The Nuclear Matters conference held in Boston last summer closely examined the value of nuclear power in New England’s energy infrastructure. Several experts spoke at the event, including industry leaders, policymakers and members of the academic community.
“Nuclear energy is the cleanest, most-stable energy and has an enormous significance in the industry and beyond.” Simon Irish, CEO of Terrestrial Energy and a conference speaker, told Power News Wire.
“In a generic sense, there are those who are against coal and nuclear energy for various reasons,” Irish said. “Nuclear energy is expensive to produce, but it offers energy in a 24-hour time frame,” which creates consistently affordable energy for consumers.
“When the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing,” how is energy going to stay consistent for energy producers and consumers?, Irish asked. Prices will fluctuate considerably, “based on current alternative energy sources like wind and solar.”
Irish said natural gas is nuclear energy’s biggest competitor, and it offers a current, cheap resource, but when looking toward the future, it is harder to determine how natural gas will fare financially. Nuclear energy is still more reliable for a longer period of time.
“Natural gas is a commodity, which means it is volatile,” Irish said, adding that it is subject to market forces in a way that nuclear energy isn’t.
Irish said current legislative approaches to Massachusetts’ energy needs are “reading from a script that is 30 years old” and do not take into account the current energy demands and the importance of nuclear energy being a part of the clean-energy strategy recently presented by President Obama.
“Nuclear energy plays a large role in helping to achieve the environmental and energy objectives for New England, the nation and the globe as a whole,” Irish said.
