Expert: Texas energy crisis, extreme weather underscore role for nuclear, balanced power mix
The energy crisis in Texas, which left millions without power and heat during a brutal stretch of freezing temperatures, has become the latest test of America's aging infrastructure, which has become a key policy focus of the Biden administration and Congress.
Dire headlines out of the Lone Star State "really underscored the importance of having a balanced mix" of energy sources, according to John Kotek, the Nuclear Energy Institute's (NEI) vice president of policy development and public affairs. He told Yahoo Finance Live that with redoubled focus on climate change, nuclear energy should be part of a conversation aimed at "decarboniz[ing] the grid."
According to Kotek, "we're going to need to take advantage of the positive attributes and compensate for some of the shortcomings of all energy resources," Kotek said, speaking about atomic power.
"The fact that you've got 18 to 24 months of fuel supply in the reactor at any given time means that those facilities can run when maybe other energy resources are interrupted by things like extreme weather or other circumstances," he added.
In the midst of the shift toward renewables like wind and solar, nuclear power has found itself mostly on the outside looking in, sidelined by safety fears that make critics uneasy. However, proponents of atomic energy say risks of an accident or terrorism are "minimal" at best, and that the power source is more carbon-friendly than many available alternatives.
Kotek called the energy source the "most reliable resource we've had during this period of cold," stating that "nuclear has been running at greater than 95%" capacity throughout the entire country as a major weather system blankets most of the country in ice, snow and frigid temperatures.
Currently, in Waynesboro, Georgia, construction for two Plant Vogtle's nuclear units are underway. The two new reactors are expected to provide "enough safe, reliable, affordable electricity to power 1 million Georgia homes and businesses."
Kotek said the Department of Energy estimates that the carbon-free reactors will have a lifetime of more than 80 years, and "would keep about 800 million metric tons of carbon out of the atmosphere."
However, he believe it's crucial that other efforts are made, in addition to nuclear energy, in order to succeed in decarbonizing energy. That includes "increasing shares of wind, solar and storage to get to a clean grid."
Kotek, who also was nominated by former President Barack Obama in October 2015 to serve as Assistant Energy Secretary for nuclear energy, is hopeful that the Biden-Harris administration will be "supportive of nuclear."
During the campaign, President Joe Biden recognized that "both existing nuclear and a next generation of nuclear technology [are] having an important role to play in decarbonizing the grid," Kotek said.
He's optimistic that the new administration will "focus on keeping existing plants running, and then they'll focus on creating pathway for our next generation of nuclear technology."
Brooke DiPalma is a producer and reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma.
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