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Don’t try to mix renewable energy and nuclear power

.New nuclear projects will take massive amounts of capital and years to ramp up, and only a few will get built. Renewable projects are relatively smaller and cheaper to build and can be constructed quickly, which means jobs can be created more quickly.

You got your uranium in my biomass! Why renewable policies and nuclear don’t mix, Renewable Energy World, Jennifer Zajac, 12 March 2010“…….There was a series of commercials in the 1980s for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in which one actor would exclaim, “Hey, you got chocolate in my peanut butter!” and the other actor would respond, “You got peanut butter on my chocolate!” Then an announcer would say, “Two great tastes that taste great together!”Today, lawmakers at the state and federal level are mixing renewable energy policies with nuclear energy. They shouldn’t, because unlike chocolate and peanut butter, biomass and uranium do not go great together…..

Renewable energy resources, by definition, come from infinite resources. The earth will never run out of wind, sunlight or geothermal energy. Nuclear energy, like other renewables, does not emit greenhouse gases. However, it comes from uranium, a finite resource. “We don’t describe ourselves as renewable,” said Nuclear Energy Institute spokesman Steve Kerekes…

The renewable energy group is not lobbying for nuclear to join its ranks, either. …….What’s fueling this urge to merge nuclear into the renewable energy group? The push for new green jobs and economic growth, as well as concerns about the higher costs associated with renewable energy………….

There is a significant difference in what is needed for renewables and for new nuclear plants in terms of funding and subsidies. Including existing and new nuclear in a renewable portfolio stifles potential growth for renewables. Given that it would take only a few nuclear plants to meet most RPSs, it would also undermine efforts to diversify our energy supply…..New nuclear projects will take massive amounts of capital and years to ramp up, and only a few will get built. Renewable projects are relatively smaller and cheaper to build and can be constructed quickly, which means jobs can be created more quickly.

March 13, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, renewable | antinuclear, energy efficiency, nuclear, renewable energy