An overwhelming majority of House members recently voted in favor of the Atomic Energy Advancement Act, a bipartisan bill to boost nuclear energy capacity. The legislation’s goals include speeding up the environmental review process and reducing licensure fees. In other words, curtailing some red tape prohibiting nuclear projects from advancing.
The introduction and passage of this bill is a most welcome development. Often seen as dangerous or even deadly, nuclear power has long been stigmatized and castigated as the pariah of the energy industry. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Globally, nuclear energy is responsible for far fewer fatalities than any other source of power except solar, which wins by a slim margin. Nuclear power has a rate of 0.07 deaths per terawatt-hour, which is significantly lower than the closest fossil fuel competitor, natural gas at 2.82. The U.S. death rate is zero. In fact, the well-known 1979 Three Mile Island Incident resulted in no discernible health concerns.
As the most reliable energy source, nuclear energy’s performance and efficiency are unmatched. Based on capacity factors, you would need almost two coal or three to four renewable plants to generate the same amount of electricity onto the grid.
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Kristen Walker is a policy analyst for the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, visit www.theamericanconsumer.org or follow us on Twitter @ConsumerPal.