Global interest in nuclear power is growing thanks to the push to stem the climate crisis. But while nuclear plants can be a source of reliable, carbon-free energy, they come with some big downsides. They’re costly to build and operate, there are challenges in disposing of their radioactive waste, and if nuclear material falls into the wrong hands, the consequences can be deadly. President Joe Biden is trying to mitigate the risks while reaping the low-carbon benefits — though some supporters of his climate policies are skeptical. On the economic front: The administration today announced it will provide $1.2 billion in aid to help economically distressed nuclear power plants in the U.S. continue operating. This round of funding will also support reopening plants that have recently shuttered, Reuters reported. On the security front: Biden inked a new strategy for stopping bad actors, both in the U.S. and abroad, from using nuclear materials to build deadly chemical weapons. That includes reducing the risks of a new type of nuclear power plant — the small modular reactor — which is generating bipartisan appeal in the U.S. and drawing potential customers overseas. U.S. regulators certified one small modular design last month for domestic use. Twelve countries across Europe and the Middle East have signed agreements to deploy the new technology. After the meltdown of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011, interest in big nuclear facilities tanked. Small modular reactors are cheaper and more manageable to operate — but they could also produce “usable material” for terrorist groups, a senior administration official told POLITICO’s Paul McLeary and other reporters today. “We have to anticipate that and prepare and prevent that becoming a risk,” the official said. How exactly the U.S. aims to prevent international nuclear, chemical and biological threats is classified information. But the administration says it is establishing the “first comprehensive policy” for securing radioactive materials here and abroad. Not everyone is convinced, however. Edwin Lyman, the director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said it’s going to take a lot more than advances in safeguards and security technologies to lessen dangers from the new breed of reactors. That idea is “overly optimistic and ignores the limitations of such systems when deployed in the real world,” he said. The big picture: While Biden has said nuclear power is a critical element in greening the electric grid to combat climate change, the industry is being battered by rising security and maintenance costs, plus competition from wind and solar power and inexpensive natural gas. The nation had 104 operating nuclear reactors in 2012. Today, there are 92.
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