Splitting Stigmas

Across the world many nations are looking to nuclear energy as a way to ensure energy security, lower energy prices, and decarbonize. Nuclear energy can be the key to energy security, and Appalachia can lead the way, remaining a vital part of America’s energy independence.

Anyone who has spent any time in the nuclear industry or supported nuclear energy has undoubtedly been met with common rebuttals which all spring from what is referred to as F.U.D. – Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. The common rebuttals which arise generally are concerns around spent nuclear fuel, major accidents, and radiation. Here I will look to address each in turn to discuss some facts on each, why fears are overblown, and how understanding each can lead to the rational conclusion that nuclear energy is safe and should be embraced for its many benefits which overwhelmingly outweigh these exaggerated concerns.

Here in West Virginia, in recent years elected officials, development officials, business leaders and many others have quickly adopted and advanced an “all of the above” strategy in terms of power generation, building on our history of excellence in the production and transmission of power, and embracing new forms of power generation.

To this expanding menu of power generation sources, we can and should add nuclear energy. Doing so will capitalize on our existing and remarkable power generation and transmission infrastructure and create jobs and opportunities for West Virginians for decades to come.

Nuclear energy has been around commercially in the United States since 1958 and even began commercial operations directly on West Virginia’s doorstep, right on the Ohio River at the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. However, over the last 64 years, nuclear energy has gone overwhelmingly misunderstood and the nuclear energy we see today is far more advanced, much safer, and increasingly becoming the most cost-effective form of energy.

The commercial nuclear reactors in the U.S. – also known at the U.S. nuclear fleet – are generally ...

West Virginia has never utilized nuclear energy. In fact, West Virginia’s only interaction with nuclear energy was in 1996 when the state codified its intention to never employ nuclear energy by instituting a moratorium on nuclear power production over concerns of waste disposal and economic feasibility. These concerns were exacerbated by common misconceptions and many ill-informed stigmas that have surrounded the nuclear industry for decades.

Luckily, years of experience and technological advances have brought us to a new dawn in the nuclear industry, and West Virginia is ...