Democrats and environmentalists embrace nuclear power to speed up transition to greener energy.

Nuclear power was once shunned both by Democrats and environmentalists. However, it is now being accepted among activists and the party as an alternative to fossil fuels amid rising energy prices and slow transition to renewables.

Proponents claim that carbon-free energy is reliable, cheap, and can be produced around the clock. This gives it an advantage over solar and wind, which are infrequent and limited by battery storage.

” Although there has been slow progress, sufficient modeling has been completed to convince a lot people within the environmental community about the importance of conserving the fleet.” said Doug Vine, a nonpartisan Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. There is a growing recognition that we don’t want to let emissions down .”

Evidence of a changing climate among climate hawks is evident.

Democrats have poured billions into tax incentives for nuclear power plants in the recently passed tax-and climate spending bill, which is the latest sign of party support. Production credits were provided for facilities already in use, as well as incentives to make smaller reactors, which are cheaper, faster to construct, more reliable to operate and last longer than six decades.

$6 billion was set aside last year to help the nation’s fleet of aging nuclear plants. Kathryn Huff from the Department of Energy, the top nuclear official in the country, said this week to the Washington Examiner that the Biden administration is also focusing on increasing domestic uranium enrichment essential for nuclear energy, as a way to reduce dependence on Russia which is a large supplier of global Uranium.

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California’s Democratic leaders reversed their course. They are scrambling now to maintain its only nuclear facility operational.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California, stated that the state must “consider every measure to combat the coming onslaught of natural disasters.”

” If California wants to be the leader in clean energy transitions as mandated by state law, Diablo must continue operating at the minimum for now,” wrote the Democrat.

The public sentiment on nuclear power has changed slightly, but the country is still a divided nation.

A Pew Research poll from May 2021 showed that 47% opposed expanding nuclear energy. A Pew survey from January of this year showed just 26% opposed while an increasing number, 37%, struck a neutral stance.

The U.S. had 54 nuclear plants, home to 92 reactors, operating in 28 states as of May, with the average plant age of 40 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Since 1990, nuclear power has accounted for about 20% of the country’s annual electricity production and makes up roughly half of all carbon-free electricity.

But over the last eight years, the U.S. has lost more than 10 gigawatts of nuclear power from 13 reactors, or the ability to power more than five million homes with zero emissions, according to Mr. Vine of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

Doug True is the vice president and chief nuclear officer at the Nuclear Energy Institute. He said that the tax and climate spending bills of Democrats, called the Inflation Reduction Act (or the Inflation Reduction Act), will place “nuclear” on the same playing field with renewables .”

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“Nuclear is one of those tools that can provide reliable power 24/7-365, as we’ve demonstrated over the last 50 years in a way that even renewables and storage would have difficulty,” he said during a recent event hosted by the U.S. Energy Association.

A fresh approach to nuclear energy is available far beyond America’s borders. This includes countries that are dependent on natural gas and oil imports but want to be more energy-independent.

Japanese Prime Minster Fumio Kishida instructed his government Wednesday, to start the construction of smaller, safer and more efficient nuclear reactors in order to fulfill its 2050 carbon neutral deadline. This marked a significant reversal by Japan, which had shut down many of its nuclear reactors following the 2011 Fukushima disaster. It previously stated that it would only focus on restarting these plants.

South Korea has reversed its plans to eliminate nuclear power plants. The United Kingdom is keen to have it as a key part of their energy strategy. Prime Minister Boris Johnson approved a multibillion-pound facility.

There are many environmentalists still opposed to nuclear power, for a variety of reasons including safety, costs and the possibility that they could be hazardous.

Greenpeace International regards nuclear energy as “dirty and dangerous” and “expensive.” It has an “Nuclear Power 101” webpage that explains “how their costs outweigh their benefits” but is urging against the saving of California’s Diablo Canyon.

” Late August in Sacramento is known for ill-considered propositions that cannot survive rigorous analysis and inclusive public review. They are rarely seen again,” Ralph Cavanagh (codirector of the NRDC’s energy program) wrote in a Los Angeles Times op ed. This one should be rejected .”

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The war between Russia and Ukraine has rekindled debates about energy sources. Experts have described Moscow’s actions as dangerous and irresponsible, including its shelling of nuclear power plants in the country and taking over some of them. This has raised fears about another Chernobyl disaster.

” You can’t create anything for war,” stated Bud Albright (president and CEO, U.S. Nuclear Industry Council) during U.S. Energy Association. You don’t want to design architecture for war.

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