Greenhouse Gases and other pollutants . In fact, Nebraska's two plants are preventing 39,000 tons of pollution. That pollution is in the form of sulfur dioxide, 11.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and 21,000 tons of nitrogen oxides from polluting the air in a single year.
Nuclear power plants, when managed and regulated appropriately, can produce reliable and clean electricity for millions of businesses, homes.
Congressional debates regarding the expansion of nuclear energy have not resulted in a comprehensive energy bill that we need to move forward in this area. Having a comprehensive energy bill would mean the promotion of renewable energy, through the generation of an increased amount of nuclear power.
Our future energy demands make it imperative that we move on this now rather than later and the sooner the better. It has been predicted by the U.S. Department of Energy that electricity demand will increase by 21 percent by 2030. Applications for 26 new nuclear reactors have been submitted by the nuclear power industry for consideration by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The ever rising need for energy dictates that we find ways to speed up the process of licensing and getting these nuclear plants up and running.
Because nuclear power generates over 20 percent of the nation's electricity, we should be considering Nebraska's success in the generation of a large percent of their electricity from two nuclear plants. It is a good example of the benefits the nation could be reaping if we follow their example.
To address the dilemma of nuclear waste diposal the recycling of Spent Fuel is a consideration.
Nuclear power generates approximately 20 percent of the nation's electricity, where the first nuclear power plant began operating in 1973 in Nebraska, the nation should be taking a hard look at how Nebraska is meeting it's energy demands.
Government hesitation is largely do to the cost of such endeavors though safety is also at the top of the list. The cost of nuclear power is not easily calculated. Electricity generated by nuclear energy costs the same as electricity from any other source because providers do not charge customers according to the source of the energy, they charge what the going rate is. The cost of electricity depends largely on where you live and can vary tremendously.
Building nuclear power plants is the expensive side of nuclear power. It is a multi-billion dollar project and maintaining the plant and the cost of fuel is also very expensive. Uranium, the fuel used by nuclear power plants, is a resource that is very scarce and destined to run out. That is what makes it expensive and that is why it is the opinion of many people that nuclear energy is not a renewable energy.
Those, however are not the costs which are difficult to calculate. The difficulty calculating expenses arises where nuclear waste storage and danger of accidents are considered. Storage for radioactive waste is presently stored temporarily and it is accumulating. It is a problem that will need to be addressed soon. There is no way we know of, yet, to reliably deal with this storage problem.
There are also risks that could become very costly if they should be realized, such as an accident or materials such as spent nuclear fuel (which is used to make nuclear weapons) getting into the hands of our enemies.
Another cost we must consider is the dismantling of the nuclear power plant and dealing with the parts in a responsible manner.
These costs, it can be said, are neutralized by the damage that coal does to the atmosphere. It is not a wonder that there is much contention about the use of nuclear power vs. the use of coal power.
That said, when we look at the success Nebraska has realized with the use of Nuclear energy it must be considered as an option for the fuel needs of the nation.
