Editorial - Nuclear Energy is a Carbon-Free Solution We Cannot Ignore in Washington

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Nuclear Power - Economics, Design, & Industry

Date posted: 06/17/16

James Moss opines that when Gov. Jay Inslee (WA) asked me in 2013 if I would sit on the Energy Northwest (EN) executive board as one of his three appointments to that board, I did not have to think twice. Not only did the mission of EN to provide reliable, cost-effective, environmentally responsible power strike me as being the right fit for the region, but the EN largest project, the Columbia Generating Station nuclear-energy facility, employs nearly 1,000 professionals, including hundreds of craft workers. The recent action by the Seattle City Council to denigrate, even deny, the contributions of nuclear energy to this state, now and in the future, makes no sense to me. The council voted to oppose the use of new nuclear-energy resources by the city utility, after taking one-sided testimony disparaging Columbia Generating Station safety, value to the region, and environmental benefits. First, nuclear energy is a baseload, or 24/7, resource. Power-grid stability relies on these types of resources to keep the lights on as the wind fluctuates and day turns into night. Without full-time resources, the power would not be there to ensure our hospitals, schools, homes and businesses can function as we expect them to. Second, nuclear energy is a carbon-free source of electricity. The goal of governments from Washington, D.C., to Olympia, and around the world, is to reduce our carbon footprint from electricity generation. That means we need more carbon-free resources, not fewer. We must develop and maintain, and in some cases expand, the carbon-free-electricity resources in our portfolio. That means wind, solar, geothermal, nuclear, demand response, battery storage, and pumped hydro. The council action, based on information only from anti-nuclear-energy groups, moves us backward, not forward. Why would one make a decision, especially about the future electricity mix of a city, without first considering all points of view, including actual experts on the issues.