JAPAN MELTDOWN HEATS NUKE WASTE DEBATE

Tsunami’s ripples could reach Nevada on renewable energy, Yucca Mountain fronts
Karoun Demirjian, March 16, 2011 (Las Vegas Sun)

"As Japan reels from explosions and meltdowns at nuclear reactors damaged by last week’s tsunami, there’s talk in Washington about reining in the United States’ nuclear ambitions [or for a moratorium on nuclear plant construction]— discussions that will have an effect [on the energy debate and be felt] in Nevada…[E]nding or significantly scaling back nuclear development could either bring about the demise of or facilitate renewable energy development [in Nevada]. It could also do the same for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

"Nuclear energy has been enjoying a renaissance in Washington, especially since Republicans scored major gains in the 2010 elections…[N]uclear energy was the one place where Republicans and the Obama administration agreed that investment and development was essential…[and has seemed] the best means to balance competing interests on energy investment. Although too divided to hope for a comprehensive bill, lawmakers hoped that nuclear energy could facilitate compromises on federal loan guarantees — such as those for a planned solar plant in Tonopah — and establishing a national clean energy standard…"

Where U.S. spent fuel is: Yucca Mountain would solve this problem - and create a new problem. (from Wikipedia - click to enlarge)

"The trade-off between nuclear energy and renewable energy — both considered “clean” — is financial as well as political…Nuclear power plants aren’t cheap: It costs about $10 billion to build one, meaning government-backed loans are essential to their construction. That’s a far steeper price than most renewable energy projects, but nuclear plants produce far more energy than your average solar or wind farm…[but stopping] funding for nuclear development doesn’t translate into a windfall for renewable energy projects…[L]awmakers are looking to reduce federal spending…[and] nuclear’s backers aren’t going to pull the plug…

"…The United States all but abandoned nuclear energy more than 30 years ago after the meltdown of a reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. The events in Japan have exceeded the severity of that catastrophe, and public safety officials are bracing for potentially more fires and explosions that could release more radioactivity into the air…The nuclear reactors in Japan had multiple backup systems, all of which failed…That’s raising the question for many about how safe U.S. reactors are, and in Nevada, about just how safe the Yucca Mountain site is…Nevada ranks fourth in the nation for seismic activity…[and] as the Japanese reactors illustrate, even the best designs can’t withstand every force majeure…"


From gonobradio via YouTube

"Yucca Mountain hasn’t been officially funded since President Barack Obama took control of federal budget requests, but the site is progressing through a certification process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In the past few weeks, House Republicans have also taken steps toward reviving, or at least preserving, the site as a dump…Most of Nevada’s lawmakers, in both parties, have opposed efforts to develop the site…

"Without nuclear, potential energy deals of all kinds seem less probable. But there’s far less incentive to stop the energy discussion at a time when the country is struggling with rising oil and gas prices, the result of turmoil in the Middle East…A group of Republican senators…[proposed developing] the country’s carbon-fuel resources — including opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling — and [using] profits to support fledgling renewable energy projects…[It] could win support…[It] increases U.S. energy independence and national security…[but] at the expense of the clean-and-green ethos behind the renewable energy movement…It’s potentially another setback for a fledgling renewables sector that Nevada’s depending on for an economic boom, but that’s in desperate need of government support…"