Weekly Reports |Sep 25 2018
America's oldest nuclear reactor shut down last week. Meanwhile, the spot uranium price continues to rise.
-Oyster Creek shuts down-IAEA has a warning for governments-Uranium spot price marches ever onward
By Greg Peel
In December 1964, construction began on the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in New Jersey. In 1969, the reactor was connected to the grid. Last week, Oyster Creek - America's oldest operating reactor -- was shut down. It wasn't just a matter of old age, as the reactor was licensed to operate for yet another ten years.
The reactor is the sixth to be closed down in the US in the last five years. Twelve more are slated for decommissioning by 2025. In most cases, a lack of commercial viability in today's energy market, dominated by cheap gas, has been the deciding factor. At Oyster Creek, it was a case of the New Jersey state government changing water usage rules that would have required operator Exelon to build new cooling towers at an estimated cost of US$800m.
The US uranium production and nuclear power industries remain in a state of flux, beholden to both state government policy - supportive or otherwise - and to federal government policy, which is currently being reviewed.
Foresight Required
There are thirty countries in the world currently operating nuclear reactors. Of those thirty, several are looking to expand their fleet and/or upgrade existing reactors to increase operating life. Several others are aiming to downsize or retire their fleets. A further thirty countries are currently considering plans to introduce nuclear energy.
It's a long process. Had Oyster Creek seen out its license, it would have marked 65 years from construction to decommissioning, and that's assuming the license wasn't extended or the plant refurbished in the interim. As industry consultant TradeTech reports, last week the International Atomic Energy Agency noted that "strong and consistent government support is vital to the success of nuclear power. From inception through decommissioning, at least a century of vigilance is required for nuclear power plants, and necessary oversight as well as research and development can be carried out only under consistent national policies regarding nuclear power".