On Monday, the TVA announced that Watts Bar Unit 2 had successfully completed what is known as its final power ascension test. It is now producing 1,150 MW of power in pre-commercial operation. Though EnergyWire did report it (subscription required), I would have thought this would have received more coverage. It’s been 20 years since the last nuclear facility came online in the United States.
In case anyone has forgotten, we’re trying to reduce GHG emissions in this country. Nuclear power – still – does not produce GHG emissions. Nuclear power’s role in combatting climate change seems only to be more salient in light of the recent study by Washington State University researchers concluding that hydroelectric dam reservoirs are a significant source of GHGs. According to the study, reservoirs produce the equivalent of 1 gigaton of CO2 annually, or 1.3% of all GHGs produced by humans.
If we want to be carbon-free in our energy production, that leaves solar and nuclear. Solar has a huge and growing role to play. But are we really going to turn our back on nuclear power as an option? As Robert Heinlein and Milton Friedman noted, TANSTAAFL.
Nuclear power is not carbon neutral, safe, cost effective, environmentally friendly, or even rational if one accounts for what goes into the complete life cycle of nuclear power. For a more broad base of information see http://media.wix.com/ugd/1521ac_f7bb55250cce4556a2bf3d3097e55d17.pdf .There is a lot of ignorance and as yet not fully understood aspects of the use of fissile materials, besides a lack of industry transparency in general. To learn about new emergent science and technology that will replace such dangerous sources see http://ufsolution.wixsite.com/unifiedfieldsolution/proven-tech .