Some Oklahoma lawmakers are pushing nuclear power to the forefront of discussion as a viable means of alternative energy for Oklahoma this legislative session.
Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, is one of the lawmakers spearheading the campaign for the consideration of nuclear power plants in Oklahoma. Reynolds has introduced the Affordable Energy Bill, which would establish the framework necessary for companies seeking to build nuclear power plants in the state.
Reynolds said he does not have a “hard or fast opinion” when it comes to nuclear energy, but wants to make sure nuclear power is considered an option for Oklahoma’s energy future.
“It’s about energy,” he said. “It’s not just about nuclear power, it’s about energy and we need to be discussing it now. I just want to get it on the table.”
If Reynolds’s bill, House Bill 1320, becomes law, the Corporation Commission would become the “sole forum” for the implementation of a power plant and the commission would have the right to start investigating nuclear potential in the state.
Oklahoma is currently one of 19 states without a commercial nuclear power plant, but its history with nuclear energy is somewhat jaded.
The death of Karen Silkwood, a Kerr-McGee employee who was killed while on her way to meet with a New York Times reporter to reportedly reveal the company’s violations of safety practices with radioactive material, spurred criticism of nuclear power in the 1970’s.
In 1982, the construction of the Black Fox Nuclear Power Plant, which was backed by the Public Service Company of Oklahoma, was stopped after nearly a decade of opposition.
There was also an accident at the Gore Kerr-McGee plant in 1986 when an explosion killed one employee and sent more than 80 people to the hospital. The Gore plant closed in 1993.
Yet despite Oklahoma’s turbulent past with nuclear energy, Reynolds and other lawmakers are still keeping the doors open for nuclear possibilities in the state.
Sen. Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, has introduced the Nuclear Energy Incentive Bill, a bill similar to Reynold’s. Supporters of nuclear energy in Oklahoma might be disappointed because expenses and other issues surrounding the nuclear energy issue are spurring some skepticism.
The cost
The costs of building a nuclear power plant are steep and could range from $4 - $8 billion, said James Hewlett, a nuclear industry specialist with the Energy Information Administration.
Reynolds said he is concerned about the initial cost of building a power plant, but said if a plant was built, the long term cost efficiency of nuclear energy would be cheaper and Oklahoma would be diversifying its energy resources.
Gene Perry, a member of the Norman Sustainability Network, an organization which seeks to educate Oklahomans about conservation, said he is skeptical of claims that nuclear energy would be cheaper for Oklahomans, and he would rather see money put toward renewable energy resources in Oklahoma.
“One major problem is nuclear energy is sold as an alternative energy like wind and solar and it is not,” said Perry, who is a former Daily employee. “We have wind and lots of sun already in Oklahoma; we don’t have the resources for nuclear.”
Perry said although he is open to the idea of nuclear power, he would rather see money go to furthering the development of renewable resources than the development of a nuclear project that could potentially be sponsored by subsidies.
Patricia Lemon, the daughter of Carrie Dickerson, who headed a nine year battle against the construction of the Black Fox Power Plant in Inola, said she too would rather see the continued development of wind power in Oklahoma.
“Given that Oklahoma has enough wind energy to supply nine percent of energy for the whole country, I think it’s a really dumb idea,” Lemon said. “It seems really ridiculous to me to subsidize something that will take 10 years to get going.”
The time it takes to have a nuclear power plant built, licensed and operating can vary, said John Moens, a nuclear industry specialist with the EIA. The last nuclear reactor, Watts Bar-1 in Tennessee, took 24 years to finish, he said.
Unresolved issues
Lemon, who assisted her mother in writing her memoir, “Aunt Carrie’s War Against Black Fox Nuclear Power Plant,” said it is not only the cost related to nuclear energy that worries her, but also how waste from potential power plants will be disposed of.
“Nearly 30 years later, there is still no safe way to dispose of spent fuel rods,” Lemon said.
Perry said he is concerned about the lack of demand in Oklahoma for a nuclear power plant and the amount of water it would take to run a future nuclear reactor.
According to a 2006 report by The U.S. Department of Energy entitled “Energy Demands on Water Resources,” in the 2000 calendar year “thermoelectric power generation accounted for 39 percent of all freshwater withdrawals in the United States.”
The Watts Bar-1 nuclear power plant in Tennessee takes approximately 540 billion gallons of water a year for cooling purposes, John Moulton, spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority, said. The water is returned to the Tennessee River system after use.
Reynolds has also introduced HB 1325, or the Water for Oklahoman’s Bill, which would enact a vote by Oklahomans to determine whether water will be sold out of state and establish a procedure for doing so. He said the large amounts of water required by power plants is something that Oklahoma should evaluate carefully.
As far as creating a surplus of electricity, Reynolds’s said the excess energy could be turned over for a profit thanks to Oklahoma’s geographical location.
“One unique feature of Oklahoma is we are the crossroads of the United States, we have an economic advantage over other states because we are very uniquely positioned to transmit electricity,” he said. “If it could make a profit for citizens that would be great.”
But profits are not what Perry is looking for from lawmakers.
“We hope that the legislature will not push nuclear power in front of other resources” Perry said. “We just hope they will take a very close look and not be too swayed by other interests.”
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TAG 3 years, 3 months ago
With a talk just given this week on OU campus from the Secretary of Energy, the likeliness of a Nuclear Plant going in Oklahoma is very unlikely since we have a huge potential for wind and natural gas in the state. He said $6 billion would probably be the cheapest. The other concern is the water to run a nuclear power plant especially in a state where rainfall ranges from 20 inches in the west to 50 inches in the east. We don't have a ton of water right now to really sacrifice to producing energy. Oklahoma City and the surrounding area are already having to look to the southeast Oklahoma for a future water supply that will cost over a billion dollars to build to keep up with demand. That doesn't include Dallas, TX which has just won its first round of court battles to make Oklahoma sell water to them from the same area where we are currently looking at our future supply of water. The reality of building a nuclear power plant increases national security, our availability to water, and who really want a nuclear power plant in their back yard. Wind and natural gas don't take water which is wonderful for a state reaching its limits on water capacity. The reality of nuclear power is just an over hyped news story because it won't happen anyway.