American Nuclear Society (ANS) President Andrew Klein urged policymakers last week to prioritize nuclear energy as a clean energy source in light of the closing of the Fort Calhoun Station in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) board of directors announced on June 16 that it would shut down the Fort Calhoun Station nuclear power plant by the end of the year. The OPPD said that it would be in the best interest of customer-owners to shut down the facility, and the closure is expected to save the district between $735 million and $994 million over the next 20 years while the organization rebalances its generating portfolio.
Klein said that the closure was in part due to the fact that the U.S. Clean Power Plan would only issues benefits to new nuclear facilities. The historically low natural gas prices and market conditions overall were also contributing factors.
In response to the Fort Calhoun Station closing, Klein urged policymakers in Congress to push nuclear energy as a clean energy alternative to carbon-sourced fuels.
“It is time for our policymakers to act to protect our nation’s nuclear power plants from further closures,” Klein said. “With every closure we lose valuable low-carbon energy that will make it impossible to reach not only U.S. Clean Power Plan goals, but also international carbon reduction targets,” he noted, adding, “The American Nuclear Society is working to educate state and federal policymakers about the significant value of nuclear plants in providing safe, reliable, affordable low-carbon energy.”
To support nuclear facilities in future, the ANS recently released the Nuclear in the States Toolkit (2.0) as part of its “Nuclear in the States” program. The information seeks to educate policymakers on the importance of nuclear power and how to support facilities in the future.
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