North Carolina Senate – Is Nuclear Energy Clean?
The Shearon Harris nuclear power plant in Wake County, NC. A new bill in the North Carolina General Assembly would facilitate and incentivize the expansion of nuclear power to help the state meet its decarbonization goals. Source for photo: North Carolina Power Plants
A bill ratified by the North Carolina General Assembly on Friday, September 22nd, seeks to facilitate nuclear power generation in the state. Senate Bill 678 would redefine the term “renewable energy” in state law as “clean energy” and remove certain restrictions on future construction of nuclear power plants in North Carolina. The bill is sponsored by State Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus, who retired as president of the North Carolina branch of Duke Energy in 2015. He had held various senior roles, such as Vice President and General Council, since joining the company as a senior attorney in 1990.
Though nuclear power currently provides 31% of North Carolina’s energy, its expansion is contested. In 2021, the General Assembly passed a law requiring utility companies such as Duke Energy, the state’s largest utility company, to cut their carbon emissions by 70% of their 2021 levels by the year 2030 and become fully carbon-neutral by 2050. Nuclear power generation does not emit carbon dioxide and is thus considered by supporters to be a critical part of a decarbonized energy grid. Supporters of nuclear energy further argue that this energy source is less weather-dependent than renewables such as wind and solar power, as nuclear power plants can run continuously for 18-24 months in various weather conditions before needing new fuel supplies. Nuclear power also requires less land area than wind and solar power to generate the same amount of energy.
However, there is a glowing, radioactive elephant in the room. Though nuclear power is carbon-free, it is not entirely waste-free or fully renewable. Radioactive nuclear waste must be safely stored for thousands of years due to its continued potential for harm to human health. Currently, nuclear waste in North Carolina is stored at the power plant which generates it since no permanent storage facility for spent nuclear fuel exists in the state.
Senate Bill 678 also includes provisions requiring Duke Energy to remove all coal ash waste from unlined pits by 2038. This measure aligns state law with a 2020 agreement forged between Duke and local environmental groups after a 2014 incident in which coal ash stored at the company’s Dan River plant leaked, spreading toxic metals such as selenium and arsenic into the environment. Though tests conducted by the utility showed no evidence of permanent damage to the river, Duke Energy received multiple notices of violating state laws and paid a $6 million fine to the state.
The debate over nuclear power in North Carolina mirrors similar discussions in other parts of the world. In Europe, France sees nuclear power plants as a key step in transitioning beyond fossil fuels and is considering a law intended to streamline the approval process for building new facilities. Germany, however, shut down its last nuclear power plant in April 2023 due to concerns about a potential nuclear disaster and difficulty finding sites for nuclear waste storage. Instead of using nuclear power, Germany is increasingly turning back to coal and natural gas for power generation, with coal imports in 2022 up 8% from 2021 levels.
Though wind and solar energy are cheaper and more reliable than ever, nuclear energy will likely be a much-discussed solution for some time. The North Carolina General Assembly is just one of many governments trying to work out the proper role of nuclear energy in a decarbonized system. However, any discussion of nuclear energy must not overlook the problem of waste storage. It will be imperative for Duke Energy to demonstrate to North Carolinians that it can be trusted to store nuclear waste safely, especially after the fallout of the coal ash storage situation.