Nuclear power is rarely a front burner issue in the Mountain State. West Virginia has long been a major energy producing state because of abundant supplies of coal and natural gas.
However, the possibilities associated with nuclear power have emerged as an issue this legislative session. Monday, the House of Delegates passed SB 4 that would eliminate the state’s previous ban on nuclear energy production. The bill had already passed the Senate.
The simple bill takes off the books a 1996 law that prohibited the construction of nuclear power plants in the state. Supporters who crafted the bill back then included language stating concerns about “an undue hazard to the health, safety and welfare” to West Virginians and risks associated with the disposal of spent nuclear fuel.
But times have changed.
Nuclear power has been largely shelved in this country because of the partial core meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania in 1979, and the high costs associated with nuclear power. However, nuclear is making a comeback. The resurgence is due to the commercial development of small modular reactors or SMRs.
As Newsweek reported recently, “Several new high-tech tiny reactors are now under commercial development at more than a dozen companies. The first round of mini-reactors is slated to be deployed in the U.S. and elsewhere within the next three years.”
These mini-reactors operate under the same basic principle as large reactors—uranium fuel rods heat up to boil water generating steam to drive turbines that generate electricity—but on a much smaller and more cost-efficient scale.
“The nuclear industry says SMRs could be built much faster and cheaper than conventional reactors—like products that are rolled off a production line and shipped to various locations rather than custom built at each site,” reported Scientific American.
A single mini-reactor could be used to power a factory or small community, or several of the reactors could be linked together to generate more electricity.
The climate issue is helping drive the renewed interest in nuclear. Renewable fuels, like solar and wind, may not be able to keep up with energy demands as the country moves away from carbon-based fuels. In addition, nuclear generates no greenhouse gas emissions.
Not everyone is sold on the concept because of safety concerns. For many, a nuclear reactor, even a small one, still conjures images of Chernoybl in Ukraine and Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant. Additionally, the challenge of disposing spent fuel rods remains.
However, the federal government is willing to support further nuclear development. The $1.2 trillion bi-partisan infrastructure bill signed into law last November includes $2.5 billon for nuclear power, including SMRs.
Senator Joe Manchin, who is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, is supportive of the West Virginia Legislature’s actions to try to open the door to nuclear energy.
“I am pleased the (legislature) has taken the first step to bring safe and clean nuclear energy to West Virginia, expanding our all-of-the-above energy portfolio,” Manchin said in a prepared statement. “This effort is vital to increasing domestic energy production and strengthening American energy independence.”
Businesses and industries are becoming increasingly concerned about their carbon footprint. For example, Nucor Steel, which just recently announced the planned construction of a steel plant in West Virginia, promotes its ability to produce steel with less than one-third of the average carbon intensity.
The legislature’s decision to take the antiquated and unwise “no nukes” provision out of state law removes yet another obstacle for a company that may be interested in coming to West Virginia.