Open Letter To Ajay Banga, President Of The World Bank

Authored by Robert Hargraves via RealClearEnergy,

World Bank policy states: “WBG will not finance nuclear power generation or provide specific technical assistance for its assessment and development because safety of nuclear facilities and non-proliferation are not in the WBG’s areas of expertise, nor will the WBG build internal capacity in matters related to nuclear power generation.” Paraphrase: “We won’t do it and we won’t learn about it.”

You exhibited social leadership in your chairmanship of General Atlantic’s climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, and business leadership at Mastercard. Can you now lead World Bank directors to finance nuclear power, the only realistic, CO2-free route to changing energy poverty to economic prosperity for billions of people in developing nations?

To help mitigate climate change World Bank has stopped financing new coal-fired power plants. This is morally conflicting because such ample, reliable electricity is essential to prosperity in developing nations. As a half-measure the World Bank continues to finance natural gas power plants, because their CO2 emissions are half as bad.

Electrifying prosperity. Without better jobs poor people can’t afford labor-saving electric luxuries such as washing machines. A prosperous economy requires ample, full-time power to support industry and commerce. North America average power use is 1500 watts per person; European Union: 700 watts; China: 400 watts; India, SE Asia, and Africa: under 100 watts.

For developing nations, 100 watts of full-time average electricity use correlates with $3500 of GDP. A new 1 GW power plant can support $32 billion of GDP growth.

Electricity access for nearly one billion people without power is a noble goal for the World Bank, but installing solar panels for them is not enough. Intermittent solar and wind power can’t drive nations’ commerce and industry. 

Rich nations do what they want. Poor nations do what they must. Today they choose coal-fired power plants because they provide ample, reliable, 24×7 power at affordable costs, even if their CO2 emissions create societal costs. You can help change their choice by endorsing new low-cost nuclear power plants that can generate full-time electricity cheaper than coal-fired or LNG-fired power plants.

Fear. Will the World Bank remain a victim of the flawed ‘common knowledge’ that low levels of radiation cause cancer? Many nuclear power opponents are financed by fund flows they induce from public fear of all radiation. Yet nuclear power plants have the best safety record of power generation technologies.

Science shows that moderate radiation is not harmful, but biased scientists and international agencies such as International Commission on Radiological Protection ignore DNA repair and immune response biology revealed by three 2015 chemistry Nobel Prize winners. 

Many misled people are fearful of nuclear power, urging officials to further increase burdening over-regulation and costs. But no one was hurt by radiation from the Fukushima catastrophe. No one has been harmed by nuclear power in nearly four decades. 

Cost. World Bank reports state “solar PV now cheaper than nuclear in developed economies” but PV solar only seems cheap in nations with obscure, complex tax, subsidy, and backup power systems.

Radiophobia and resulting over-zealous regulation ballooned nuclear costs in rich nations that can also afford to invest trillions of dollars in expensive, intermittent, renewable energy. 

New nuclear power plants can be built for less in factories and shipyards, then set up on site within two years. Technologies such as low pressure liquid fuel simplify design and reduce costs. At least two developers claim ample, full-time energy cheaper than coal.

Willfull ignorance. Nuclear fear and cost evidence is ignored by World Bank refusal even to “build internal capacity in matters related to nuclear power generation.”

Blacklisting nuclear. One hundred voting member countries are interested in nuclear power, but it seems wealthy voting members Germany, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland, and Australia are allowed to blacklist nuclear power.

Emission free prosperity. You can lead World Bank directors to recognize the truly benign health effects of nuclear power plant radiation and to finance low cost, reliable, nuclear power plants for developing nations seeking full-time, CO2-free, electric power.

Dr. Robert Hargraves teaches at Dartmouth’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and is a co-founder of nuclear-engineering company Thorcon International and author of New Nuclear is HOT!