Photo by Jason Blackeye

Originally Posted On: A Half Century of Wisconsin Clean Energy – Wisconsin Energy (wiscenergy.com)

A columnist published in the Wisconsin State Journal recently suggested that nuclear energy is not consistent with carbon-free, clean energy policy.  Respectfully, such suggestions founded on debunked myths must be met with modern science and the lessons of more than a half century in America.

Over the past 60 years, nuclear power has accounted for 20 percent of all electricity that fuels our Nation. And it’s a fact that the nuclear reactors, which produce massive amounts of power around-the-clock, also produce zero carbon emissions.  Nuclear power comprises 70 percent of all zero-emission electricity in America.

There’s been an awakening to this by many in the environmental community who now strongly support nuclear energy.  Patrick Moore, former co-founder of Green Peace states “I think nuclear is superior, because it doesn’t produce greenhouse gases and it doesn’t produce air pollution in the same way that fossil fuel combustion does”

He’s not alone. As Bill Gates says, “[n]uclear energy is ideal for dealing with climate change, because it is the only carbon-free, scalable energy source that’s available 24 hours a day.”

He’s joined by many modern environmentalists such as Michael Shellenberger, a world leader on climate change policy and Time Magazine’s “Hero of the Environment”. He is known for his feature role in “Pandora’s Promise”, an acclaimed film about environmentalists who changed their minds about nuclear energy. In his speech “Why I changed my mind about nuclear energy” he quotes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which concluded that nuclear power is an essential component of reduced global emissions.  He closes with a quote, “If we’re going to tackle global warming, nuclear is the only way you can create massive amounts of power”.

This nearly universal contemporary recognition of the valuable role played by America’s nuclear power plant fleet is also why these plants have been preserved and nurtured on a bipartisan basis regardless of who has occupied elected offices nationwide during this last half century.  Few concepts in America can demonstrate such unity these days.

Going back to the early 1970s, Wisconsin’s Point Beach nuclear plants have operated reliably under the framework of America’s science and engineering community that designed these remarkable machines.  It has been American science and engineering that has continuously upgraded and modernized these marvels with state-of-the-art world-class technology.  They have done this in conjunction with the regulatory oversight of scientists and engineers at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission which is the world’s model for nuclear energy oversight.

For 50 years the Point Beach plants have produced massive quantities of electricity to supply Wisconsin’s economy and its residents’ homes.  Long before the current trend toward focusing on air emissions, these workhorses quietly served as Wisconsin’s single greatest source of zero-emission energy.

Extending the NRC licenses for these safe, clean workhorses is good for the environment, good for Wisconsin, and good for America.

Jerry Paul, Director of the Energy Information Center, is a former reactor engineer at commercial nuclear power plants. He formerly served as the Principal Deputy Administrator of the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration.  He also served on the Nuclear Reactor Research Committee, U.S. Department of Energy, and study commission reviews for the National Academy of Sciences.