(2010 Jan. 29) – As part of his push for clean-energy jobs, President Obama in his State of the Union speech specifically called for "building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country."

The line got standing applause from both sides of the aisle. And for good reason.

Today, fossil fuels meet 85 percent of the energy needs of the United States. If we are to control the threat of climate change, we (and the rest of the world) will have to restructure our energy system to reduce dependence on energy sources that, like conventionally burned fossil fuels, release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

That means increased reliance on such energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass, hydro- and geothermal energy, as well as coal and natural gas with carbon sequestration.

But of all the potential sources of carbon-free energy, only nuclear is a significant contributor today, providing about 20 percent of our electricity. And it's ready for deployment now. The plants likely to be built in the next several years will be evolutionary designs – safer versions of plants operating around the world.

In addition, nuclear power also has the significant advantage that it provides base-load electricity; it is available regardless of whether the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. As a result, our national energy policy should (indeed must) include a significant contribution from nuclear power.

This is not to say, however, that nuclear power does not present challenges. Nuclear power will not be acceptable if the plants are not built and operated to meet high safety standards and to provide strong security. Fortunately, the recent record of nuclear power in the U.S. and around the world shows steadily improving safety performance. The security standards have also been significantly upgraded in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Perhaps the biggest challenge – and it is a very serious one – is financial. Although nuclear power plants are inexpensive to operate, they are very expensive to build. Financing such plants in these challenging economic times is difficult, particularly since a single nuclear plant might constitute a significant fraction of the market valuation of a utility that is interested in acquiring one. Moreover, Wall Street understandably will seek a risk premium in financing such a facility, given the record of cost overruns and extended delays that plagued nuclear construction in the 1980s.

Given the societal importance of demonstrating that new nuclear plants can be built on budget and on schedule and can perform economically, there is a clear federal role in supporting the first several plants. This can be accomplished by providing loan guarantees in which the utilities pay the full cost of the guarantees.

The Department of Energy has the authority to provide such loan guarantees, and a few such guarantees are said to be imminent. But there are insufficient funds to backstop meaningful new nuclear construction. The expansion of the loan guarantee program should be a high priority.

Another challenge is the disposition of used fuel, a highly radioactive material.

The Obama administration has indicated that it will form a blue-ribbon commission to define an appropriate approach for the disposition of such fuel. But the absence of a disposition pathway should not halt new nuclear construction. The used fuel can be safely and securely stored for many decades in dry cask storage. In the meantime, R&D may reveal means to handle such fuel in ways that reduce the challenge of disposal, as well as to extend fuel supply and respond to proliferation risk.

Nuclear power is an essential component of our energy future. We should encourage new nuclear construction as we proceed on the path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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Richard A. Meserve is president of the Carnegie Institution for Science and former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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PPI 2009	OBAMA NUCLEAIRE 100109
cooperation gb et italie 081110	LES VERTS ET LE NUCLEAIRE FRANCAIS 0812 PDF
NUCLEAIRE PARLEMENT EUROPEEN 071124	ENEL 12.5 X 6 EPR
PLACE NUCLEAIRE PROCHAINES DECENNIES	NUCLEAIRE US BUSH CHENEY
AREVA SULZON REPOWER	SARKOZY MERKEL
ENERGIE VERTE	nucleaire position US
NUCLEAIRE ET EOLIEN
surcapacite production electrique france
PROJETS NUCLEAIRES MONDE FR2 01/ 2007
AREVA
EURATOM
BATAILLE POUR LE CONTROLE DE L ENERGIE
ARTICLE A.MINC LE MONDE 23/07/2005
REACTEURS NUCLEAIRES INSTALLLE 2001 EUROPE
MAROC NUCLEAIRE 070511

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