course, there are also concerns about whether accidents at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan will also occur in the United States: the explosion of spent fuel rods caused by the failure of backup cooling systems, and the melting of nuclear reactor cores, causing lethal radioactive material spills.

Therefore, the storage of radioactive waste has become an obstacle to the advancement of nuclear energy. Last year, the Obama administration proposed to cancel the plan to build a permanent storage facility for spent fuel in Yucca Mountain, Nevada. However, due to various reasons, the spent fuel can still only be temporarily stored in the ground concrete facilities.

"Given the nuclear disaster in Japan, we should call for a new plan for nuclear power plants in the United States," said Lue &middot of the Blue Ridge Environmental Protection Alliance; Zeiler said, "But the aggressive power industry and the NRCs in the meantime seem to be only advancing and neglecting Danger signal.” Although NRC** Gregory · Jessoc also stood on the side of the environmental organization, but the decision to build two nuclear reactors was still adopted by a 4:1 vote.

It is estimated that the two new nuclear reactors in Vogttel will eventually cost 14 billion U.S. dollars. Of this, 6 billion US dollars will be undertaken by Southern Power Company, and the rest will come from the guarantee provided to the company and its partners. Southern Power's customers currently contribute 2%, and will pay 1% annually for the next five years in order to get the project the necessary funds.

Is this fair? Generally, the southeastern United States is willing to use nuclear power as a tool for its economic development and a stable energy source. At the same time, due to the collapse of the solar company Solyndra, the 535 million US dollar dolphins have been derailed, which has led to a clear reduction in guarantees in recent months.

Nuclear advocates retorted that the use of nuclear reactors can last for more than 30 years. The guarantees are used only for the start-up of projects, and financial markets are bound to attract and start investing. At the same time, the NRC is stepping up its security measures to ensure that all nuclear facilities are able to "resist natural disasters" and have spare power to prevent the core from melting.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Zhu Shuwen said: “Finding a feasible way to solve the problem of safe storage of nuclear waste is one of the most important things we should do to support this important industry.” To this end, he appointed a Blue Ribbon Commission. . The committee said that there is an urgent need to find a place for permanent storage of nuclear waste; at the same time, there must be a larger temporary storage space to meet the temporary needs.

What is the current situation? In addition to the Southern Power Company, there will be South Carolina Electric Corporation, under the company of Scana, which may soon be approved by the NRC and will build two more nuclear reactors with a capacity of 2 million kilowatts. In contrast, NRG Energy withdrew from a Texas deal because of the nuclear accident and capital expenditures in Japan.

This difference highlights the uncertainties faced by the nuclear industry. There is no doubt that the nuclear crisis in Fukushima, Japan, has left indelible scars and cast a shadow over Southern Electric's actions. However, if the company can follow the planned timetable and budget, it can change its negative views and increase the value of nuclear facilities. Today, a large number of nuclear facilities are operating at near full capacity and have long been reliable.

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