A daunting application and permitting process coupled with huge capital and liability costs — not to mention public concern over the safety of nuclear power — slowed the pace of new nuclear power plant construction in the United States in the past few decades. But the tide could be shifting.  

Rising energy demands and attractive tax incentives in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, along with concern over new power plants using greenhouse gas emitters such as coal, are creating a more ideal market for the nuclear industry [See “Current Commentary: Cutting butter with a chainsaw,” nwcurrent, September 2007]. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) expects to receive 32 applications for new nuclear power plants by 2009, according to an October article in the Wall Street Journal.

Political support for renewable energy such as wind and biomass outweighs support for nuclear energy in Oregon, Washington and Montana, where state governments or voters have passed renewable portfolio standards (RPS) mandating that privately owned utilities acquire a portion of their electricity from renewable energy.

But in Idaho, where government leaders have shown no signs of introducing an RPS, and the Idaho National Laboratory is leading the U.S. Office of Nuclear Energy’s research and development work for Generation IV nuclear power systems, political sway could pave the way for future nuclear power plants. 

Just weeks after establishing the Office of Energy Resources within the governor’s office, Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter (R) made headlines for favoring nuclear power over renewable power sources such as wind and solar.

In an address to the state’s University Presidents Council, which includes representatives from Idaho state schools, the governor said nuclear power is a better means for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meeting the state’s future energy needs than some other renewable power sources. Gov. Otter expressed concern over the potential loss of current subsidies for solar and wind, and said the nuclear industry could eventually generate $7 billion annually to the state, according to an Associated Press article.

“What I read from the governor’s comments was that nuclear power has all this promise, and renewable energy is tremendously subsidized,” says Ken Miller, clean energy program director for the Boise-based nuclear watchdog group Snake River Alliance. “That’s exactly upside down. Nuclear energy, aside from the petroleum industry, is the most heavily subsidized energy industry in the United States. And the renewable energy industry, especially in Idaho, enjoys nothing close to the taxpayer support that nuclear power does.”

Between 1943 and 1999, the nuclear industry received more than $145 billion in federal subsidies, while the solar industry received $4.4 billion and the wind energy industry received $1.3 billion, according to a study by the Renewable Energy Policy Project.

The nuclear provisions in the Energy Policy Act include a total of $2 billion for the first six companies to apply for nuclear power plant permits, to be used for potential lawsuits and regulatory delays. The provision is an extension of the older Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act. The most recent Energy Policy Act also authorizes a production tax credit of up to $125 million per year, during the first eight years of operation for the first 6 megawatts (MW) of nuclear power capacity to come online.

NRG Energy Inc. could be the first to take advantage of the incentives. The Princeton, N.J.-based company, along with South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Co., recently filed a Combined Construction and Operating License Application with the NRC to build and operate two new nuclear units at the South Texas Project (STP) nuclear power station site. It marks the first time a company has applied for such a permit in 30 years.

Planned for Bay City, Texas, the South Texas Project nuclear power plant would cost between $5.4 and $6.8 billion and have a generating capacity of 2,700 megawatts (MW), which is enough to power 2 million homes, according to NRG. The company estimates tax incentives in the 2005 Energy Policy Act could cover up to 80 percent of the construction costs.

While Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station on the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford site is the only operating nuclear power plant in the Northwest, Nevada-based Alternate Energy Holdings Inc. announced in December 2006 that it plans to apply for a permit to construct, own and operate a nuclear power plant near Grand View, Idaho.

Dubbed Idaho Energy Complex, the proposed 1,500-MW light water reactor would be Idaho's first large-scale commercial nuclear plant. Alternate Energy Holdings is still securing financing and conducting environmental assessments of the proposed site.

Idaho has not passed an RPS, but in August it became the 38th state to join the national Climate Registry, which is a voluntary program working to set uniform standards for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions. Gov. Otter designated Toni Hardesty, director of the state’s Department of Environmental Quality, as Idaho’s official representative to the Climate Registry. While Miller says it’s a step in the right direction, he notes the Climate Registry is not a binding commitment to greenhouse gas reductions.

“The governor has yet to sign on to the Western Climate Initiative, which all other surrounding states have done,” Miller says. “That would be a huge step. That’s more of a binding agreement."