Wyoming could benefit from President’s nuclear power push

by Andrew Schenkel, Cowboy State Free Press Washington Correspondent

WASHINGTON–As Washington D.C. remains snowy and cold, rhetoric on energy policy continues to heat up. The latest policy announcements from inside the Beltway concern the resurrection of nuclear power in America.

On Tuesday President Barack Obama promised to deliver $8.33 billion in federal loan guarantees for a pair of Georgia reactors that he said would give new life to the U.S. nuclear power industry and create a surge of high-skill jobs.

Mr. Obama made his announcement in front of a crowd of electrical union members in Lanham, Md. And explained that this is an area where members of both parties can find common ground.“Those who have long advocated for nuclear power, including many Republicans, have to recognize that we will not achieve a big boost in nuclear capacity unless we also create a system of incentives to make clean energy profitable.”

While the initial federal investment is targeted for the Deep South, it is likely that Wyoming could get in on the action. Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal did not hold back his excitement about that potential. “I think it’s great. In the current energy market that (nuclear) won’t go without federal help. I have always argued for diversity for our state’s economy and that includes our energy economy.” Freudenthal added, “You have to remember, Wyoming is a major producer of uranium.” Generating nuclear power is dependent on the mining of uranium.

According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Smith Ranch-Highland uranium mine in the Powder River Basin, owned by the Power Resources Inc., is the largest uranium producer in the United States. N.R.C. records say the mine has produced about 900 tons of yellowcake (uranium oxide concentrate, U3O8) in each of the years since 2006.

No new nuclear power plants have been built in the United States since the 1970’s. Prior to the halt on reactor production, uranium pricing justified a market for mining the radioactive material. But uranium prices plummeted once a federal moratorium was placed on the construction of new nuclear power plants. Cities that depended on uranium mining literally began to vanish.

Jeffrey City, in Fremont County, had a population of several thousand according to the 1980 United States Census. By 1990 the U.S. Census revealed the city had lost 95% of its population. The 2000 U.S. Census recorded the city’s population as 106 inhabitants.

In an interview about energy policy two weeks ago, Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi expressed support for more nuclear investment, but he didn’t limit his comments to the nuclear realm.
“Whoever is going to lead in energy production will lead in all power, and I mean that in terms of both definitions of power. We need to expand all power, natural gas, wind, oil, solar nuclear and coal. All of it,” the senior Wyoming senator said.

Mr. Fruedenthal echoed his sentiments after initial praise of the president’s proposal. “As a practical matter this country is going to need all the power sources it can get. I look forward to similar announcements on coal.”

Two weeks ago the Obama administration unveiled a plan for several billion dollars to be invested in carbon sequestration research and pilots across the nation. The administration’s budget proposals also call for cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives for oil and natural gas exploration over the next decade.