(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Trougnouf)
US Senators worked on a new act to speed up the deployment of nuclear energy, and it was close to becoming a law.
US Senate Passes Bill For Nuclear Energy Deployment
The US nuclear industry has struggled to grow in recent decades due to rising costs, complicated permitting processes, and the difficulty of finding and developing innovative nuclear technology. On Tuesday, the US Senate approved a bill to hasten the installation of nuclear energy capacity.
The bill would expedite the permitting process and provide additional incentives for advanced nuclear reactor technology. There is strong bipartisan support for increasing nuclear power. Republicans see it as a means of securing a steady supply of electricity and generating employment. In contrast, Democrats consider decarbonizing the power sector essential to combat climate change.
The bill has now been sent to President Joe Biden for his signature. After passing the House of Representatives in its current form, it will become law. The Senate voted 88-2 in favor of it.
In a significant win for American energy security and the climate, US Senator Tom Carper, a Democrat and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee chairman stated that the Senate passed the ADVANCE Act with resounding bipartisan support.
The committee's ranking member, Republican Shelley Moore Capito, said they sent the ADVANCE Act to the president while noting that both the Senate and the Congress agreed and recognized the significance of nuclear energy.
The law would, among other things, expedite the licensing process for nuclear plants at specific locations, lower regulatory expenses for businesses looking to license cutting-edge nuclear reactor technologies, and provide a prize for the successful deployment of next-generation reactors.
The law may help businesses like nuclear power company TerraPower, backed by law Gates, which is attempting to construct a $4 billion Natrium reactor in Wyoming on the site of an abandoned coal plant but struggles in obtaining a necessary permit.
The Union of Concerned Scientists and other non-proliferation organizations have cautioned against policies that facilitate the licensing of high-tech nuclear reactors, particularly those that use cutting-edge fuels like high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU), contending that safety must always come first.
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What Is Nuclear Energy? Pros and Cons
Nuclear energy is emitted by protons and neutrons that comprise an atom's nucleus. There are two ways to generate this energy source: fusion, which occurs when nuclei fuse, or fission, which occurs when atoms divide into several sections. Nuclear fission is harnessing nuclear energy used worldwide to produce power; fusion technology is still in the research and development stage.
Nuclear reactors and machinery are used in nuclear power plants to limit and regulate chain reactions that produce heat through fission. These reactions are typically powered by uranium-235. Steam is produced when the heat warms the reactor's cooling agent, usually water. After that, the steam is directed toward spinning turbines, which turn on an electric generator to provide low-carbon electricity.
Nuclear energy offers several benefits and disadvantages.
Pros
- Carbon-free electricity
- Reliable source of energy
- Cheap to run
- High Power output
Cons
- Nuclear waste
- Expensive to build
- Uranium is non-renewable
- Malfunctions can be catastrophic
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