Alabama Public Radio: Nuclear power’s ‘Bama comeback via Tennessee Valley Authority
Suggested host intro: Nuclear power is making a comeback and Alabama could be one of its first stops. The Tennessee Valley Authority just filed an application to build two nuclear reactors in northern Alabama. Matt Laslo reports from Capitol Hill.
NARR: Recently, NRG Energy applied for a new nuclear power plant in Texas. That was the first application for a new plant in thirty years . . . ever since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. But the industry is bouncing back. Soaring prices of fossil fuels, global warming, and France’s massive nuclear program are all playing into nuclear’s renaissance. Huntsville Democratic Congressman Bud Cramer represents the district where the proposed site would go.
CRAMER2-SAFETY GOOD :14 “Safety is a concern, but I’ve been to France a number of times and looked at their commitment to nuclear . . . I (just) don’t think safety is the scary issue that many of us thought ten, twenty years ago.”
The application still has to pass the Nuclear Regulatory Commission – or the NRC – before any building takes place. But the NRC is bracing itself for a flood of applications. They expect to receive thirty in the next few years, and they are finally ready to okay some of them. Cramer says the Tennessee Valley Authority’s proposal for Alabama is going to help the national movement.
CRAMER3-CLEAN FUT :17 “I think it’s a good clean efficient way to go – its an expensive way to go. And TVA got off on a good aggressive start on this a number of years ago, but now we’re catching up and I think TVA can show the way to the nation for a good, cleaner, better nuclear future.”
TVA’s new proposal is for an advanced reactor that is supposed to be simpler than earlier versions with less nuts and bolts, and less piping. Analysts say that means a safer facility that can be built faster than plants in the past. TVA wants to put the new reactor at its old Alabama site – Bellefonte (Bell-eh-font). It was abandoned in 1988 after a six billion dollar investment. Tennessee Republican Senator Lamar Alexander says the time is right for more nuclear.
GORE_NUCLEAR_ALEX_WPLN_10-31-07 “A second inconvenient truth is that in terms of producing electricity the only real alternatives to doing anything about climate change in this generation are conservation and nuclear power.”
But some lawmakers aren’t convinced that nuclear is the right way to go. Massachusetts Democrat Ed Markey has been saying for years that the nation’s nuclear sites are vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Now, he’s even more angry about the subsidies Congress is delivering to the industry. They include tax credits and construction loan guarantees. So if a plant defaults, taxpayers would have to cover the debt. And Markey says that can’t last.
AX: Markey1-Hat in hand (20 secs) If the nuclear industry can make it in the free market, well, good luck to them, but please don’t come with their hat in their hand for tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer loan guarantees .”
Markey predicts that lawmakers will soon get fed up with subsidizing the nuclear industry. And the nuclear resurgence will end with a whimper. But Haleyville Republican Congressman Robert Aderholt disagrees.
ADERHOLT2-ONE OPTION :15 “The thing about it is there is not one particular alternative way that I believe we can actually invest our money and say this is the way we are going. We have to have alternatives and I believe this is one of them.”
And Congress is trying to increase funding for wind, solar and ethanol, which all have a long future ahead. But now that nuclear is back, Alabama officials are also excited about the possibility of more local jobs and more power.
For Alabama Public Radio, I’m Matt Laslo on Capitol Hill.
