Source - US DOE Nuclear energy is the largest low carbon emission power generation option in the U.S. It provides one-fifth of our electricity. There are 103 commercial nuclear reactors currently in operation in the U.S. The last commercial plant was commissioned in the 1970s after which the nuclear industry experienced major setbacks due to financial, regulatory and safety issues. More recent advances in nuclear technology, along with concerns over global warming, have set the stage for a possible revival of nuclear power.

Nuclear power was once famously described as “too cheap to meter”. After a partial meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979 and complete meltdown and release of radioactive material at Chernobyl in 1986, nuclear power suffered a major setback. New safety measures and designs were enacted. Costs rose considerably, making nuclear power now “too expensive to justify” in most countries. South Korea, Japan, and a handful of other countries continued to construct nuclear power plants, but at a much slower pace.

Today, proponents of nuclear power believe that technological risks have been largely addressed. And while it can be argued that the actual risks of nuclear power are far lower than the perceived risks, and that coal-fired power plants have killed a far greater number of people than nuclear energy, most communities do not want nuclear plants nearby. No country has solved the issue of long-term waste disposal, and new fears have emerged in the post-9/11 world that nuclear plants will become targets for terrorists.

Besides public opposition, the revival of nuclear power depends on its cost competitiveness with other energy options. The levelized cost of nuclear power today is difficult to estimate since few plants are being built, but a recent study by MIT put it at 6.7 cents per kilowatt-hour, considerably higher then pulverized coal or natural gas plants. Still, nuclear power offers powerful carbon benefits and could become competitive with other options with a carbon value of $30 to $50 per ton of CO2 avoided.

Improved nuclear power technology is under development with U.S. government funding. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 contains incentives to support existing plants and promote R&D for new nuclear plants. But public concerns over plant siting, safe operation and waste disposal are probably the biggest barriers that the nuclear industry faces before this source of carbon free electricity sees a true revival.