In support of advanced nuclear energy

Submitted by Geoff Baumann
Posted 1/6/22

Dear Editor:

Fear of the bomb was part of my growing up. At the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis my mother sent us off to school saying, “I hope I see you tonight.”

From weapons …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

In support of advanced nuclear energy

Posted

Dear Editor:

Fear of the bomb was part of my growing up. At the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis my mother sent us off to school saying, “I hope I see you tonight.”

From weapons to power plants I am anti-nuke — that is, until a year ago, when I toured the Idaho National Laboratory. When the director of the National Reactor Innovation Center described a nuclear reactor the size of a small car that could supply carbon-free electricity for 100,000 people for 10 years, I was surprised:

“At the end of its working life it is lowered into a deep hole on site and replaced by the next generation reactor. The waste is contained, the footprint is small, the reliability is high and safety is built in. Walk away and they simply shut down.”

I began to change my mind. She talked about lessons learned from Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima and how government and private research are developing a new generation of nuclear power plants. Big companies are seeing economic opportunities and competition is developing to find locations for these new plants.

Wyoming is high on the list. Companies like TerraPower are investing in Wyoming. The Natrium reactor announced for Kemmerer is a great project; futuristic, yes, but things are happening fast.

Energy demands and production are changing rapidly. People are using more electricity, but it is increasingly coming from sources other than fossil fuels. Ford and GM, for example, are going all electric within 10 years. Solar and wind are booming.

Wyoming minerals which we have long benefited from are in decline. But they are leaving us with the infrastructure to switch from coal to advanced nuclear. 

In this changing world carbon is becoming less welcome. Drought, smoky summers, record-breaking temperatures, year-round fire season and furious weather events all over the world speak for themselves. The world made great strides with fossil fuels, but their consequences are coming to roost.

Things are on edge but Wyoming has an advantage. The state can cash in on clean energy technologies. Advanced nuclear is a win-win-win for all. 

Solar and wind are important but only as “supplementary” sources. They cannot supply the “base load,” which coal is used to handling. If the world needs more cowboys, the ranch needs more skills.

People are looking for opportunities and clean places to live. Advanced nuclear is an opportunity to recognize the future and rope it in.

Geoff Baumann

Powell

Comments