An article written by James Conca has been published on the Forbes website making a case that in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, which has devastated parts of the gulf coast in the southern United States, nuclear power has proven to be the most resilient power generation source.
The article is titled “”Hurricane Harvey Makes Case for Nuclear Power” https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/01/12/polar-vortex-nuclear-saves-the-day/#5fa8613c6b08
He some excerpts:
“The two nuclear reactors at the South Texas Project plant near Houston were operating at full capacity despite wind gusts that peaked at 130 mph as the Hurricane made landfall. The plant implemented its severe weather protocols as planned and completed hurricane preparations ahead of Category 4 Hurricane Harvey striking the Texas Gulf Coast on August 25th.
“Anyone who knows anything about nuclear was not surprised. Nuclear is the only energy source immune to all extreme weather events – by design.
[…]“Whether it’s hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, heat waves or severe cold, nuclear performs more reliably than anything else. There’s no better reason to retain our nuclear fleet, and even expand it, to give us a diverse energy mix that can handle any natural disaster that can occur.”
Mr. Conca does make valid points about the vulnerabilities of fossil fuel and solar/wind, but I was somewhat surprised that he did not mention the ongoing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster following the 2011 tsunami in northeast Japan as a possible exception to his case. I think if we had E-Cat style LENR plants instead of the fission variety, which would eliminate the concerns about radiation leakage and waste then his case would be more solid.
