Nuclear Energy: A Sound Investment

It is often said that hindsight is 20/20 because many don’t immediately see the potential benefit of a situation until much later.

The same theory could be applied to the skepticism some had about investing in nuclear energy. In the mid-1980s, the Grand Gulf nuclear plant was one of the most contentious political issues in Arkansas. Today, it stands as a shining example of electricity planning done right.

Back then, many Arkansans couldn’t fathom why they were being asked to help pay for a nuclear power plant being built in Mississippi at a time when their electricity needs were being met by power plants in their own state.

But those investments in Grand Gulf and, before that, in two reactors at Arkansas Nuclear One, helped the state get ahead of its growing energy demand and avoid many of the energy price gyrations that have plagued other states that invested less in the industry. Even today, with natural gas near five-year lows, nuclear energy still costs about 2.5 times less to produce.

And now, 35 years later, thanks to nuclear energy, Arkansans enjoy the 12th-cheapest average electricity prices in the nation.

Other states are taking a page out of the Arkansas playbook when it comes to financing new nuclear plants. Georgia legislators helped make two new reactors possible after passing “pay as you go” legislation to allow the electric utility to recover some of the project’s costs as it is built.

Georgia wasn’t just looking to plan ahead for its energy demand; it was also attracted by the economic expansion and job creation that is accompanying the project. As the 1,000 workers who support Arkansas One can attest, the nuclear energy industry hires for the long haul, helping insulate local communities from the ups and downs of economic cycles and the outsourcing of jobs.

Arkansas One has played a pivotal part in securing the tax base of both Russellville and Pope County during the past 35 years. The Clean & Safe Energy Coalition, a national alliance of nuclear energy supporters that I chair with former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Christine Todd Whitman, estimates that each of the 104 reactors in operation around the country today generates $430 million a year in total economic output for the surrounding area.

Nuclear energy’s increasing popularity both here and abroad also has a lot to do with what it doesn’t generate: greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear energy is virtually emissions free, putting it at the center of efforts by the United States and other countries to develop large-scale, low-carbon electricity sources. Nuclear energy produces more than 70 percent of the emissions-free electricity in the United States – 72 percent of all clean energy produced in Arkansas – providing a reliable source of clean energy for homes and businesses.

This 24/7 energy source serves as the base-load power in a clean-energy portfolio that includes the expansion of renewable sources such as solar and wind. The 11 million metric tons of carbon dioxide that Arkansas One helped avoid last year were the equivalent of taking 543,000 passenger cars off Arkansas roads, more than half of those registered in the state.

No wonder that American support for nuclear energy is at an all-time high. Sixty-two percent of Americans polled by Gallup earlier this year said they support using nuclear energy to meet the country’s energy needs, the highest measure since Gallup began asking the question in 1994. The industry’s supporters include President Obama and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle who have worked together to expand federal financial support to help build new reactors.

For those leaders, Arkansas is an example to follow. With America’s electricity demand expected to increase 28 percent by 2035, those who are tasked with energy policy need to expand the use of reliable, affordable and emissions-free sources of power. Fortunately, Arkansas had the vision to invest in nuclear 35 years ago. Now, let’s hope the rest of the nation can benefit from such foresight and leadership. 

Patrick Moore, is co-chair of the Clean & Safe Energy Coalition, an industry-funded coalition that promotes the economic and environmental benefits of nuclear energy as part of a green energy economy. To read more, visit CleanSafeEnergy.org.