Nuclear
Love it or hate it?
Nuclear-generated electricity is considered by many our greatest energy asset - by others, our greatest energy liability. Wherever you fall on the scale there's no denying that we rely on this relatively inexpensive form of energy. It's the lowest-net-cost electricity generated, it's local, and it plays a critical role in our State and regional economy. Producing nuclear energy doesn't generate dangerous emissions that foul the air or raise global temperatures, it accounts for approximately 15 percent of the electricity generated in Connecticut (20 percent, nationally).
There's really only one catch, but it's a big one: The average nuclear reactor (Connecticut's Millstone Plant has two operational reactors) also produces approximately 25 to 30 tons of spent fuel per year. That's highly radioactive and very dangerous waste that has to be managed, cooled, handled, transported and stored, essentially forever. There are only three sites in America for storing high-level radioactive waste - they are in Utah, Washington State and South Carolina. The waste is moved by truck and rail.
With the exception of the Three-Mile-Island accident on March 28, 1979, the U.S. nuclear energy industry has had a fairly exemplary history. That's important to note, with 103 nuclear plants operating in 31 states. Construction of new plants ground to a halt in the 1980s with concerns around excess capacity and disposal issues. But the industry is beginning to pick up momentum again, with the first new or refurbished reactor in 11 years having started up recently in Alabama, and several new projects now underway, with many more on the drawing boards.
Millstone, located in New London County, generates more than double the capacity of the next largest non-nuclear electrical-producing station in Connecticut (located in Middletown). All commercial nuclear plants use an atom-splitting process called fission to produce heat; unfortunately, it produces waste, as well. The U.S. Department of Energy has long been working on what are called fusion reactors, which combine light atomic nuclei in a process that mimics our sun and does not produce large amounts of nuclear waste. We're not there yet, though international efforts continue.
You won't be building a small, residential nuclear reactor in your basement anytime soon, but it's important to understand the benefits and liabilities of nuclear energy and alternative fuels used to produce or release energy. Being informed and making smart choices are two OneThings you can do in your quest to help conserve resources and reduce our dependence on costly and environmentally damaging energy sources.