South Carolina's Nuclear Economy

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South Carolina's Nuclear Economy
Oconee Nuclear Power Plant Photo Credit Duke
Power Co.
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Energy Use in SC

• Sandlappers' average energy use - 62 billion kWh
  1.4 billion therms of natural gas
• Combined total emissions 35 million pounds of
  CO, 150 billion pounds of CO2
• 2005 SC spends almost 10.2 billion on energy
• 98 of energy consumed was imported from outside
  of SC
• DOE estimates that .70-.80/dollar leaves the
  economy and never returns
• Source South Carolina Energy Office
• http//www.energy.sc.gov/Renewable20energy/renewa
  ble_index.htm

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SC's Electricity Sources
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Compare SC to the Rest of the Nation

• 3rd among 31 states with nuclear capacity
• Two sites in Top 100 largest Oconee 16
  Catawba 32
• Largest nuclear power producer in Southeast.
• 9 other SE states use nuke energy. SC is the one
  state where nuclear is the leading fuel.
• Oconee plant is only the second in history to get
  license extensions from the Nuclear Regulatory
  Commission
• Source Energy Information Administration
• http//www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_gla
  nce/states/statessc.html

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Site Attributes
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Myths of Nuclear Power
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Myth 1 It's Clean!

• No particulate emissions emitted during
  generation...
• But radioactive and hard metal wastes pollute
  land, air and water

Waste tank at Hanford, WA. Photo credit Dept.
of Energy
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Myth 2 It's renewable!

• Spent nuclear material can be reprocessed...
• But reprocessing is extremely expensive, and
  entire spent loads cannot be reprocessed (current
  methods are not 100 efficient)
• Millions of gallons of water are used every day
  at one nuclear plant
• Radioactive contamination can render other
  natural resources farmland, ground water, air -
  useless

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Myth 3 It's Cheap!

• Licensing (and other regulations), insurance,
  hardware, initial construction, input costs
  disposal make nuclear operations extremely
  expensive...
• Energy rebates and tax breaks local, state
  federal make the nuclear power industry
  affordable and profitable

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Radioactive Waste

• Low-level waste (LLW), aka waste incidental to
  processing
• High-level waste (HLW)
• Accelerated cleanup plan would allow DOE to
  reclassify HLW to LLW, thereby expediting
  cleanup. Grout mixed in to solidify waste.
• HLW is usually a liquid sludge buried in storage
  tanks. Constituent elements include uranium,
  plutonium and tritium.
• SRS 32 million gallons stored in leaking,
  aging containers buried just above the water table

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Why do we keep taking this stuff?

• It's the law...
• the State Budget and Control Board is
  designated as the agency of the State which shall
  (4) assume responsibility for extended custody
  and maintenance of radioactive materials held for
  custodial purposes at any publicly or privately
  operated facility located within the State, in
  the event the parties operating these facilities
  abandon their responsibility, or when the license
  for the facility is ultimately transferred to an
  agency of the State, and whenever the federal
  government or any agency of the federal
  government has not assumed the responsibility. -
  SC Code of Laws Section 13-7-30
• It's profitable. Other states pay us to take
  their nuclear trash.

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Future of Nuclear in SC
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Projects on the Table

• Mixed Oxide (MOX) weapons grade uranium used
  for commercial fuel
• Modern Pit Facility recondition the plutonium
  pits in nuclear warheads
• Sources
• 14 Sites fit Duke's nuclear needs. The State
  (Columbia, SC). 20 February 2006.
• lthttp//www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/1391524
  5.htmgt
• The Alliance for Nuclear Accountability
• lthttp//www.ananuclear.orggt

• Six potential new reactors in the Carolinas
• Duke Power could choose SC for its first nuclear
  site in 30 years
• SCEG and Santee Cooper plan two new reactors at
  Summer

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What can I do to help?

• Write/call/e-mail/fax your federal legislators
  and ask them to oppose DOE budget requests for
  all new nuclear projects (energy, weapons
  basically anything but cleanup)
• Write/call/e-mail/fax your SC/state legislators
  and ask them to oppose rebates and tax breaks
  aimed at easing nuclear costs
• Write/call/e-mail/fax the Governor and ask
  him/her to 1) oppose kickbacks to nuke energy and
  2) provide incentives for conservation and
  renewable energy

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Other Ways to Help

• Write/call/e-mail/fax your county/city council.
• Attend a public meeting or hearing session.
• Letter to the Editor
• Educate friends, family, co-workers bosses,
  parishioners, neighbors on nuclear energy AND its
  alternatives.
• Conserve your energy and buy renewable, if
  possible.
• Call your energy company and ask them how long it
  will take them to phase out nuclear and phase in
  renewables.

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Conclusions

• South Carolina has a nuclear dependency
• Nuclear proliferation energy and weapons is
  made cost-effective through policy (not through
  markets)
• Radioactive waste poses a lethal threat to
  ecosystems (including people!)
• Several new projects are being planned that will
  directly impact SC
• Act now or watch nukes power the rest of our lives