Republican control of US Congress may prioritise nuclear sector decision making

All eyes on Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval as nuclear waste pushes up on political agenda

Resolving where the nation sends nuclear waste may be an issue that brings Democrats and Republicans together after US President Obama and Harry Reid, the Nevada senator and until January majority leader, blocked funding for the proposed nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

According to a Bloomberg news report, solutions such as promoting on-site storage or establishing regional waste sites may now be possible, said Colin Hayes, a lobbyist at McBee Strategic and former Senate energy committee Republican aide.

That would be a step in the right direction for nuclear producers such as Exelon Corporation, which operates the largest fleet of nuclear plants in the United States. The fleet consists of 23 reactors at 14 locations in Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Nuclear sector lobbyist group, the Nuclear Energy Institute, has responded to recent US election results.

Used fuel management

Alex Flint, the NEI's Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, expressed in a statement that the lobby group expects energy legislation will be considered in the next two years, and it will include nuclear energy and used nuclear fuel management provisions.

“Certainly in the case of used fuel management, there are a lot of new members whose positions will need to be determined, and stumbling blocks that have hindered enactment of legislation still remain. However, serious consideration of legislation will resume, and NEI will strongly support that effort,” said Flint.

He expressed that the "tone" of congressional oversight will also change, with new chairmen in the Senate giving direction more in-line with the direction the NEI has seen from the House in recent years.

“In recent years, Chairman Barbara Boxer has engaged in strong oversight from the committee on Environment and Public Works, but it has tended to focus on the two nuclear plants in California.

"Under Republican leadership, we expect the committee to take a broader view and focus on the conduct of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the impact of its regulatory programmes, especially as it continues its post-Fukushima regulatory work,” said Flint.

The election of Massachusetts Republican Governor Charlie Baker may also prove positive for the state's nuclear energy industry given that the politician was a supporter of the Pilgrim plant extension and other clean energy initiatives, such as tidal power.

All eyes on Nevada

But all eyes will be on Nevada or any other state that may host a geological repository site for the US industry's nuclear spent fuel. But reality is still looking Nevada straight in the eye as the most viable option right now or one of several that could be considered in the US.

Recently elected Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval (R) who defeated Democrat Bob Goodman in the state's gubernatorial contest is considered one of the nation's most popular governors. Will he value the industry money stockpiled for the Yucca Mountain site; look at the related job creation and tax dollar incentives for constructing and hosting the site or will he follow in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and oppose the site that nuclear power plant operators have been waiting and paying for, for decades?

Politicians have been known to change their minds--once in office.

"The fate of the Yucca Mountain project has never been clearer," Reid said on his web site in recent years when the Yucca Mountain project came to a halt.

"President Obama and his Administration have made it clear that Yucca Mountain is not a workable option. The Yucca Mountain project no longer receives any federal funding, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Yucca Mountain project office has been closed, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has discontinued its review of the application to begin construction at Yucca Mountain."

Discussions could emerge again over Yucca, but it will take a combined political will of steel and a group of geological experts, who are knowledgeable to the nth degree on nuclear waste and its safe contaiment, willing to explan the genuine risks and benefits of such a site, to get Nevada residents or any other US state to accept it. If Swedish residents can see the benefit and necessity of such a site, perhaps the US can, too.

The spent nuclear fuel is not getting any younger, decisions have to be made sooner rather than later.

 

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