17 Jul (NucNet): Federal and state governments in the US need to show “consistent support” for nuclear energy if the sector is to avoid an “impending decline” in the face of low natural gas prices and competition from markets such as China and Russia, a report says.
The report, by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), says federal action to reverse the US nuclear industry’s impending decline is “a national security imperative”.
It says wide swings in federal and state government support for nuclear energy will dampen private sector enthusiasm for investing in the nuclear business.
With 102 commercially operating reactors and “the world’s largest base of installed nuclear capacity”, it has been widely assumed that the US would continue to have a large presence in the nuclear energy industry for decades to come, the report says.
Instead, market conditions are such that growing numbers of units face “unprecedented financial pressures” and could be retired early. Early retirements, coupled with scheduled licence expirations and dim prospects for new construction, point to “diminishing domestic opportunities” for US nuclear energy firms.
The report says the outlook is much different in China, India, Russia, and other countries, where governments are looking to significantly expand their nuclear energy commitments. Dozens of new entrants plan on adding nuclear technology to their generating mix, furthering the spread of nuclear materials and know-how around the globe.
It is in the best interests of the US that US companies meet a significant share of this demand for nuclear technology – not simply because of trade and employment benefits, but because exports of US-origin technology and materials are accompanied by conditions that protect US non-proliferation interests.
However, the report says new government-imposed requirements have increased the complexity and difficulty of negotiating nuclear trade agreements with other countries. It also says US nuclear exports are subject to “a complex, cumbersome, and time-consuming web of export control regulations” that are administered by several federal agencies.
If the private sector is to invest in new nuclear plants it needs “limited financial risks”, the report says. The level of investment required to construct a new plant should be reduced and, ideally, these investments should receive “favourable treatment” such as tax benefits or inclusion in electric rates.
The report highlights other potential obstacles to the expansion of nuclear energy in the US, including failure to find a permanent repository for high-level nuclear waste, and reactions to the Fukushima-Daiichi accident.
The report is online:
http://csis.org/files/publication/130614_RestoringUSLeadershipNuclearEnergy_WEB.pdf
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To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Dalton at david.dalton@nucnet.org
