Energy use is like a mutual fund—it appears that a variety of types is what it takes to have an efficient system. Electricity generation in the U.S. is a major user of energy based upon sources and technologies that are somewhat slow to change—50% of the electricity generated is powered by coal, 18% by natural gas, 20% by nuclear, and 9% by various types of renewable with most (75%) by hydroelectric sources. And while total electricity generated has increased by more than 25% over the past 20 years, the nuclear share has stayed fairly constant even with fewer reactors online and with the last new reactor coming online in 1996. This was accomplished through continuous efficiency improvements in the existing generating units.
But after a 30-year pause in the consideration of new reactor construction, about 30 reactor projects are currently being considered with four or five active sites in Alabama, Maryland, Texas, Virginia, and South Carolina. Long-lead components have already been ordered, and construction contracts signed in some cases with General Electric and Toshiba/Westinghouse. Public concern over the 1979 Three Mile Island and 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accidents was the primary reason for this pause in U.S. construction. Now, however, the concern over the emission of CO2 and global warming has brought nuclear back into view. These concerns were not as strong in other countries—there are currently 108 reactors in operation in Asia, with 18 under construction, and strong plans to build another 110.
Construction in China is especially aggressive. And as in most projects they undertake they’re doing it faster and cheaper than similar projects in the rest of the world. China has had nuclear plants in operation since the early 1990s, which were built with French support. They now have the expertise to build their own facilities, although they outsource the actual reactor and fuel supplies. They also hold tight to their schedules, which are about five years from construction start to operation.
Japan’s Toshiba has already won contracts to build two reactors each in South Carolina, Alabama, and, within the last month, Texas. They too have a history of on-time construction schedules (about five years), on-budget contracts, and reliability and safety for similar reactors (advanced boiling water reactors) they’ve built in Japan over the past 12 years.
