News that some nuclear plants are being asked to shut down in the wake of the fears of yet another earthquake-caused nuclear disaster.
The fact is that nuclear technology is mostly 40 years old. Little in advances have been implemented as few “new” nuclear power plants have come on board. While I totally understand the fear which drives authorities to want to be overly cautious, I wonder if they are considering the serious consequences on the rest of the grid and where the required power might come from. Japan’s strategy has been set to reduce, as much as possible, its dependency on foreign oil. Shutting down nuclear reactors in Japan would only lead to require more import of energy source.
Will governments set stricter regulations on nuclear plants? I believe so. Will this lead to higher energy costs? I doubt it. Not only do many other energy sources currently exist online that are capable of taking up the slack, however the reduced costs of renewables will soon be at grid-parity levels.
The nuclear industry’s challenge will be prove that any new technology is showcases is able to increase security while maintaining competitiveness. Their hopes lie in a new range of “mini-nuclear” plants of about 10MW or so.
Time will tell if these are accepted as safer alternatives for future power needs.
Sass