Nuclear energy resurges in Virginia and around the globe
Widespread acknowledgement of the environmental benefits of nuclear energy – nuclear energy produces virtually zero heat-trapping carbon emissions – is propelling a global nuclear resurgence, reports the Washington Post. Many prominent environmentalists and former anti-nuclear activists are now touting nuclear energy as a key component of global efforts to combat climate change.
Most notably, Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore has emerged as one of the most vocal proponents of nuclear energy in the United States. He now co-chairs the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, a grass-roots organization that advocates the use of nuclear energy as a solution to global climate change.
Around the globe, other countries like China, Great Britain and Italy are hatching plans to vastly expand their nuclear power generation to curb carbon emissions and achieve energy independence. In early November, the British government unveiled plans to build ten new reactors in the next decade with the goal of generating 35%-40% of its electricity from nuclear energy by 2030.
From China to Brazil, 53 plants are now under construction worldwide, with Poland, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia seeking to build their first reactors… The number of plants being built is double the total of just five years ago.”
The Nuclear Regulator Agency is currently reviewing 22 applications for new plants in the United States. In Virginia, Dominion is seeking to build a third reactor at its North Anna Power Station in Louisa County that would expand nuclear power generation to as many as 375,000 homes. The nuclear industry titan Areva is jointly building a $363 million nuclear components factory in Newport News with Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. And, on the fuel side, the undeveloped Coles Hill uranium deposit in Southside Virginia is believed to contain enough nuclear fuel to meet Virginia’s existing nuclear power demand for 65 years.
