nuclear power appeared on the brink of a renaissance, until the Fukushima disaster. However in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake and tsunami, nuclear reactors worldwide have been turned off and construction of nuclear plants has been put on hold. Safeguards to harden nuclear reactors from natural disasters, as well as clean up costs, could make nuclear energy too expensive to be profitable to investors in the future.
What it will cost with nuclear power
About 62 percent of the public was interested in nuclear power in a Gallup poll in 2010. This was because of the idea of nuclear power as a clean, reliable energy source. The Obama administration announced plans to provide $54.2 billion in loan guarantees for the construction of nuclear power plants. The Fukushima disaster was not the reason why it was unlikely that nuclear reactors would be built in the U.S. Mark Cooper of the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School explained it was already unlikely. Cooper gave a presentation at the House of Commons in Ottawa, Canada, where he said there was a U.S. nuclear industry bubble that was not going to last soon. In 2001, he said, the bubble started. Nuclear energy was given loan guarantees in billions of dollars by the Bush administration. In 2008, several were upset about the nuclear industry. It was not doing also as many hoped it would. It ended due to the recession, several other clean energy opt! ions and cheap natural gas.
Energy from nuclear power not as cheap as it used to be
In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, building new reactors could become even more cost prohibitive. Cooper's research shows that there was a 95 percent increase in construction costs after the Pennsylvania Three Mile Island accident in 1979. Everyone had to pay 40 percent more in electricity due to this. There was also an incident in Ukraine at Chernobyl in 1986. This caused a 42 percent increase in electricity costs after an 89 percent increase in construction costs. The expense of construction goes up quite a bit after accidents occur for nuclear reactors. This is because the safety needs to be addressed causing a design change. Because of the Fukushima incident, the United States already has the Nuclear Regulatory Commission together to start figuring out what changed need to be made.
An unacceptable risk to investors
Going forward from Fukushima, investors will view clean energy alternatives for instance natural gas, wind and solar as more attractive than nuclear plants. Utilities might also pass on assuming the risk of nuclear plants. When it comes to energy sources, nuclear energy makes sense if you don’t want to pay much. Before taking into account the cleanup costs of a nuclear accident, onshore wind farms, for instance, are up to 35 percent cheaper than nuclear plants. In the future, alternative sources will become increasingly capable of helping meet the world’s energy needs without the financial and ecological costs of nuclear power. For savvy investors, clean energy alternatives promise more lucrative opportunities.
Articles cited
Reuters
reuters.com/article/2011/03/25/idUS423443138820110325
Fast Company
fastcompany.com/1742619/what-are-the-economics-of-nuclear-power-after-fukishima
The National
thenational.ae/lifestyle/personal-finance/japans-nuclear-woes-add-pressure-to-invest-in-green-energy
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