Energy Solutions: A Bright Future for Idaho

ENERGY SOLUTIONS: A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR IDAHO

Guest opinion submitted by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo

Approximately 59.5 million tons of nitrogen oxides, 121.9 million tons of sulfur dioxides, and a staggering 3.8 billion tons of carbon have not spilled into the atmosphere over the past 23 years thanks to operating nuclear power plants in the United States. Over the next 23 years, the reduction of three billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year from power plants in the United States alone would conclusively meet more stringent air quality restrictions which are emerging nationally and globally. Now picture a swimming pool the size of one football field, fifteen feet deep. This is the waste resulting from over 40 years of producing nuclear power at as many as 100 power plants-plants that currently supply close to one-fifth of our nation's electrical power needs.

This is the reality and the potential of nuclear power in the United States. Clearly, we need a defined national strategy to develop nuclear energy. Nuclear power represents a clean, renewable, and flexible solution to world environmental pollution problems, our national energy security concerns, and economic growth. Expansion of this resource through education, research, and development will allow the United States to become a leader in pollution reduction and sustainable energy production.

Through collaborative efforts with the Department of Energy (DOE), the nuclear industry, and Congress, industry objectives can be partnered with domestic and foreign policy priorities to achieve successful solutions to a multitude of problems. Nuclear energy provisions will be key considerations as the energy bill goes to conference including developing an advanced nuclear reactor at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory.

The DOE FY2004 budget request includes $127 million for nuclear research and development initiatives, including $10 million for Generation IV nuclear reactor technology capable of producing hydrogen. In addition to these requests, a well-defined national nuclear energy development strategy brings certain priorities to mind: aggressive research and development on nuclear-produced hydrogen production, closed fuel cycle technology, and reducing the threat of nuclear weapons proliferation. Closed fuel cycle technology may eliminate the need for a second repository like Yucca Mountain this century, while utilizing more of the fuel, and reducing the volume of spent fuel needing long term storage. Concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation necessitate the development of standards reflecting a framework dedicated to integrated proliferation risk management, cradle to grave monitoring, and global management of nuclear services and materials by 2008.

In addition, the importance of educating future generations of nuclear engineers, scientists, and operators cannot be understated. The Environment & Energy Daily Reporter reported that 30 percent of the nuclear industry personnel, and upwards of 76 percent of the national laboratories' personnel can retire in the next five years. In response to what could amount to a critical loss of adequately-trained nuclear personnel in just a few years, we must increase support for university nuclear energy programs.

Nuclear power represents a clean, renewable, and diverse solution to our national energy demands. Idaho is poised to play a significant role in the ongoing research and development of nuclear energy. I support the designation of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) as lead laboratory for the development of the Advanced Reactor Hydrogen Co-Generation Project. With Idaho's distinguished track record on nuclear power development, it only makes sense to continue that trend with the development of advanced reactor technology by INEEL.

As the energy bill goes to conference, provisions specific to nuclear energy research and development need to be included in the final version. These provisions are a starting point for Idaho to provide a leadership role in nuclear power development in the United States and in the world community.