America Flips Switch On First New Nuclear Reactor in 7 Years - OilPrice.com
America Flips Switch On First New Nuclear Reactor in 7 Years | OilPrice.com
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The United States has started operations on its first new nuclear reactor in seven years, in a development hailed as having a positive impact on the climate as it releases no greenhouse gas emissions.
The Waynesboro, Georgia-based Unit 3 reactor at Plant Vogtle began delivering power to the grid on Monday after having successfully completed tests this spring.
The Westinghouse AP1000 commercial reactor is now generating some 1,110 megawatts of energy to power around half a million homes and businesses, according to its grid operator, Georgia Power, as reported by CNBC. The reactor will be able to operate at this level for as long as eight decades.
The nuclear milestone is the first new reactor to be put into operation since 2016, in Tennessee.
The debate continues over whether nuclear power is a friend or foe to the climate.
The anti-nuclear lobby feels that nuclear energy is not a legitimate element of the renewable transition, citing meltdown risks and dangerous storage of nuclear waste fuel.
Proponents, on the other hand, argue that there have been major advancements in the treatment and storage of nuclear waste fuel, and that the U.S. has a clean track record in terms of dangerous accidents.
Another hurdle is American dependence on Russia for uranium to power nuclear reactors. The U.S. imported some 14% of its uranium and 28% of all enrichment services from Russia in 2021 and is actively pursuing alternatives for uranium as a nuclear fuel.
Russia is home to one of the world’s largest uranium resources with an estimated 486,000 tons of uranium, the equivalent of 8% of global supply. It also houses the biggest uranium enrichment complex in the world, accounting for nearly half of the global capacity.
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By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.