Will High Gasoline Prices Put Japanese Nuclear Meltdown in the Rearview Mirror of U.S. Consumers?

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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The nuclear power sector is hoping that rising gasoline prices this summer will help put the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in the rear-view mirror of U.S. consumers. "There will be a lot of focus on $5 per gallon gasoline this summer," John Keeley, a spokesman for the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) (Washington, D.C.) told Industrial Info in an interview. "If that attention can be channeled into the need to electrify vehicles, that would play to our industry's advantage," because nuclear power has low operating costs but high construction costs. "$5 gas will make this an especially interesting summer for the energy industry."

The NEI spokesman was interviewed before NRG Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NRG) (Princeton, New Jersey) stunned the nuclear power world on Tuesday by writing off its investment in the proposed two-unit expansion of the South Texas Project Nuclear Generating Station. NRG said it will write off $481 million of investments made to bring the two-unit, 2,700-megawatt (MW) project to life. And the company said it will invest no more capital in the project.

A few weeks ago, NEI launched a public-opinion poll to assess how the nuclear disaster in Japan affected how U.S. consumers view nuclear power. The results should be available by early May. Keeley wouldn't speculate on what the poll might reveal. But he did say that "it's a remarkably different media environment now," compared to the immediate aftermath of the Japanese nuclear crisis, which began March 11, when a tsunami and earthquake rocked Japan and caused the partial meltdown of four nuclear units.

In late-March, polls conducted by USA Today and the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press showed a sizable drop in the U.S. public's acceptance of nuclear power. "I'm not a fan of knee-jerk polling," Keeley said. "When media coverage (of the partial meltdown) was white hot, the polling results were fairly predictable."

Despite shifts in public opinion, powerful political figures in Washington have reiterated their support for nuclear power in the weeks following the Japanese nuclear crisis. "I am not straying from my support for safe nuclear energy as a vital component of America's present and future energy mix," Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement after the Japan crisis started to unfold. President Obama has repeatedly expressed support for nuclear power as a key element of lowering U.S. dependence on imported oil and lowering atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs).

Outside the Washington Beltway, familiar battle lines have been drawn over early-stage nuclear power projects proposed for southern Colorado and California's Central Valley. In both cases, supporters tout the potential tax, employment and financial benefits of nuclear power, while opponents decry nuclear's high construction costs, lack of a disposal site for spent fuel and the safety of the technology itself.

Neither the Colorado nor the California proposed projects have applied for a license to build and operate a nuclear power plant from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (Bethesda, Maryland). Observers think both plants are many years away from construction, if they are built at all.

In Pueblo, Colorado, a proposal to create a "clean energy park" that could include a nuclear power station on 24,000 acres of vacant land drew hundreds of supporters and opponents in public hearings held in March and April. No nuclear developer has proposed a specific project, and no equipment manufacturer has stepped forward to propose building a nuclear unit there. Still, the hearings reportedly were loud, well-attended, and passionate, with adherents from both sides waiting hours to make their views known. Next week, Pueblo County Commissioners are scheduled to vote on rezoning land to accommodate the proposed clean energy park.

There are numerous unanswered questions about the Pueblo clean energy park. "To say planning staff is uncomfortable with the proposal and approach would be an understatement," the Pueblo County planning staff said in a February report to the county planning commission.

A more organized effort to build new nuclear generators is taking place in Fresno, California. There, nuclear and renewable-energy units of Areva SA (EPA:CEI) (Courbevoie, France) have agreed to study the feasibility of building a 4,000-MW "clean energy park" that would feature two 1,600-MW nuclear generators and 800 MW of photovoltaic and solar thermal generation. The Fresno Nuclear Energy Group LLC signed a contract with Areva to assess the feasibility of building this clean energy park in siting these generators in western Fresno County, located about 175 miles south of San Francisco. In the plan, the solar generators would be sited first, followed by the nuclear generators.

No specific site has been chosen yet for the proposed Fresno County energy park. Evaluating different locations will be part of the preliminary study, Areva spokesman Jarret Adams told the Fresno Bee. He added that he expects the evaluation will be completed by the end of this year.

NEI's Keeley told Industrial Info: "There has been no broad political or cultural drive to reconsider the safety of our technology since Fukushima. Safety is our No. 1 priority. The drive to excellence in safety and operations distinguishes U.S. nuclear operators, and Congress has recognized that."

"People won't forget Fukushima, but at the same time I haven't seen Graham Nash, Jane Fonda or James Taylor leading any 'No Nukes' parades," Keeley said, referring to a 1979 concert of that name organized shortly after the meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant.

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