Nuclear power industry sees opening for revival

With the Obama administration staking the nation’s energy future on clean sources, the U.S. nuclear power industry aims to make a comeback by building dozens of new reactors that supply plentiful, carbon-free electricity.

But 30 years after the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania led to moratoriums on new plants across the nation, concerns about the cost and safety of nuclear power remain, including what to do with the growing stockpiles of highly radioactive waste from the nation’s reactors.

President Obama’s campaign pledge to find an alternative to burying the deadly waste at Yucca Mountain, Nev. – and recent votes in Congress to slash funding for the proposed nuclear graveyard 1,000 feet underground – could hobble the industry’s hopes to provide a larger share of U.S. energy needs.

Still, industry leaders voice confidence about nuclear power as a clean source of electrical energy that can reduce the nation’s reliance on dirty, coal-fired power plants that emit greenhouse gases, cause acid rain and speed climate change.

Applications to build at least 31 nuclear reactors are before the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, with more filings expected soon. Many of the projects are in the Southeast, with the first expected to go on line as early as 2015. Nuclear advocates hope eventually to build additional reactors in California.

San Francisco Chronicle