Voinovich Sees Nuclear Plants as Productive

Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Topics: Environment, Economy
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Republican U.S. Senator George Voinovich came to the Cleveland area yesterday to continue his support for building more nuclear power plants. He sees the plants as an environmentally-friendly way to boost electricity production. He also wants Ohio to become a manufacturing leader in the production of nuclear plant parts. ideastream's Dan Bobkoff reports on the senator's visit to one local company.

The machine room at the Nova Machine Products Corporation is a hot place with fans whirling and men working to build nuts and bolts. The Middleburg Heights-based company builds parts for nuclear power plants around the world, including their flagship product, the Hydronut. I asked bolting and projects and services manager Anthony Schmidt to explain what that does.

Anthony Schmidt: A hydronut is a hydraulic tensioning device which applies a known load to a bolt in series around a flange.

If you’re not sure what that means, he assures me it’s innovative.

Senator George Voinovich came to Nova’s offices to meet with industry and regulatory officials about the future of nuclear power. He wants to see more nuclear plants built in the U.S., and more companies like Nova in Ohio making parts for plants worldwide. Voinovich says Ohio is already in a position to lead a resurgence in nuclear development.

George Voinovich: If you look at all the other states, you’ll probably find more manufacturers of things that go into the nuclear energy than any other state.

The United States hasn’t built a new nuclear power plant since the 1980s, though the nuclear regulatory committee recently approved an application for a new plant in Illinois.

Nuclear power proponents like Voinovich want what they call a nuclear renaissance. Dennis Spurgeon is the U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy.

Dennis Spurgeon: 10 or 20 years, we’d hope to have under construction and finished more than 30 new nuclear power plants. We hope in the next two years, we’ll have 15 or 16 new applications for licenses for nuclear power plants.

That may be optimistic, though, given fervent opposition in many communities. Voinovich is hoping an environmental pitch will win them over.

George Voinovich: Anyone who’s at all interested in climate change, reducing greenhouse gases and carbon, understands that nuclear is clean from an environmental point of view.

Voinovich thinks opposition to nuclear power is waning. Erin Bowser remains highly critical, though. She’s the state director of Environment Ohio, and she doesn’t think returning to nuclear is such a smart economic decision.

Erin Bowser: Once states really take a look at the difference in cost and the waste issue, that states across the country will make the decision to invest more in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency than building big, new expensive nuclear power plants.

Bowser says nuclear waste disposal remains a big problem. She’d like to see Ohio companies investing in alternatives like wind energy that are becoming more cost effective.

Erin Bowser: in Austin, TX, wind energy is one of the cheapest energy sources going. the more that we develop that market, the more it’s going to be competitive.

Bowser thinks developing alternative energy locally will help jump start the region’s economy.