A Case For Nuclear As The Most Efficient Form Of Clean Energy

Authored by Amir Adnani via RealClearMarkets.com,

We are living in the future.  

Drones are being tested for food delivery. Google has allegedly created sentient artificial intelligence. And combustion cars are being phased out for electric vehicles.

Meanwhile, we’re not fully embracing the most efficient form of clean energy – nuclear.

In Sweden – an old oil-powered gas plant is being fired up more regularly after the Scandinavian nation decommissioned several nuclear reactors.

California recently announced that it will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars in a little over a decade. Shortly thereafter, California asked residents to avoid charging electric vehicles due to electricity shortages.

The Golden State is now reneging on its planned closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. Turns out shutting down a source of 8 percent of California’s power wasn’t a bright idea.

Nuclear energy is the only way to transition off of fossil fuels while retaining our high quality of life.

Elon Musk understands this. He recently tweeted, “Countries should be increasing nuclear power generation. It is insane from a national security standpoint & bad for the environment to shut them down.”

He’s right. Shutting down nuclear power is bad for the environment.

Research institutions have found that the most efficient net-zero power grid requires nuclear energy. Uranium currently provides over 50 percent of America’s carbon-free power. Nuclear energy works 24/7 unlike many renewable sources of energy.

And, Musk is right that it is “insane” from a national security perspective for countries not to be investing more in nuclear energy.

Our nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines are currently running on uranium stockpiles from the 1950s and 1960s. These stockpiles are rapidly depleting and need to be replenished.

Energy independence will prevent us from having the crisis Europe finds themselves in.

Twenty percent of American homes run on nuclear power and almost 60% of the uranium used to fuel our clean energy nuclear power plants comes from Former Soviet Union countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

A secure nation is not reliant on others for power, and if these “Green New Deal” policies continue to shape American legislation, our national security will undoubtedly be at risk. Germany has learned that lesson brutally after crafting their poorly designed “green” energy system, which left them totally reliant on Russia for fuel. Germany now has to make some tough choices on their energy needs, which could result in blackouts in the near future.

The United States fortunately can avoid this fate.

We are domestically rich with regards to uranium, oil and gas, and coal resources and should not rely on energy and critical minerals from hostile adversaries.

We can decouple from Russia and procure uranium here. We have ample uranium resources – estimated at over a billion pounds. They just need to be tapped into by companies like mine – Uranium Energy Corporation. We’re committed to a green, ethical mining that will power our future.

The Biden administration is urging lawmakers to back $1.5 Billion for the Department of Energy to reduce our reliance on Russian nuclear fuel.  Congress needs to act swiftly.  As a country, we need to step on the gas, and we need to do it now. Russian oil oligarchs should not hold the keys to a green American future. If Americans are expected to travel in electric cars, then they should have an energy supply that they can rely on.