Nuclear power must be in the mix
By: U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis
The Tennessean
June 19, 2009

From rural electrification to the great investments being made in solar energy today, the state of Tennessee has long supported the technological expansion of America's energy portfolio. Solar, wind, coal and other sources of energy will all have their part to play in America's future, and the search for alternative fuels is an admirable goal that we must continue to support, but we simply cannot meet our needs or fulfill our obligations without making nuclear energy a part of the solution.

Roughly thirty percent of Tennessee's electrical energy comes from the six nuclear reactors in our area. This energy is entirely emissions free, and is delivered to ratepayers at a third of the cost associated with energy produced by coal and one tenth the cost of oil. In this economy, with our energy independence at stake, we must make nuclear energy a part of our nation's future.

For all that nuclear energy promises - high paying jobs, zero emissions production, energy independence - it is not without drawbacks. First, nuclear power comes with a heavy front-end financial burden, sometimes costing billions of dollars in government subsidies to get off the ground. Second, we have yet to commit to a long-term solution for storing spent fuel. Third, there is no question that concerns about safety are at the top of every skeptic's mind.

Where are the options?

However, those who would have us eliminate nuclear energy from America have yet to present a workable proposal to account for the twenty percent of our electrical energy nuclear power provides. Despite a promising future, alternative energy cannot yet make up the difference, leaving us to resort to fossil fuels that are potentially more environmentally harmful and more expensive than nuclear energy.

Moreover, the last nuclear facility that came online in the U.S. was right here in Tennessee, in 1996. This means that of U.S.'s 104 nuclear reactors, the youngest is thirteen years old and some, like the Oyster Creek plant in New Jersey, are set to turn forty this year. With this in mind, opponents of nuclear power are standing against using newer technologies to build cheaper facilities, improve uranium recycling and make nuclear energy cleaner.

Just recently, I joined Babcock and Wilcox Executives, who oversee the Y-12 facility at Oak Ridge, and colleagues from the Congress to announce groundbreaking nuclear technology. This new, 125 Megawatt reactor is small enough to fit on a railcar, and produces its energy underground without nuclear power's signature cooling towers. Production for these reactors will happen entirely in North America, putting more Americans to work, and the reactors will run without the aid of water-cooled condensers, making them more environmentally friendly than contemporary reactors.

We must keep in mind that there is no silver bullet to take us to energy independence, but with the winds of American ingenuity at our backs we can solve this significant threat to our economic and national security, and secure a safer, cleaner world for future generations.

U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis serves on the House Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee and the House Committee on Science and Technology.