Aerial photos taken in February 2017 show the Vogtle Units 3 and 4 site being built by prime contractor Westinghouse Electric, a business unit of Toshiba, near Waynesboro, Georgia.
Georgia Power | Reuters
The White House plans to announce new measures on Wednesday to support the development of new U.S. nuclear power plants, which the administration says are a huge potential source of carbon-free electricity needed to combat climate change.
The previously unannounced series of actions is aimed at helping the nuclear power industry cope with rising safety costs and competition from cheap nuclear plants that generate electricity from natural gas, wind and solar power.
Nuclear energy backers say the technology is critical to providing a massive, uninterrupted supply of emissions-free electricity to meet soaring power demand from data centers and electric vehicles and still achieve President Joe Biden’s goals for the U.S. economy by 2050 decarbonization goals.
“In a defining decade for climate action, we need to move as many decarbonization tools as possible from the sidelines and into practice,” said Ali Zaidi, Biden’s national climate adviser.
Critics are concerned about the continuing buildup of radioactive waste stored at factories across the country and warn of the potential risks this poses to human health and nature, particularly any accidents or malfunctions. Biden signed a law earlier this month banning the use of enriched uranium from Russia, the world’s largest supplier.
At a White House event on Wednesday focused on nuclear energy deployment, the Biden administration will announce the creation of a new group that will seek ways to reduce costs and schedule overruns in building nuclear power plants.
A team of climate, science and energy policy experts from the White House and Department of Energy will work with project developers, engineering, procurement and construction firms, utility companies, investors, labor groups, academia and non-governmental organizations.
It also said the Army will soon seek feedback on deploying advanced reactors to power certain U.S. installations. The White House says small modular reactors and microreactors can provide energy that is more resilient to physical and cyber attacks, natural disasters and other challenges.
The Department of Energy also released a document outlining expected safety improvements for advanced reactors. A new tool will help developers figure out how to cut the capital costs of new nuclear reactors.
The nation’s youngest nuclear power reactor, at the Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant in Georgia, is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget when it enters commercial operation in 2023 and 2024.
The White House says Vogt is now the largest source of clean energy in the United States.
Nuclear power accounts for about 19% of U.S. electricity generation, while solar and wind power account for 4% and 10% respectively.
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