Nuclear is Our Future supports increasing the number of nuclear power plants in the United States and worldwide. The reasons–lowered environmental impact, reduced energy dependence, skilled manufacturing jobs, low-cost electricity, permanent destruction of weapons materials–are detailed throughout this website.
For the first time in over 30 years, there is a serious prospect for a significant expansion in the number of nuclear power plants in the United States. The major threats at this point are political, as well as the economic side effects produced by this political uncertainty. Crucially, utilities will not build nuclear power plants if they believe that there is nothing but opposition, and anti-nuclear activists know it. Anti-nuclear activists are doing everything they can to make sure that building a new nuclear power plant is as painful as possible, from protests and lawsuits to procedural delays in licensing hearings and shareholder tactics.
The deck is stacked against every nuclear power plant proposal, indeed any proposal for a construction project of any significance in the United States. Enough procedural roadblocks are in place that in practice, a well-funded, well-organized, skilled, and determined group can stop any project. Utilities and policymakers need to know that there is something out there that isn’t opposition–and unless we all speak up, there’s no way for utilities to know that they won’t be steamrolled, and, more importantly, there’s no way for policymakers to know that their constituents don’t want more procedural roadblocks.
Nuclear power plant designs must be approved before they can be built. Three specific new designs are of interest to us:
- Advanced CANDU Reactor
- Pebble-Bed Modular Reactor
- Integral Fast Reactor (application withdrawn)
A list of pending nuclear power plant projects can be found here.
This page was written by Stewart Peterson on May 29, 2009
