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Nuclear energy’s advantage in job creation continues to be its most attractive asset. The new generation of nuclear professionals that is now entering the revitalized nuclear industry is the direct beneficiary of this fact, and organizations like the North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NA-YGN) showcase its success.
According to the Department of Energy, nuclear power creates 500 jobs per 1,000 MW of electricity generating capacity versus 220 jobs for coal power, 90 for wind energy, and 60 for natural gas generation.
Nuclear Energy Institute’s Marvin Fertel discusses in this in-depth op-ed that nuclear energy is the clean energy job engine that our country desperately needs. In this op-ed, Fertel details the coming energy challenges that our country faces and offers nuclear energy’s proven benefits as part of the solution.
No clean energy industry has invested more in American workers than the nuclear energy industry. From AREVA Inc and Northrop Grumman’s $360 million heavy components manufacturing facility in Newport News, VA, to Westinghouse’s Chattanooga, TN training facilities, nuclear power continues to offer promising opportunities for Americans to get to work.
Fertel does a great job with this op-ed detailing nuclear energy’s advantage in job creation. Did I mention that it’s clean energy, too?
Nuclear Plants Boost Economy, Protect the Environment
A balanced portfolio is needed to meet 20 percent increase in electricity use by 2030
The energy industry is preparing to meet electricity needs in fast-growing population areas today and help spur economic expansion as America pulls out of the recession. Even with conservation and efficiency efforts, a balanced portfolio of electricity production options is needed to meet an expected 20 percent increase in electricity use by 2030, including vital contributions from nuclear energy.
New electricity production sources will vary by region, and there will be a premium on sources that do not emit greenhouse gases. Altogether, the electric utility industry must invest some $2 trillion in electricity infrastructure by 2030—the largest expansion ever of the U.S. power grid. This infrastructure development also is essential to meet the expected market penetration of plug-in hybrid vehicles, which will enhance our energy security by reducing our dependence on imported oil.
Energy could be one of the most significant economic drivers for the next two decades. The benefits of such an expansion are staggering when one considers the labor force and supply chain needed for construction and operation of power plants, transmission grids and environmental compliance technology on fossil-fueled power plants.
Most significant low-carbon electricity source
Broad independent studies looking at future energy and climate scenarios clearly point to nuclear energy as an important component of our energy portfolio. Nuclear energy is by far the most significant low-carbon electricity source in America today, with 104 reactors producing one-fifth of all electricity production and 70 percent of all carbon-free electricity. They’re also economic drivers in the communities in which they operate. A typical nuclear power plant produces $430 million of economic impact to the surrounding communities each year, and the construction of a series of new advanced reactor designs will extend the industry’s economic impact.
The industry is seeking federal permits for the construction of 22 reactors—a small part of the potential $400 billion global market in nuclear energy equipment and services over the next 15 years.
For the first three new reactor projects in the United States, more than $2 billion in equipment and services already has been procured from manufacturers in 17 states. Another $2.5 billion in export orders for equipment is creating jobs in 25 states as American companies begin to reinvest in the nuclear energy supply chain.
Though today’s economy is slowing the pace of expansion of the electricity sector, our long-term fundamentals have not changed. We are putting into service nuclear energy assets that will deliver low-carbon electricity safely for 60 to 80 years.
Nuclear industry employs more than 57,000 people
The industry employs more than 57,000 people at the 104 nuclear power plants operating in 31 states, but the nuclear energy work force is multiplied significantly by jobs in areas such as uranium fuel development, the industry supply chain, and skilled craft jobs at new reactors such as the Vogtle project in Georgia and the V.C. Summer project in South Carolina.
These new facilities in Georgia and South Carolina are among the four to eight advanced reactors that the industry expects will be producing electricity by 2016-18. Construction activities already have begun at those facilities and project-labor agreements are in place for three projects.
In preparation for this growth, the nuclear industry over the past three years has created more than 15,000 careers and invested more than $4 billion in new facility development. Plans call for the investment of another $8 billion to facilitate the supply of materials needed for large-scale construction beginning in 2011-2012.
New manufacturing jobs in nuclear energy sector
In the manufacturing sector, there is tangible evidence of expansion in the nuclear energy sector:
- Alstom recently opened a $300 million turbine manufacturing facility in Tennessee to supply turbines for use in North American power plants.
- Shaw Modular Solutions built a 410,000-square-foot nuclear modernization facility in Louisiana to assemble structural, piping, equipment and other modules for new nuclear plants that will employ 700 to 1,400 assembly line and skilled technical workers at full capacity.
- AREVA and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding broke ground last summer on a $360 million manufacturing and engineering facility in Newport News, Va., that will manufacture heavy components such as reactor vessels, steam generators and pressurizers.
All told, these and other companies have already hired more than 9,000 employees.
Economic activity associated with nuclear power plants is considerable. In fact, new nuclear power projects create twice the number of jobs of a comparably sized coal power plant, five times more jobs than wind power projects, and nearly nine times the number of jobs of a natural gas-fueled power plant. Nuclear power plants also act as an economic multiplier, as each plant employs an average of approximately 500 employees from the local community and generates an additional 500 jobs in the local area.
For example, the expansion of the Vogtle nuclear plant near Augusta, Ga., is a $14 billion investment that will create up to 3,500 jobs during construction and 800 permanent jobs. In addition, more than 1,000 Georgia companies provided $908 million in materials, goods and services to the nuclear energy industry in 2008, the last year for which figures were available.
Strong support from organized labor
Organized labor has been a strong supporter of new nuclear plants, recognizing the significant economic potential for its skilled work force and the environmental benefits of keeping existing reactors operating and building new nuclear plants.
Mark Ayers, president of the AFL-CIO Building & Construction Trades Department, has proposed establishing multi-craft training centers near or at nuclear plant sites as well as developing specialized training partnerships with industry vendors and suppliers to certify all workers and developing programs to train local workers for careers in the nuclear industry.
Edwin Hill, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), recently called nuclear power “essential” to our electricity production portfolio, adding that there is no way to meet the nation’s energy needs without it. The IBEW has developed a code of excellence for its members and has developed training programs to prepare workers for a new generation of reactors.
Our country faces an extraordinary challenge to expand our electricity system over the next two decades. Some have argued that building new nuclear plants at the pace required is impossible. However, our industry built more than 100 reactors in the 1970s and ‘80s; France built 38 reactors in a decade.
Advanced reactor designs are higher capital cost projects, but the actual cost of electricity from these facilities will be competitive in the marketplace. Today’s reactors have among the lowest electricity production costs in the sector. Based on estimates for new reactor development, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that electricity production costs will be competitive, and in fact, cheaper than most alternatives in 2016.
Affordable electricity for 60 years or more
With low uranium fuel costs and capacity factors (a measure of reliability) that average 90 percent across our industry, nuclear plants compensate for the up-front construction costs by affordably producing electricity for 60 years or more.
Financing new nuclear plants is one of the industry’s biggest challenges, but it is being met with support from state and federal energy policy. Federal loan guarantees can help project sponsors access lower-cost financing for nuclear and other clean-energy power projects, which ultimately lowers the cost of a new nuclear power plant and delivers lower-cost electricity to the consumer.
Loan guarantees are a mechanism that extends the federal government’s credit rating to companies that allows them to finance projects that are in the national interest. The loan guarantee program is a disciplined process that operates under strict controls and sets a high bar for companies seeking credit support. The industry will pay fees associated with these loan guarantees, so there is no liability on taxpayers when the projects come on line.
State governments also offer incentives to encourage construction of nuclear power plants. For example, Georgia enacted a law that enables Georgia Power, now building new reactors at Vogtle, to recover construction costs as it builds the plants. By doing so, the company expects to save $1.5 billion on the final cost of the reactors—savings that will be reflected in consumer rates for electricity from the facility.
Meeting America’s greenhouse gas reduction targets
Analyses of climate change policy by independent organizations conclude that reducing carbon dioxide emissions will require a portfolio of technologies, that nuclear energy must be part of the portfolio, and that a major expansion of nuclear energy over the next 50 years is essential.
A 2009 National Academy of Sciences study showed that 77 nuclear power plants must be built by 2035 and operating with the high efficiency of current reactors to effectively meet America’s greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Wind and solar energy will play an important role in our low-carbon energy portfolio, but they account for less than 2 percent of total U.S. electricity supply today. The prospect for renewable energy development differs widely by region, and until there is storage capacity for the electricity produced at these facilities, they operate only 30 percent of the time. Therefore, fossil fuel sources, primarily natural gas, are required as a back-up source of power to the grid where renewables are used.
The coming decades will witness the most significant challenges the nation has ever faced in meeting the twin imperatives of meeting rising electricity demand and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. No single technology can accomplish these tasks alone and they certainly cannot be accomplished overnight. Low-carbon sources like nuclear energy, hydro, solar and wind all must contribute.
Supporting the development of new efficient and environmentally friendly technology such as nuclear energy will create hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs while improving our environment for generations to come.
Marvin S. Fertel is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute. He has 35 years of experience consulting for electric utilities on issues related to designing, siting, licensing and managing both fossil and nuclear plants.
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The Washington Capitals, an NHL hockey team, endorsed nuclear power today. Through an endorsement from the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Caps will attempt to share the importance that nuclear energy has with respect to emission-free energy generation. The endorsement showcases the great work and increased spending from the NEI in the past year to educate the American public on the benefits of nuclear power as a clean, safe, and reliable form of energy for the country. Now, if only the Capitol (rather than the Capitals) will choose to fully endorse nuclear power. Although, this is a great start. You can check out the interesting details of the endorsement below.
NEI Partners with NHL’s Washington Capitals to Promote Nuclear Energy’s Clean-Air Value
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — To increase awareness of nuclear energy’s role in clean-air electricity generation, the Nuclear Energy Institute has entered into its first-ever partnership with the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League. As an official energy partner of the Capitals, NEI is teaming up with the team to promote the clean-air benefits of nuclear energy to sports fans via multiple media, including signage at the Capitals’ home arena, the Verizon Center, in print and radio ads, and on the Caps’ and NEI’s Web sites.
Hockey and climate change may seem unrelated, but a rising concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is, many believe, creating changes in the climate–changes that are having an impact on hockey. From Vancouver to Vermont, Stockholm to Moscow, the ponds and lakes on which many hockey players hone their skills are freezing later in the year and melting sooner.
“Nuclear energy is an important part of a technology-based solution to climate change,” said Capitals majority owner Ted Leonsis. “It’s a proven energy provider in Virginia and Maryland for Capitals’ fans. We are pleased to work with NEI to raise awareness of the role that it can play in reducing greenhouses gases across America.”
The Washington region has long benefitted from nuclear energy’s clean, reliable electricity generation: Nuclear power plants do not emit greenhouse gases or other controlled air pollutants while generating electricity. For local Caps’ fans, 85 percent of the clean electricity produced in Maryland comes from the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant located 45 miles from Verizon Center. In Virginia, nuclear energy produces 91 percent of the state’s emission-free power.
Additionally, Baltimore-based Constellation Energy and Richmond-based Dominion Power are among energy companies that have filed permits with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build new nuclear energy facilities.
“The Capitals’ success here in Washington provides a terrific branding opportunity for the industry as Congress and the Obama administration tackle important energy and environmental issues, all of which will benefit from America’s investment in nuclear energy,” said Scott Peterson, NEI’s vice president of communications.
Nuclear energy is the largest generator of clean-air electricity with 104 reactors in 31 states generating 20 percent of all electricity and 72 percent of electricity produced from sources that do not produce greenhouse gases. For many U.S. energy companies, nuclear energy is a vital part of a clean energy production portfolio that also includes wind, solar and hydroelectric power.
Like the energy sector, NHL players are increasingly serious about climate change. The NHL Players Association has helped its membership calculate their total carbon emissions for the regular season. Hockey players are uniquely qualified to comment on the demonstrable effects of climate change.
“A rite of winter passage among generations of hockey players–playing and falling in love with the game out on frozen ponds and lakes–has been curtailed as warmer winters in recent years have meant less access to skating recreation,” Peterson noted. “A lot of people associated with hockey believe this is due to climate change.”
Capitals’ fans this hockey season will see NEI’s “Nuclear: Clean Air Energy” message prominently displayed near the goal both at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., as well at the team’s training facility, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, in Arlington, Va. NEI also will air 30-second radio commercials during coverage of all 82 games on local radio WFED 1500 AM. NEI also will have video and display ads on the Capitals’ Web site and full-page advertisements in the game programs.
All season long, NEI will provide updated information on nuclear energy’s role in moving America to a more climate-friendly energy portfolio for Washington Capitals fans at http://nei.org/caps. To view partnership-related photographs, including shots of the Capitals in action, throughout the season, see NEI’s Flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/photos/_nei/.
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NEI President and CEO Marvin Fertel recently wrote the following Op-ed at The Hill outlining legislation must-haves in order for the expansion of nuclear power to occur in the United States. Fertel creates a nuclear industry wish-list of policy and legislation changes that he feels must be made. If Fertel’s policy suggestions were implemented in such legislation as the Waxman-Markey Cap-and-Trade bill, nuclear power will be able to create jobs, clean baseload energy, and economic benefits a lot sooner than currently projected. I’ve bolded the important stuff to save you time. Enjoy.
Nuclear power poised to help meet demands of climate change legislation
By Marvin Fertel - 09/08/09 PM ET
More than a century ago, the famed journalist and writer Ambrose Bierce stated, “Electricity seems destined to play a most important part in the arts and industries. The question of its economical application to some purposes is still unsettled, but experiment has already proved that it will propel a streetcar better than a gas.”
Bierce’s prediction is staggering in its understatement.
Today, the electric power sector is a $340 billion industry that employs approximately 400,000 workers and constitutes 3 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. Electricity’s reach, of course, has long since eclipsed streetcars. It propels virtually the entire economy and is so vital that there is a discernible statistical correlation between a nation’s reliability of electricity supply and its mortality rate.
Electricity has long since become an inextricable part of our lives. Even with improved efficiency measures, our nation’s need for electricity — including reliable, carbon-free sources such as nuclear power plants — continues to climb.
A host of recent analyses has concluded that the nation’s use of nuclear energy must increase in the coming decades to meet rising electricity demand while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in its analysis of the Waxman-Markey climate change bill, found that the contribution of low- or zero-carbon energy technologies to electricity supply must increase to 38 percent by 2050 from the current 14 percent. An additional 180 nuclear power plants (104 operate today) will be needed to meet the legislation’s emissions targets, the EPA said.
Similarly, the National Academy of Sciences concluded in its July report “America’s Energy Future” that “(S)ubstantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector are achievable over the next two to three decades through a portfolio approach” that includes nuclear energy. The report identifies advanced nuclear energy plants as one of two “key technologies” that must be demonstrated during the next decade “to allow for their widespread deployment starting around 2020.”
At present, 25 new reactors are in the federal permitting process, with four to eight plants expected to be completed by 2017. The industry plans to invest $8 billion in just the next few years — on top of billions already spent — to be in a position to start construction of carbon-free nuclear plants in 2011-2012.
Nuclear energy and other clean energy technologies can help jumpstart our economy and make America a world leader in low-carbon energy. American manufacturers will benefit because construction of new nuclear power plants will create demand for thousands of components and commodities like concrete and steel.
Nuclear energy’s good-paying, long-term employment opportunities already are helping to fuel a transition in America’s energy landscape. The nuclear energy industry is one of the few bright spots in the U.S. economy — expanding rather than contracting in communities like Chattanooga, Tenn.; Newport News, Va.; Cheswick, Pa.; and Lake Charles, La.
As the Southern Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments stated in a pro-nuclear resolution it adopted unanimously in August, “Clean nuclear energy is an engine for economic growth.” Construction of a new reactor by itself constitutes four years of employment for as many as 2,400 skilled craft workers, with 400 to 700 permanent jobs once the plant starts operating.
No single technology can independently slow and reverse increases in carbon emissions. But these studies confirm nuclear energy is an indispensable part of a comprehensive approach that, thankfully, is identified in energy and climate change bills pending in Congress.
Provisions in the House and Senate bills are necessary if nuclear energy is to expand at the level necessary to meet both electricity demand and reductions in greenhouse gases.
The legislation in both chambers would establish a Clean Energy Deployment Administration, which would function as a permanent financing platform to provide loans, loan guarantees and other credit support for clean-energy technologies, including new nuclear power plants, wind and biomass.
Congress should approve additional policy elements that will speed the transition to advanced reactors and help meet near- to mid-term carbon reduction goals. These include:
- Ensuring that the volume of loan guarantees available for new reactors is comparable to other carbon-free electricity sources and refining the Department of Energy loan guarantee program in key areas that are slowing implementation of the program;
- Providing new tax stimulus for investment in new nuclear energy facilities, new nuclear component manufacturing and workforce development;
- Expanding the existing production tax credit to all new reactors that produce electricity by 2021;
- Reducing the time to market for advanced reactors to six years from nine to 10 years by enacting clarifications to ensure that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing process works as intended; and
- Mandating creation of a blue ribbon commission to re-examine management options for used nuclear fuel, and establishing incentives for state and communities to develop consolidated storage facilities for used nuclear fuel.
America needs a commonsense, balanced approach as we shift toward low-carbon sources of energy. Diversity of clean electricity is essential not just to protecting our environment, but also to promoting energy security and reliability.
Nuclear energy is a proven source that generates one-fifth of U.S. electricity reliably and affordably.
In the coming decades, we will be challenged to simultaneously meet rising electricity demand and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. To meet this challenge, Congress must establish a comprehensive and sustainable national policy that supports the development of technology-based, zero-carbon solutions like nuclear energy, solar and wind that can be implemented in the near term and are affordable for consumers.
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Recently, Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs for the Nuclear Energy Institute, Alex Flint, offered an extensive update on the current condition of the nuclear industry as well as a forecast for the future. Mr. Flint addressed the Senate Republican Conference on June 8th, 2009. We’re a month late with this, but I don’t remember seeing it reported anywhere else (I could be wrong).
Here are some excerpts from Mr. Flint’s prepared exchange:
Addressing nuclear costs, Mr. Flint commented about CWIP and Loan Guarantees:
“In general, U.S. utility companies are not large enough to finance these projects using traditional utility financing schemes – a 50:50 debt:equity structure.
However, there are steps that can be taken to address that challenge.
A number of projects that are regulated by public utility commissioners will be financed using the Construction Work-in-Progress (CWIP) approach in which a company is permitted to recover part of the cost before the plant goes on-line, a concept that is similar to putting a larger down payment on a house. Such an approach is estimated to result in long-term savings to the consumer of 25 percent.
The DOE loan guarantee program could also significantly reduce interest costs on new plants, making it possible for utilities to order plants, reducing long-term costs to consumers.
It is for that reason that NEI strongly supports reform of the DOE’s Title XVII loan guarantee program and proposals such as the authorization of a Clean Energy Deployment Administration.”
Mr. Flint then addressed job creation and positive economic impacts by the industry:
“It is important to understand the economic significance of constructing 45 nuclear plants. That effort will generate up to 82,800 construction jobs (with peak employment at 128,800).
These jobs include skilled trades such as welders, pipefitters, masons, carpenters, millwrights, sheet metal workers, electricians, ironworkers, heavy equipment operators, insulators, engineers, project managers, and construction supervisors.
Once built, these 45 plants will generate up to 32,200 high paying permanent fulltime jobs in rural counties where the plants are located.
Each year, each new reactor will generate approximately $430 million in expenditures for goods, services and labor, and through subsequent spending because of the presence of the plant and its employees.
The average nuclear plants also contributes more than $20 million annually to state and local tax revenue, benefiting schools, roads and other state and local infrastructure. By 2030 these 45 new nuclear plants will be generating over $3.3 billion in annual revenue to the federal government.”
Mr. Flint then lays it all out with his take on the whole Yucca Mountain situation. This part actually got me pumped up a little bit:
“First, all credible scientific evidence to date suggests that Yucca Mountain is suitable to serve as a geologic repository for spent fuel.
But it is clear that due to political commitments the President made during the campaign, the administration may not support opening the Yucca Mountain repository even if it receives a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Given that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act remains the law of the land, and recognizing the legal and moral obligation that the government has to fulfill its responsibility under that law, the industry believes the NRC’s review of the Yucca Mountain license application should continue.
In parallel, the administration should convene an independent panel of the best scientific, environmental, engineering and public policy leaders to fully investigate the critical issues and make a recommendation to President Obama and Congress on how best to proceed with managing used nuclear fuel.
Given the clear need for expansion of nuclear energy programs in the United States and worldwide, the nuclear industry proposed two years ago that our nation should revisit the decision to use a once-through fuel cycle and instead pursue a closed fuel cycle that includes recycling. This integrated approach includes at-reactor storage, private sector or government-owned centralized storage, research and development on recycling technology and continued development and licensing of a federal repository.
If the administration unilaterally decides to abandon the Yucca Mountain project without enacting new legislation to modify or replace existing law, it should expect a new wave of lawsuits seeking further damage payments as well as likely requests for refunding of at least $22 billion already collected from consumers that has not been spent on the program from the Nuclear Waste Fund. Further, given the uncertain path forward for the Yucca Mountain project and the difficult economic times facing American families and businesses, Energy Secretary Steven Chu should reduce the fee paid by consumers to cover only licensing costs incurred by DOE, NRC and local Nevada government units that provide oversight of the program.”
You should really read the entire speech here. You can watch it here. It is a great synopsis of the industry, and that’s why I thought it was necessary to post on Clean Energy Insight. Thanks, Alex. Keep up the good work.
