Nuclear power is part of the energy solution

Previously published in the Grand Junction Sentinel.

Re:  The energy gap can be bridged with efficiency instead of reactors

While I greatly admire Amory Lovins, his argument for 100% renewable energy hinges on people doing the right things and cutting their energy use.  A big part of that comes from technology improvements like heat pumps, but cutting demand 50-80% is a big lift in a world where so many countries need more energy to lift themselves out of poverty.  I think we need other options, including nuclear.

Colorado’s Senate Committee on Transportation and Energy held a 4-hour hearing on this topic last Wednesday.  The bill, SB24-039, would have included nuclear as a “clean energy resource,” defined as technology that generates electricity without emitting carbon.  Nuclear power clearly meets that definition.  The bill failed.

50 people gave testimony, including environmental groups, concerned citizens, nuclear scientists and engineers, several passionate students, Miss America 2023 who is a nuclear engineer, and me.

Opponents say nuclear power isn’t clean because the fuel must be mined and managed as a pollutant, but all forms of energy generate pollution during their lifecycle, and all require mining.  The day after the hearing, I listened to a podcast about lithium battery recycling.  Right now, there are two ways to do that:  burn them up or shred them and use toxic chemicals to leach out critical minerals. Cleaner, safer processes are in development, just as they are in the nuclear industry.

One opposing witness said she grew up near San Onofre nuclear plant in Southern California, noting its closure in 2013 as evidence that nuclear is unsafe.  I raised my children near that same plant and cite its 44-year generating history without injury to the populous as evidence that nuclear is safe.  The plant was replaced largely with natural gas, increasing climate warming emissions and localized air pollution.

We need cleaner energy and multiple paths to success.

NOTE: This bill was re-introduced in the 2025 session and passed with strong bipartisan votes. Gov. Polis signed HB25-1040 into law on March 31, 2025, adding nuclear energy as a clean energy resource in Colorado.