November 1, 2009

Time Flies

Dr. Robert Peltier, PE

Think Globally

My EUCG nuclear benchmarking article (p. 74) this month notes that power uprates and capacity factor improvements in the U.S. nuclear fleet over the past two decades have added the equivalent of over a dozen new nuclear plants. That experience was not unique to the U.S. Global nuclear availability factors have increased from an average of 72.3% to 83.2% since 1990. During the past 25 years, power uprates have accounted for two-thirds of the total increase in global nuclear energy produced, while new construction produced one-third of the increase. The global improvement in the operation and maintenance of nuclear plants is just as astounding as improvements in the U.S. over the same period.

Act Locally

The U.S. remains the largest single market for new nuclear power plants given its 30-plus applications pending before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Nevertheless, the U.S. is also unable to produce pressure vessels and key forgings, it has an unproven new licensing system, it has an administration that seems to be ambivalent about the advantages of nuclear power, and it has a nuclear industry distracted by a potential quick profit from the carbon allowances promised by passage of carbon emissions reduction legislation. The U.S. nuclear industry is producing paper while other countries are pouring concrete.

The Roman poet Ovid is credited with observing that "tempus edax rerum" ("time [is the] devourer of all things"). I hope he wasn’t talking about the nuclear future of the U.S.

— Dr. Robert Peltier, PE, is POWER’s editor-in-chief.