Nuclear situation changing locally, globally
June 26, 2015 | By
Barbara Vergetis Lundin
Despite the fervor of negativity and fear since the Fukushima Daiichi disaster at Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant -- a meltdown of three of the plant's six nuclear reactors -- in 2011, perceptions surrounding nuclear are changing. And could even be described as downright positive.
Specifically, a Nuclear Energy Institute reveals that residents living near U.S. nuclear facilities view the plants favorably and give them high marks for safety. Further, Platts reports that, globally, world nuclear output rose in 2014 for the first time since Fukushima. Americans living near commercial nuclear energy facilities strongly support continued operation of the existing facilities and construction of new ones, dispelling the "not-in-my-backyard" (NIMBY) phenomenon, suggest results from a new national NEI survey of residents living within 10 miles of nuclear energy facilities. Conducted by Bisconti Research, the survey found that 89 percent of those surveyed have a favorable impression of the nuclear plant closest to where they live and 83 percent give the plant a high rating for safety. Further, 69 percent would welcome a new reactor at the nearby nuclear power plant, assuming more electricity were needed. In addition, 73 percent said that more nuclear power plants should be built in the future. "Nuclear plant neighbors have strongly and consistently supported nuclear energy in every biennial survey we have conducted over the past 10 years," said Ann Bisconti, president of Bisconti Research. "Plant neighbors feel quite well-informed about the nearby nuclear power plant, they are confident in management's ability to operate the plant safely and protect the environment, and they recognize jobs and other benefits to the local economy that the plant provides." The latest survey found that 90 percent of respondents believe nuclear energy will be important in meeting the United States' electricity needs in the years ahead, with 60 percent believing nuclear energy will be "very important." Ninety-one percent agree with renewing the license of nuclear power plants that continue to meet federal safety standards, and 66 percent "strongly agree." Eighty-three percent agree that electric utilities should prepare now so that new nuclear power plants could be built if needed in the next decade, and 51 percent "strongly agree." "These findings, repeated in six national surveys, provide one more validation of the clear finding that most plant neighbors hold favorable attitudes toward their plant," Bisconti said. "They once again show that familiarity with nuclear energy leads to support. They also show that companies achieve favorable attitudes by operating the plants safely, tending to the environment, providing value to the community, and reaching out to neighbors." The global picture also is also good. In fact, in 2014 worldwide nuclear generation rose 1 percent compared to 2013, according to Platts. It may not seem like much, but it is significant, since this is the first annual gain since the 2011 accident at Fukushima I in Japan sharply curbed global nuclear output. "The data showed the extent to which global nuclear generation fell following the Fukushima accident," said William Freebairn, Platts senior managing editor. "It is interesting to see a recovery in overall output was driven by growth in units in China and improvements in capacity factors in France, Russia and Korea, which more than offset the reactor shutdowns in Japan, Germany and the U.S." Nuclear power plants generated about 2.039 billion megawatt hours (MWh) in 2014, a slight increase from the 2.018 billion MWh in reported generation for 2013, according to Platts. The units in operation in 2014 had gross capacity of 392.6 GW, Platts reports, up from approximately 390.9 GW in 2013, when the same number of units operated. The global nuclear fleet made up for a lack of growth in the number of units in 2014 by increasing output of existing units through uprates. In addition, the units reporting generating data to Platts increased their capacity factor, meaning they were online longer at full capacity. The global nuclear unit capacity factor rose to about 75.8 percent in 2014, well above 69.1 percent in 2013, although global nuclear generation reported to Platts is still far below its 2006 peak of 2.79 billion MWH, when there were more reactors online and all but a few dozen units were providing output figures. Retirements of units in the U.S. Japan and Germany have been offset by new units that have come online in China, where the number of units in the Platts analysis grew by five in the past two years. The biggest increase in output in 2014 was in the Netherlands. The biggest decrease in nuclear output came in Argentina. "We've been collecting this data for decades, and our data shows that the top performers remained large reactors in France, Germany and the U.S., while the best capacity factors were recorded by operators in the U.S., India and Taiwan," said Freebairn. For more: © 2015 FierceMarkets, a division of Questex, LLC. All rights reserved. http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/nuclear-situation-changing-locally-globally/2015-06-26 |