The Restart of Closed Nuclear Plants Considered as Push to Reduce Carbon Emissions in the U.S. Increases

Although for years the use of nuclear power in the U.S. made a “big section of the public” uncomfortable, recently there has been a shift in that feeling “with a revived understanding of nuclear energy as a green power” that could not only add to other renewable energy sources, but the electricity produced by nuclear plants is “also seen as more consistent than wind or solar.” At the same time, the increasing cost of generating electricity with fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal due to stricter state and federal emissions laws has helped further shift the balance toward nuclear. Heightened use of technology has created a soaring demand for electricity from AI server farms and data centers, the latter projected to account for 8% of U.S. electricity demand by 2030 — up from around 3% in 2022 according to reported data from an April report by Goldman Sachs. Financial support from the federal and state governments has prompted Holtec International to recently abandon the decommissioning of its Palisades nuclear power plant located along the shores of Lake Michigan that closed in 2022, and instead restart the reactor, backed by nearly $2 billion in loans from the federal government and the state. Despite it being pointed out that recommissioning is a faster and less expensive way to add to energy capacity, and the process of creating electricity from nuclear energy hasn’t fundamentally changed over the years, critics question whether reactors built back in the ‘70s can safely come back online, compounded by the fact that the restarting of the Palisades plant would be Holtec’s first such job, since the company has experience only in decommissioning nuclear plants.

Acknowledging that more modern plants have important upgrades compared to those built in 70s-era due to safety standards that have evolved enormously, a spokesperson for the NCR stated that “all licensed nuclear plants in the U.S. have been hardened against reactor meltdowns, extreme flooding and other weather events, and cyber or drone attacks, including Palisades.” In July, the Chairman of NRC told the House subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security that the restart of Palisades is “something we’ve never done before in the United States,” and expects to have a decision about approving the Palisades restart by May 2025. In the meantime, several questions remain open about how Holtec is going to demonstrate that Palisades plant meets regulations, and what regulations the NRC is going to use to make that judgement since it has never supervised the restart of one according to concerns raised by an industry veteran with 40 years of experience of managing nuclear plants.

Source:    https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/biden-nuclear-power-plant-loan-michigan-eee64904