Harvey Wasserman, author of the book Solartopia! Our Green-Powered Earth and co-author of Killing Our Own: The Disaster of America's Experience with Atomic Radiation, said:
"The ADVANCE Act is another death rattle for history's most expensive techno-failure."
In contrast to nuclear power, "Solar-generated electricity is now 'too cheap to meter' in California," he said. And "every day now California goes 100% renewable for hours at a time." In Texas, he noted, wind turbines now are producing so much electricity that it's being distributed "for free" at night.
"Of the four big U.S. reactors ordered in the 21st century, two are stillborn in South Carolina at $9 billion," said Wasserman in an interview. And the two new Vogtle nuclear power plants built in Georgia "are a $35-billion fiasco".
"For the first time since 1954, zero big new U.S. nukes are under construction," said Wasserman. As for what the nuclear industry calls "small modular reactors" that it is promoting, the "small mythological reactors are already soaring in price and crashing in production schedules, light years behind renewables in time and price.
"The attempt to revive shut-down reactors will never work," he said.
Also, he says the electricity generated by the two Diablo Canyon nuclear plants in California, slated for closure but now scheduled to keep running, "would $8-12 billion over market" price for electricity through 2030.
"The ADVANCE act aims to bail out a boat whose bottom has fallen out," said Wasserman. And, "Solartopia's day has dawned."
Indeed, the current The Economist magazine on its cover heralds "Dawn Of The Solar Age". The accompanying article in this "special issue" is headlined: "The solar age. The exponential growth of solar power will change the world." It states: "To grasp that this is not some environmental fever dream, consider solar economics." The magazine, considered conservative, speaks of "the resources" needed for solar power being "abundant". Further, "As for demand, it is both huge and electric... The result is that, in contrast to earlier energy sources, solar power has routinely become cheaper and will continue to do so."
But Senator Shelley Capito, a West Virginia Republican and a lead sponsor of the ADVANCE Act, said after the Senate vote on June 18th that "we sent the ADVANCE Act to the president's desk because Congress worked together to recognize the importance of nuclear energy to America's future and got the job done." She is the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
Its chairman, Delaware Democrat Tom Carper, said: "In a major victory for our climate and American energy security, the U.S. Senate has passed the ADVANCE Act with overwhelming bipartisan support."
As the website "Power," which describes itself as "at the forefront of the global power market," summarizes the ADVANCE Act in an article titled "The ADVANCE Act-- Legislation Crucial for a U.S. Nuclear Renaissance-- Clears Congress. Here's a Detailed Breakdown," it says it is "sweeping legislation that seeks to promote U.S. nuclear leadership, accelerate advanced nuclear technology development while preserving existing nuclear generation, bolster national security measures, and enhance regulatory efficiency to support new nuclear deployment."
The act is "likely to be enacted" with signing by Biden and "is a significant endorsement of nuclear energy" says the piece by senior editor Sonal Patel.
"The bill's passage in Congress, notably, follows a suite of new measures unveiled by the White House on May 30, aimed at slashing risks associated with new nuclear reactor development and construction," it says. "The White House highlighted recent efforts by the Department of Energy (DOE) to revive and revitalize existing nuclear plants, support advanced reactor demonstrations, and facilitate siting and financing. But it also acknowledged key risks and long-standing barriers that have hindered an expansion of the 70-year-old industry, shining a light on necessary licensing reforms, supply chain and workforce gaps, and high capital costs."
It quotes Ted Nordhaus, founder and executive director of the archly pro-nuclear Breakthrough Institute, as saying "the NRC has tried to regulate to make risk from nuclear energy as close to zero as possible but has failed to consider the cost to the environment, public health, energy security, or prosperity of not building and operating nuclear energy plants. This reduces rather than improves public health and safety... But with passage of the ADVANCE bill, Congress is telling the regulators that public benefits are and have always been part of their mission."
In speaking against the ADVANCE Act on the floor of the Senate, Senator Markey, chair of the Senate's Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, said it "includes language that would require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to rewrite its mission to state that its regulation and oversight should 'not unnecessarily limit' civilian nuclear activity, regardless of whether it is beneficial or detrimental to public safety and national security. The NRC shouldn't be the Nuclear Retail Commission. The Commission's duty is to regulate, not facilitate.
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