Nuclear and Electricity - Powerful Power
In the first edition of this blog, I noted that “the electric sector underpins every other essential industry sector, and it also relies on many of them. I…think of the overlaps like the Olympic rings – all interlinked, with some overlapping more than others.”
For the next several editions, I’ll continue to focus on each critical infrastructure sector in relation to the electric sector because electricity – which began to be deployed as a service close to 150 years ago – has enabled the progress, convenience and abundance that are hallmarks of modern life. Thereafter, I’ll get into the overlapping policy issues in more detail.
In this edition, I’ll discuss the nuclear sector and how it interacts with the electric sector. To be clear, this sector covers civilian nuclear infrastructure, which incorporates nuclear power reactors, medical isotopes, reprocessing facilities, and use of nuclear materials in certain medical, research, and industrial processes. It does not cover nuclear weapons, which are managed by the Department of Defense. Having said that, the history of nuclear power is closely tied to the development of nuclear weapons, as depicted well in the recently released “Oppenheimer” movie.
According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) at the Department of Homeland Security, the non-weapons nuclear sector in the U.S. includes: 92 active power reactors; 31 research and test reactors; eight active nuclear fuel cycle facilities; and 20,000 licensed users of radioactive sources for medical diagnostics and treatment in hospitals, depth measurements at oil and gas drilling sites, sterilization at food production facilities, research in academic institutions, and examining packages and cargo at security checkpoints.
Fourteen editions in, I get to deviate a bit from the deep history common to the other critical infrastructure sectors I’ve delved into so far. The use of nuclear energy for various purposes is a recent development, historically speaking. According to the World Nuclear Association, the nuclear sector goes back to the inception of the U.S. – with the discovery of uranium, named after Uranus by German chemist Martin Klaproth in 1789, the same year the Bill of Rights was introduced in Congress and two years after the origin Constitution was ratified.
As discussed at length in the 12th edition of this blog, progress in chemistry and physics, in parallel with the taming of electricity and its use in electro-mechanical processes, exploded (no pun intended, although dynamite was created by Alfred Nobel in 1867) in the subsequent century. By the end of the 1800s, Wilhelm Rontgen discovered ionizing radiation, then Henri Becquerel proved that beta radiation, or electrons, and alpha particles, or helium nuclei, were emitted in an ore containing radium and uranium and Paul Villard discovered another type of emission in that same ore (called pitchblende), known as gamma rays. Then Pierre and Marie Curie named the emissions “radiation” and isolated polonium and radium from the ore. This scientific frenzy was all accomplished from 1895-1898, culminating in Samuel Prescott’s seminal discovery of irradiating food to eliminate bacteria.
In the 1900s, the work of scientists like Niels Bohr and Ernest Rutherford evolved the understanding of the structure of atoms and radioactivity, with the concept of atomic transformation coming to the forefront. The discovery of the neutron by James Chadwick in 1932 caused many scientists to experiment with causing nuclear transformations deliberately rather than through naturally occurring radiation – with artificial radionuclides, originally using protons, but subsequently using neutrons for a greater variety, discovered through the work of Enrico Fermi. Uranium was proven to be the best medium for these experiments. In 1938, the concept of atomic fission (splitting) was accomplished by Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman and then the proteges of Niels Bohr, Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch, explained what had happened during the fission process and estimated the huge amounts of energy produced during this process.
The implications of these discoveries, combined with the timing of such discoveries coinciding with the rise of totalitarian regimes in both Germany and the Soviet Union prompted a race to develop the first atomic bomb in the West in order to protect against development by the Germans who had many prominent chemists and physicists at their disposal. As is briefly mentioned in the movie “Oppenheimer,” Niels Bohr was extracted by the British from Denmark in September 1943 given his opposition to Nazi Germany and his mother’s Jewish heritage – and his potential to help in development of a nuclear weapon. Bohr’s flight from Denmark reads like a spy thriller. According to WarisBoring.com:
“The operation was carried out with great secrecy but at the last minute the Nazis learned of the plan and went after Bohr at his home. As they entered the house through the front door, the 58-year-old Bohr ran out the back, pausing at his icebox to grab a beer bottle filled with heavy water. A few Danish resistance fighters laid down covering fire, allowing Bohr to escape. Soon he boarded a fishing boat that took him to Sweden. Safely ashore, he traveled to Stockholm.
The British arranged to secretly fly him out of Sweden, but Bohr had an appointment first. He reportedly met with Swedish leaders and implored them to help Danish Jews. While there is controversy over how much Bohr’s efforts affected the decision, Sweden did offer asylum and thousands of Jewish Danes took refuge there.
The British sent a De Havilland Mosquito fighter bomber to retrieve the scientist. A modified version of the Mosquito served as a fast transport for special cargoes during the war. Bohr met the definition. On Oct. 7, 1943 the plane took off from a clandestine airstrip with Bohr laying on his back in the converted bomb bay.”
While Bohr went on to participate in the American Manhattan Project, which ultimately developed the atomic bomb in 1945, his contributions at that point were minimal. Even the heavy water he thought he had secreted out turned out to be beer! Heavy water, in which hydrogen in the water molecule is wholly or partly replaced by the isotope deuterium, is used to stabilize neutrons during fission and to cool the reactor.
After World War II, the scientific, industrial, electrical, and military communities reconvened around the beneficial uses of nuclear power. As has occurred with several other critical infrastructure industries, wartime applications accelerated understanding and ancillary uses. It was clear that the huge amount of heat produced in nuclear fission could fuel electricity and be applied in a variety of sizes, including on submarines. The Department of Energy’s Argonne National Lab in Idaho created the first nuclear reactor to produce electricity in December 1951, and in 1953, President Eisenhower spearheaded a program called “Atoms for Peace” through which significant investment was funneled into developing nuclear power for electricity. While other reactor types were tried over the years, the most successful have been the pressurized water reactor (PWR), developed for naval use and the boiling water reactor (BWR). Westinghouse developed the first fully commercial PWR in 1960, at a nuclear plant that operated for 32 years. Other countries such as Canada, the USSR, and France, developed their own reactor types, but most converted to PWR or BWR variations over the years.
While deployment of nuclear power plants has resulted in few fatalities as compared to other sources of electricity, nonetheless, concerns about the potential release of radiation from a failure as exemplified by the accident at Three Mile Island in New York in the late 1970s, dampened the push toward nuclear power in the U.S. for about 25 years. During that time, the industry sought to improve efficiencies in existing plants, resulting in a steady state of approximately 20% of electricity being produced by nuclear power even as demand increased. During that time, the military continued to deploy nuclear submarines.
A resurgence of interest in deploying nuclear power emerged in the early 2000s because of its emissions-free profile, high capacity factor (how often it actually generates power), and capability to meet demand in developing countries. U.S. electric utilities began to pursue building new large-scale nuclear plants or restarting plants that had been put on hold, the latter in the case of TVA. It became clear that new nuclear in RTO/ISO regions was going to be difficult due to the structure of those markets – hence, serious efforts have been pursued in the Southeast and West.
The Fukushima Daiichi plant meltdown in 2011 in Japan (as a result of a tsunami and resulting damage to back-up power that would have maintained core reactor temperatures) caused both Japan and Germany to ban new nuclear and to roll back its use, although as of this writing those initiatives have been, or are being, reconsidered. One worker died from radiation exposure as a result of the meltdown and 100,000 people were evacuated from their homes. While the evacuation zone was declared safe in 2017, some of those former residents have chosen not to return.
Immediate deaths from the worst nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in Ukraine, former Soviet Union, were reported at 60, while estimates from some international bodies claim that 4,000-5,000 people subsequently died from earlier than normal deaths due to radiation exposure. By way of comparison, the highest amount of death caused by a power plant disaster occurred in China in 1975 when, according to Brittanica, “the Banqiao Dam flooded in the Henan Province of China due to heavy rains and poor construction quality of the dam, which was built during the Great Leap Forward. The flood immediately killed over 100,000 people, and another 150,000 died of subsequent epidemic diseases and famine, bringing the total death toll to around 250,000—making it the worst technical disaster ever. In addition, about 5,960,000 buildings collapsed, and 11 million residents were made homeless.”
Despite these challenges facing nuclear power, the majority of people now embrace its use across the globe. China is building new nuclear plants at a rapid rate, while in the U.S., new units at plant Vogtle in Georgia have recently come online. Side note – that facility is majority owned by not-for-profit electric cooperatives and public power utilities and partially owned and operated by the for-profit Southern Company/Georgia Power. These types of partnerships are key for new nuclear efforts, in my opinion. In addition, increased attention and funding have enabled a new generation of advanced reactors that, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute:
“…are the optimal solution for powering a secure and reliable grid capable of meeting our increasing energy needs. Similar to existing nuclear plants, advanced nuclear reactors will operate around the clock, every day of the year, regardless of weather conditions. Certain small modular reactor designs are entirely self-sufficient with the capability to start operations without an external connection to the grid. Advanced nuclear technology will enhance these capabilities to an entirely new level, ensuring resilient and highly reliable power delivered everywhere from remote communities to bustling cities to disaster relief areas—all while strengthening our national security.”
The electric sector and nuclear power sector overlap significantly, with utilities running the plants in all cases but for military operations – in fact, many former Naval nuclear officers find second careers in the electric sector. Nuclear plants come under additional levels of scrutiny by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in order to further ensure safety at these plants. They have physical and cybersecurity standards of operation that are second to none. Having lived on military bases at home and abroad, I had still never seen anything like the level of security I encountered when visiting the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Maryland a number of years ago. They do not fool around.
Here are some other ways the sectors overlap:
Reliance on transportation. Nuclear plants need ongoing enriched uranium and other mineral and chemical components that must be transported carefully. Electric utilities of all kinds transport coal, but also must ensure deliveries of critical grid components, bucket trucks, copper wire, poles, and the list goes on…
Reliance on critical manufacturing. The reactors themselves are built by entities like Westinghouse and a variety of other manufacturers and contractors are involved in building and maintaining these facilities. Electric utilities derive all of their infrastructure from manufacturers and the chemical industry that provide inputs into those manufacturers.
Environmental regulation/climate change. Nuclear power produces no emissions, but does produce radioactive waste that must be carefully managed and utilizes cooling water intake structures that are regulated by the EPA. Electric utilities’ operations are regulated by the EPA and others at every level.
Reliance on natural gas and other fuels. Nuclear facilities use of backup power often run by natural gas or diesel/fuel oil. Natural gas comprises approximately 40% of domestic electricity generation. Natural gas is a key component of chemical processes. Natural gas continues to be scrutinized because of its impact as a greenhouse gas when burned, and electrification of the transportation sector means that diesel might not be available in the future -- a fact that both industries must address.
Reliance on water. As mentioned above, water is used in the cooling process at nuclear power plants. Electric utilities also use traditional hydropower and new water-power technologies to produce emissions-free electricity. They also use water to cool fossil-fuel fired power plants. But the resource can be constrained in drought conditions, especially out West.
Workforce challenges and the knowledge drain that has resulted from retirements in recent years impact both industries’ regular operations. Both the nuclear and electric utilities must also train their workforces for current and future challenges such as ongoing cybersecurity capabilities, AI deployment and other technological innovations. Nuclear engineers are not a dime a dozen either.
Supply chain constraints that impact every aspect of infrastructure deployment and maintenance.
How to best use technology to create efficiencies and minimize expenses.
How to manage the cybersecurity risk that comes with those technology deployments. Both industries are acutely focused on this and could work even more collaboratively in the future.
In my humble opinion, nuclear power is the workhorse and cornerstone of our clean energy future, enabling myriad other resources to exist and thrive because it is so incredibly reliable without emitting an ounce.